‘Don’t lose hope’: More than 28,000 runners miss out on Comrades Mara…

With more than half the applicants missing out on an entry, Comrades Marathon organisers have urged disappointed runners to keep their heads up, with two more opportunities still available to secure a spot in next year’s race. mchezo.co.za

The Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) confirmed on Wednesday that 13,481 runners had booked their places at the 100th edition of the annual event during entry window periods which had been made available for individuals who were CMA members, had run the race at least nine times, or were raising money for charity.

This left 14,519 entries available during the general ballot which closed on Tuesday, but with 42,802 applications received, this meant 28,283 people had been denied an entry.

However, if any entrants did not complete the payment process which would open on Friday and Saturday, a redraw would be held.

In addition, any entrants who opted out of the race would be able to make their entries available to other runners during the substitution process which would open next year.

Sit back, wait and hope

“This is an exciting and emotional time for our running community,” said race director Sue Forge.

“While many applicants will be celebrating, others will understandably be disappointed or anxious about the outcome.

“We encourage applicants who were not selected in the initial draw not to lose hope. Any places arising from unsuccessful or incomplete payments will be returned to the ballot pool and allocated through a series of redraws. All unsuccessful applicants will remain eligible for these redraws automatically, and there is nothing further they need to do at this stage.

“Further entry opportunities may also become available through the official withdrawal and substitution process in 2027. The details of this entry window will be shared at a later date.”

A record 28,000 entries have been made available for the 2027 Comrades Marathon, a down run to be held between Pietermaritzburg and Durban on 13 June.

À l’occasion de ses 20 ans, l'association Cartooning for Peace célèbre à Paris son anniversaire. Cette organisation née au lendemain de la polémique sur les caricatures du Prophète en 2005 vise à défendre les droits et la liberté des caricaturistes à travers le monde. Sur le continent : en Ouganda avec Jimmy Spire condamné pour avoir dénoncé des faits de corruption, au Kenya avec l'arrestation arbitraire de Kibet Bull, au Rwanda avec le meurtre du caricaturiste congolais Kayene assassiné en 2024… Les exemples de dessinateurs censurés ou persécutés ne manquent pas. Pour en parler, le dessinateur et directeur de l'un des plus anciens journaux satiriques en Afrique : Lassane Zohoré de l'hebdomadaire ivoirien Gbich. Il est l'invité de Frédéric Garat.

NAIROBI, Kenya, September 24, 2026 – Harambee Stars head coach Benni McCarthy reveals that England-born defender Zak Vyner is reluctant to play for the country due to previous traumatic experiences with the team.

McCarthy says he has tried to convince the 29-year-old to commit to Kenya in vain.

“I’ve spoken to the player, gone together with team manager, deputy, we’ve gone to England, we’ve gone to Wrexham to see the player, and even used my status of, ‘you know who I am?’ But do you see the player here? Because of the experience that he had, I think he’s been traumatized, and it will take time,” the South African revealed.

The Wrexham defender earned his debut call-up to the national team in 2024 under then head coach Engin Firat but never got the opportunity to don Kenyan colours.

Born to an English father and Kenyan mother, Vyner has yet to make his debut for the team despite being called up by McCarthy last year.

Despite the rejections, the gaffer is determined to win him over due to the immense impact he would bring to Harambee Stars.

“He’s an absolute player that I love. I would love to have him in here, because I would just think the experience, the caliber that he has, if he comes here, how much these players that we have can learn from someone like that. We fall short, but we keep trying, because he’s a player that is worth trying for,” he said.

Another foreign-born player giving McCarthy sleepless nights is Germany-based Linton Maina who is also reluctant to commit to Harambee Stars.

“We just have to patiently wait, and hope that he decides. When he thinks it’s time, and we will grant that. Same as for Linton Maina. When you get to be the level where I’ve been, it is very hard for me to ask players over and over and over. I have pride and I have an ego but the fact that I keep going back that tells you about the caliber of the players. Unfortunately, they keep turning me down, but I am not going to stop, because I think it can only strengthen Kenya’s chances,” he said.

McCarthy has already incorporated a number of foreign-born players in the national set-up, including the Obiero brothers — Micah and Henry — Clarke Oduor and Sam Henia-Kamau, among others.

CLICK HERE to read the new issue of SA Rugby magazine, which reflects on the Springboks’ famous Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series win. (Print edition on sale Friday.)

What’s in the mag:

• The Springboks’ 3-1 series win against the All Blacks was a triumph of old warriors, emerging stars and Rassie Erasmus’ refusal to choose between winning now and building for tomorrow.
• Malcolm Marx has elevated himself to a level that makes him impossible to replace.
• The bigger the occasion and tougher the contest, the more Ethan Hooker thrives.
• In an extract from Kitsie: Memoir of a Bomb-Squad Bok, Steven Kitshoff recalls earning the respect of his Springbok heroes as a teenager and trusting Rassie Erasmus with a decision that would shape his career.
• Germany-born Anton Segner’s long road to the All Blacks accelerated dramatically this year, before injury cut short his Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour
• In the first of a new series on SA Rugby role-players, general manager of participation and development Ian Schwartz discusses talent identification, transformation and growing the game.
• In an extract from the Fireside Springbok – The Untold Stories that Make the Boks Great, Mike Greenaway recalls the chaos, controversy and compelling rugby of the Springboks’ 1981 tour of New Zealand.

The post FREE DIGI-MAG: Boks’ greatness grows appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.