If you are planning to run the Comrades Marathon you will need to buy into the programme.  Now I don’t mean that you physically have to buy a training programme, there are plenty of training programmes out there and most of them are FREE!  Training for the Comrades Marathon on your own is a very difficult thing to do and requires incredible mental strength.  So do yourself a favour and ‘buy into the programme’.  By this I mean find yourself a group of runners who are also training for Comrades.  Join a running club (South African residents need to be licenced with a club in order to run Comrades.  It’s in the rules!)  Most running clubs will have a training group for Comrades.  It is much easier to train with like minded folk who share the same focus as you do.  You will also benefit from the knowledge of experienced Comrades runners that you are training with!  Your training needs to be geared towards long slow distance running on tarmac.  It doesn’t really help your cause to be training in the mountains on trails and rocky tracks.  While trail running may be beneficial to developing strong muscles, you certainly run the risk of twisting an ankle or straining a hamstring!  So buy into the programme and stick to it!  In the Western Cape, the Fish Hoek Athletic Club has a very successful Comrades running programme.

If you are reading this page you have already found the Running Comrades, the ALSORAN way website which I hope will be of value to you.