10 June 2004: No 32/04

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE (DOD) PARTICIPATION IN COMRADES MARATHON 2004

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) athletes/runners will once again participate in the 2004 Comrades Marathon on 16 June 2004 run over a distance of 87 km from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.

This year a total of ± 235 DOD runners will participate in the race.  The DOD, including the Reserve Force Club Natal Carbineers as a combined club, has the third largest club entry for this year.  A total of ± 12000 athletes will participate in the race of which 360 will be foreign athletes.  The Comrades Marathon will also be used as the SANDF Ultra Marathon Championships on that day.

The Defence Force will have a special stand at The Oval in Pietermaritzburg where all the families and friends of the runners can get together to watch the race as the runners enter the stadium.  The stand can be identified with the National Flag, SANDF flag and four Arms of Service flags, which will be displayed with banners in front of the stand for easy identification.

To promote the corporate image of the DOD with respect to the Comrades and to capture DOD participation in the Comrades, Col Zirk Lourens will, as in the past, liaise with SABC TV for coverage as well as conducting a live interview on television after completion of the race at approximately 15H00.  A radio interview is also planned. 

Members from the Area Military Health Unit KZN will provide a water-point along the route and physiotherapy services at the SANDF stand located at the ‘FINISH’ point.  The physiotherapists will assist persons who may need medical care on completion of the race.  SA SOLDIER will also be present to cover the event for later publication.

Twelve (12) athletes will try to obtain their green numbers by completing their tenth Comrades and a total of 59 athletes will be competing for the first time.  Col Zirk Lourens and Mr Richard Hammill will be running their 20^th Comrades.  A total of 22 of the athletes participating, have already completed more than 10 races.

The Sec Def, CSANDF and members of the Defence Staff Council, as well as the management of the SANDF Road Runners Association, wish all participants a successful race and trust that their personal goals for the day will be met.

Enquiries:         Col Zirk Lourens, Public Relations Officer (PRO) for Comrades Marathon 2004 (No 6630).

Tel: (012) 313-2237/2428 Fax: (012) 313-2866.