Marathon News - Shvetsov Recorded Fastest Comrades Pace Ever

Jun-20-2007

Shvetsov Recorded Fastest Comrades Pace Ever
by David Monti with Riel Hauman
(c) Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved

The Comrades Marathon, the world's largest and most famous ultramarathon, presents a unique challenge for the sport's statisticans. Not only does the race change direction each year between Pietermaritzburg and Durban, but either gains or loses 670m (2197 feet) of elevation depending on the direction (Durban is at sea level). This year's race as a "down" run.

In addition, the distance changes slightly depending on road work and other factors, so comparing performances from year to year, even for the same direction, is tricky.

The 82nd Comrades, held last Sunday, was contested over an 89.3 km (55.5
mi.) course. Winner Leonid Shvetsov covered the distance in 5:20:49, averaging three minutes, 35.6 seconds per kilometer (5:47.1 per mi.).
According to our analysis, that makes Shvetsov's the fastest paced in Comrade's "down" run in history.

The "down" record of Bruce Fordyce which Shvetsov smashed, 5:24:07 set in 1986, was for a slightly shorter course: 87.6 km (54.4 mi.). Adjusting for the distance, Shvetsov's pace per kilometer was a whopping 6.4 seconds per kilometer faster, clearly a superior perfomance in empirical terms.

Fordyce actually held the race's pace record for "down" runs, which he set in 1984 when the course covered 89.6 km (55.6 mi.). That year he ran 5:27:18, a 3:39.2 pace per kilometer. Shvetsov's pace was also superior to that mark.

The Comrades returns to the "up" direction next year; the exact distance is not yet known.