Comrades 99 · Up Run · 14 June 2026
8:55
—predicted finish vs Bill Rowan 9:00:00
Durban▸▸▸Pietermaritzburg·85.777 km·B batch·05:00 gun
SUB 9
Bill Rowan
vs 9:00
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Halfway · km43
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Distance walked
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Total climb
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Finish clock
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Elevation & Effort

runwalkPolly

The Race, Kilometre by Kilometre

Race day: 15°C Durban → 21°C PMB · dry · cool→mild Sweat est 0.6→0.9 L/hr Plan tracks your ~9h finish

Your Targets

Carbs
Fluid
Sodium
Gels — early
Gels — late
Switch to late gel at
Cool, dry forecast keeps fluid and sodium modest. 60-70 g carb/hr is the gut-friendly sweet spot for sub-9 — your longest run is 51 km, so don't chase 90.

Full-Day Total

Everything you get through over 86 km. The Seconding tab splits this into what you carry vs what's handed up at each point.

The Fuel Clock — tick as you go

Each row is the fuel for that ~45-min block. Sip drinks across the block, take the gel/cap near the time. The running total is what you'll have in you by then — a rhythm to hit, not a hard deadline (±10 min is fine).

Shopping List — what to buy

Pre-race · 05:00 gun

Wake ~02:45. Breakfast 03:00: ~120 g carb — oats + banana + honey, white toast, no fibre. 500 ml Tailwind. Final 200 ml + 1 gel 15 min before the gun. Empty the bladder before the start.

On-course · aid ~every 1.5-2 km

Tables carry water, Coke, Energade, oranges, potatoes. Use Coke from ~km60 for fast carbs + a caffeine lift. Refill water to chase gels. Walk through tables to actually drink.

Caffeine

Keep it for the back half: 2-3 caffeinated gels after halfway (~200-300 mg) plus Coke late. No caffeine before km43 — save the hit for Polly.

Product assumptions

Gels: Maurten GEL 100 = 25 g, caffeine-free — the caffeinated one is GEL 100 CAF 100 (+100 mg). GU Energy = 22 g (caf 40 mg) · GU Roctane = 21 g (caf 35 mg + amino acids). Any "(caf)" gel in the plan is the caffeinated SKU, bought separately. Drink Mix 320 = 80 g / 500 ml. Tailwind = 25 g + 310 mg sodium / scoop. Salt cap = 200 mg (226ERS Chew, sodium citrate). Adjust if your products differ.

No mobile seconding — supporters stay stationary, off the route. DQ if they pace you. Be in place 45 min before your ETA.

Your Seconding Points

Two points means long legs — carry a full load between. Tick a third (Drummond ~43 or Camperdown ~70) to shorten the carry. Each handoff covers everything until the next.

Give your supporters

A printed Fuel Clock + these per-point lists · your race number (live tracking on the Comrades app) · your kit colours so they spot you · backups of everything in the car · sponge, vaseline, sunscreen, a dry top for the finish. Have them arrive early, phones charged. Stationary handoff only — they hand up as you pass, never walk or run with you.

Live tracking + race-week reminders. Set it all up before Sunday — test, don't debut.

Garmin LiveTrack — Fenix

  1. Garmin Connect app → menu → LiveTrack.
  2. Turn on Auto-Start LiveTrack — it fires when you start any run.
  3. Add recipients (your seconds' email / number) — they auto-get the live link at the gun. Or Share a link.
  4. Enable Include HR / pace / auto-extend so they see live pace, HR and distance.
  5. Optional: link Strava Beacon as a backup feed.

The catch — carry your phone

LiveTrack runs watch → phone → Garmin, so your phone must be on you with cellular data the whole race.

  • Phone in a vest pocket — not the tog bag, not with your second.
  • Charge to 100%, close apps, Bluetooth on, no battery-saver (it kills the BT link).
  • Rural stretches (Harrison Flats ~km50-60) may drop signal — the track pauses, then resumes. Normal.
  • Fenix battery is fine for 9h; the phone is the weak link.

Comrades official tracker — for your seconds

  1. They install the official Comrades Marathon app (or use the comrades.com tracker).
  2. Follow you by race number — give it to them after registration / expo.
  3. Mat-based: updates each timing mat (~every 10-20 km) with splits + projected finish — that's what tells them when to be at Hillcrest / Cato Ridge.

Run both: LiveTrack = live dot + pace, Comrades app = official splits + ETA.

This week — test, don't debut

  • Test LiveTrack on one run — confirm a recipient gets the link and sees you move.
  • Give your seconds your race number + both apps installed.
  • Rehearse the exact fuelling on a long run — no new gels / mix race day.
  • Taper: fresh legs > fit legs. Carb-load Fri/Sat (low fibre Sat). Bank sleep Thu/Fri.
Coach model: grade-adjusted running (Minetti cost-of-transport) inflated by your fatigue ramp to the finish, walking at the set pace, downhill running capped at 4:30/km. GPX guides the elevation profile; distance fixed to the official 85.777 km. Treat the finish as ±10-15 min — the back third past 60 km is the genuine unknown on a 51 km longest run. Rehearse decisions with it; don't trust it as a guarantee.