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Rob Houwing, Sport24 chief writer
Cape Town – It’s the “down” run for the 85th Comrades Marathon on Sunday, so we thought we’d give you a bit of a “lowdown” on some stats – many of them a little unorthodox – for the great race.
They were all contained in a lengthy, informative media release issued for the prestigious ultra event, run this year from Pietermaritzburg to Durban and featuring 23 522 entrants:
1 900 000
The estimated number of water sachets that will be consumed on a day where the temperature, according to Weather24, is tipped to peak at a mild 19 deg C in Maritzburg and 22 deg C in Durban.
11 026
The number of English-speakers who will take part. There will also be 6 918 Afrikaans-speakers, 2 195 Zulu-speakers and 494 Tswana-speakers.
10 800
The number of kilograms of bananas expected to be eaten.
9 758
The number of runners who will be wearing Asics shoes, the most popular in the race followed by Nike (4 447), Reebok (2 677) and New Balance (2 288).
3 859
The number of runners who listed “other” as their occupations. (That’s a helluva lot of prostitutes, pimps and drug dealers, then?) More seriously, there will also be 2 706 managers, 1 145 accountants/auditors … oh, and 393 lawyers to boo and hiss at.
3 750
The estimated number of rubbish bins on the route.
1 300
Tubes of Deep Heat.
359
The number of unemployed entrants. (I suppose it’s something to do?)
151
The number of Naidoo surnames in this year’s race – the most common one. There will also be 136 Bothas, 127 Govenders, 122 Van der Merwes and, inevitably, 119 Smiths.
79
Oldest male runner, Martin Weidemann. The oldest female will be 70-year-old Kathleen Reid.
71
The number of birthdays by competitors on race day – 53 men and 18 women.
60
The number of countries represented in the 2010 event, including 206 entrants from the UK, 171 from the US and 144 Australians.
44
The number of Comrades races (including the looming one) by Dave Rogers of KwaZulu-Natal, the most for any entrant in 2010.
2
The number of pairs of Etonic shoes expected to be worn by runners – it is a company, according to exhaustive Sport24 research, formed by Charles A Eaton in Massachusetts in 1876 and big suppliers of footwear to Allied troops in World War I.
0
The number of Comrades Marathons run by Sport24 staffers … the current bunch of loafers, anyway.
Cape Town – It’s the “down” run for the 85th Comrades Marathon on Sunday, so we thought we’d give you a bit of a “lowdown” on some stats – many of them a little unorthodox – for the great race.
They were all contained in a lengthy, informative media release issued for the prestigious ultra event, run this year from Pietermaritzburg to Durban and featuring 23 522 entrants:
1 900 000
The estimated number of water sachets that will be consumed on a day where the temperature, according to Weather24, is tipped to peak at a mild 19 deg C in Maritzburg and 22 deg C in Durban.
11 026
The number of English-speakers who will take part. There will also be 6 918 Afrikaans-speakers, 2 195 Zulu-speakers and 494 Tswana-speakers.
10 800
The number of kilograms of bananas expected to be eaten.
9 758
The number of runners who will be wearing Asics shoes, the most popular in the race followed by Nike (4 447), Reebok (2 677) and New Balance (2 288).
3 859
The number of runners who listed “other” as their occupations. (That’s a helluva lot of prostitutes, pimps and drug dealers, then?) More seriously, there will also be 2 706 managers, 1 145 accountants/auditors … oh, and 393 lawyers to boo and hiss at.
3 750
The estimated number of rubbish bins on the route.
1 300
Tubes of Deep Heat.
359
The number of unemployed entrants. (I suppose it’s something to do?)
151
The number of Naidoo surnames in this year’s race – the most common one. There will also be 136 Bothas, 127 Govenders, 122 Van der Merwes and, inevitably, 119 Smiths.
79
Oldest male runner, Martin Weidemann. The oldest female will be 70-year-old Kathleen Reid.
71
The number of birthdays by competitors on race day – 53 men and 18 women.
60
The number of countries represented in the 2010 event, including 206 entrants from the UK, 171 from the US and 144 Australians.
44
The number of Comrades races (including the looming one) by Dave Rogers of KwaZulu-Natal, the most for any entrant in 2010.
2
The number of pairs of Etonic shoes expected to be worn by runners – it is a company, according to exhaustive Sport24 research, formed by Charles A Eaton in Massachusetts in 1876 and big suppliers of footwear to Allied troops in World War I.
0
The number of Comrades Marathons run by Sport24 staffers … the current bunch of loafers, anyway.
