Comrades 2027 Entries Open Tomorrow (25 Aug 2026)

Here's What Actually Matters

Welcome, fellow runners and fitness enthusiasts. Tomorrow at 10am, entries open for the 100th Comrades Marathon. If you've been avoiding the fine print because the ASA vs CMA fight made the whole thing feel shaky, stop putting it off. The race is happening. Entries are opening on schedule. The governance mess is a separate headache for a separate day - don't let it cost you a spot in the centenary edition.

Here's the bit people keep getting wrong: entering does not let you skip qualifying. You still need a sub-5-hour marathon run somewhere between 15 June 2026 and 3 May 2027. I've had club mates assume a Green Number or an early window means the qualifying time doesn't apply to them. It does. Every single time, no exceptions.

The Windows

Green Number and Yellow Number athletes, plus Amabeadibeadi charity entries, get first crack tomorrow - 10am to 4:30pm on 31 August, or sooner if the cap fills before then. CMA members get their own 72-hour window starting 2 September. Everyone else lands in the ballot: opens 9 September, closes 22 September at 4:30pm, draw happens the next day.

Fees haven't moved since 2022. R1,200 for South African runners, R2,000 for the rest of Africa, R4,500 for international entrants. Small mercy, in a year that hasn't handed runners many.

Before 10am Tomorrow

Do these now, not after the window opens and you're scrambling.

Know your number status. Green, Yellow, or neither - it decides which door you're walking through and when.

Have your qualifying time locked in, or at least a real plan to get one. May 2027 sounds far off until you count backward through a build and a taper.

Decide how you feel about the ballot. Some people would rather pay a tour operator for guaranteed entry than sit through September wondering if their name gets pulled. There's no wrong answer here, just know which one you are before the stress hits.

None of this untangles the sanctioning dispute. ASA still isn't recognizing the race, the CMA isn't backing down, and I honestly don't think anyone knows how that plays out before June 2027. But if you're trying to get a bib for the 100th Comrades, tomorrow is the day that matters to you personally. Set an alarm.

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