Coverage Controversy: Comrades Marathon 2026 — a race for the ages, a broadcast to forget

The Comrades Marathon is arguably South Africa’s most iconic road race; the ultimate test of human endurance.

It is a gruelling battle of pain and perseverance, where more than 20,000 elite runners and amateurs alike push themselves to the finish line before the unforgiving 12-hour cut-off.

Staging an event of this magnitude, stretching nearly 90km between two cities, is a massive logistical undertaking.

Considering the scale of the event, the Comrades Marathon still remains remarkably well organised. Speaking to General Manager Alain Dalais prior to the race on 14 June, he told Daily Maverick the Comrades Marathon Association’s (CMA) main focus was on runner safety and experience. Inevitably, however, there would be challenges.

On the ground, concerns emerged when water reportedly ran out at the first five refreshment stations, spanning 14km, for runners in Group 3 – this year the race had a three-group start process whereby each group was dispatched in 15-minute intervals.

According to a runner in Group 3, people were picking up any sealed and full sachets they could find off the floor and someone even broke off ice blocks just so the runners could hydrate.

Meanwhile, for those unable to experience the race in person, the production and broadcast was mired in technical issues and broadcast mishaps. This year, the event was broadcast on the country’s public broadcaster SABC and streamed live on YouTube, making the race accessible to international audiences for the first time.

A special moment was lost, however, when men’s winner and record-breaker George Kusche was interviewed after crossing the finish line. Viewers could see the interview taking place, could see Kusche’s emotion as he held his wife and child, but could not hear a single word being said.

When five-time champion Gerda Steyn was interviewed, overlapping audio from another source drowned out her voice. When she finally could be heard, intermittent static and sound distortion made it difficult to follow.

Additionally, at the start of the race it was difficult to determine who the lead woman was. The broadcast spent an extended period focused on Dikeledi Majara despite her being in fourth place.

And people were not happy, taking to social media to vent their frustration, describing it as an embarrassment for SA and for Comrades.

And truth be told, it was. At times, the livestream was really difficult to watch.

The production company in charge of the broadcast that streamed live on the Comrades Marathon official YouTube channel was T+W. They are known for their work on documentari