How To Pace The Comrades Up Run
Why Patience Early Usually Matters More Than Strength Late
One of the hardest things about the Comrades Marathon Up Run is that it rarely feels difficult early enough.
That's what catches people.
The opening stages out of Durban are loud, emotional and full of nervous energy. The taper has worked. The legs feel fresh. The crowds pull runners forward faster than they realise.
And that's usually where the race quietly starts making its decisions.
Because the Up Run has a way of punishing impatience slowly.
Not immediately.
Gradually.
A pace that feels comfortable through the first hour can become deeply uncomfortable later once the climbing, heat and fatigue begin layering stress onto already tired legs.
That's why experienced Comrades runners often talk about pacing less in terms of speed and more in terms of restraint.
The Up Run Is A Race Of Accumulated Fatigue
The 2026 Up Run from Durban to Pietermaritzburg is not one continuous climb, but it never really allows the body to relax for very long either.
That's what makes it deceptive.
The road keeps asking small questions:
- through Fields Hill
- along the long drags after Camperdown
- later through Inchanga
- and eventually on climbs like Polly Shortts once the legs are already carrying fatigue
None of those sections are especially frightening on their own.
But the fatigue accumulates quietly underneath you.
A pace that feels smooth at 20km can suddenly feel expensive at 60km.
That's why pacing the Up Run properly is usually less about chasing one perfect kilometre pace and more about controlling effort before fatigue starts becoming difficult to manage.
A lot of runners don't realise they've paced badly until the race becomes emotionally difficult later in the day.
That's the dangerous part about Comrades.
The consequences arrive late.
Most Runners Go Out Too Hard
Almost every experienced Comrades runner has done it at least once.
The taper works.
The legs feel incredible.
The crowds carry you out too fast.
Everything feels easy.
Until it doesn't.
One of the mistakes runners make is pacing the opening stages according to how fresh they feel rather than according to how long the day still is.
The problem is that early overpacing often doesn't show consequences immediately.
The damage usually appears much later:
- cramping
- heavy legs
- inability to climb comfortably
- nutrition problems
- emotional lows
- walking sections that weren't planned
By then, the race becomes very difficult to rescue.
That's why experienced runners are often surprisingly conservative early in Comrades.
Not because they lack confidence.
Because they understand what the race eventually costs.
Effort Matters More Than Pace
This is one of the biggest mental shifts runners eventually make at Comrades.
The route changes constantly.
The weather changes.
The body changes.
Fatigue changes.
Trying to rigidly force one pace throughout the Up Run usually creates problems.
Experienced runners often focus more on:
- breathing control
- muscular effort
- rhythm
- staying relaxed on climbs
- avoiding surges
- protecting the legs early
Especially through the first half of the race.
A pace that feels easy through Durban can become unsustainable later once the humidity rises and the climbing starts gradually draining the legs.
That's why pacing by ego usually ends badly at Comrades.
The Climbs Are Not Where Most Runners Lose The Race
This surprises many first-time runners.
Most runners don't actually lose time because they climb slowly.
They lose time because they run the easier sections too aggressively before the climbs arrive.
By the time the bigger climbs begin taking their toll later in the race, the legs are already carrying too much fatigue.
That's when runners start:
- fighting the road
- wasting energy surging
- overstriding downhill trying to regain time
- mentally unraveling
- struggling to keep eating and drinking properly
Experienced runners often climb more patiently than expected.
They understand that protecting the legs matters more than defending pace at all costs.
Especially during the Up Run.
Walking Is Not Failure At Comrades
This is another lesson many runners eventually learn.
A lot of runners become emotionally attached to the idea of running everything.
Sometimes that creates bigger problems than the walking itself.
Strategic walking:
- through busy water tables
- briefly on steeper sections
- while eating or drinking
- to settle the heart rate
- to reset mentally
can actually help preserve energy over a very long day.
What usually hurts runners is not controlled walking.
It's uncontrolled breakdown later in the race because they spent too much energy earlier trying to avoid walking at all.
Comrades rewards efficiency.
Not stubbornness.
Nutrition And Pacing Are Connected
One of the reasons pacing mistakes become so destructive is because fatigue affects nutrition too.
Once runners push beyond sustainable effort:
- digestion slows
- hydration becomes inconsistent
- eating starts feeling difficult
- nausea becomes more likely
And once nutrition starts falling behind fatigue, the race usually deteriorates quickly.
That's why experienced runners try to keep effort controlled enough that they can continue:
- eating consistently
- drinking regularly
- staying mentally calm
A lot of runners preparing for Comrades now prefer simpler fueling strategies using products like Maurten gels and drink mixes because they're generally easier to tolerate once fatigue starts affecting the stomach later in the race.
But whatever nutrition strategy runners use, pacing still determines whether the body can absorb it effectively.
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Heat Changes The Race More Than Many Runners Expect
One thing the Up Run does exceptionally well is slowly magnify dehydration and pacing errors once the day starts warming up.
Early in the race, runners often feel comfortable enough that they underestimate:
- fluid loss
- sodium loss
- rising muscular fatigue
Then later in the day the body suddenly starts feeling heavy and unresponsive.
The difficult part is that hydration problems usually don't appear immediately either.
Like pacing mistakes, they tend to arrive later once the body has already been under stress for several hours.
That's why experienced runners often stay disciplined with hydration early, long before they actually feel desperate for fluids.
The Real Race Usually Starts Late
One of the strange things about Comrades is how different the race feels after halfway.
The excitement disappears.
The legs stop feeling smooth.
The road starts feeling much longer.
Small climbs suddenly feel bigger than they should.
That's normally when pacing mistakes begin revealing themselves.
Runners who paced patiently early often still look controlled late in the race. They may not look fast, but they continue moving steadily.
Runners who overextended earlier usually begin fighting everything:
- the climbs
- the heat
- cramping
- nutrition
- negative thoughts
That's why experienced runners often say:
Comrades starts once the legs stop feeling good.
Emotional Pacing Matters Too
This is something many runners underestimate.
Comrades is emotional.
The crowds.
The nerves.
The pressure.
The cutoff anxiety.
The excitement of feeling strong early.
A lot of pacing mistakes are emotional decisions disguised as physical ones.
Runners surge because:
- they panic about cutoffs
- they get caught in another runner's pace
- they feel strong
- they become impatient
- they start chasing lost time emotionally
The runners who generally pace Comrades best are often the runners who stay emotionally calm for the longest.
That's an underrated skill in ultra-distance running.
Sometimes The Smartest Pace Feels Too Easy Early On
This is probably one of the hardest things for first-time runners to trust.
Good Comrades pacing often feels almost disappointingly conservative through the early stages of the race.
That's normal.
The runners who usually finish strongest are rarely the runners pushing hardest through Durban.
They're the runners who still have enough left once the race starts becoming difficult later in the day.
Final Thoughts
At some point during the Up Run, almost everybody reaches a section where the race suddenly feels much bigger than it did earlier that morning.
Usually the legs are already tired by then.
Usually the climbs feel steeper.
Usually the mind starts negotiating.
That's when pacing matters most.
Because the runners who generally suffer least at Comrades are rarely the runners who felt strongest in the first hour.
They're usually the runners who stayed patient long enough to still be running properly once everyone else started negotiating with themselves.
And honestly, that's probably the real challenge of pacing Comrades well:
having the discipline to hold back early so you can keep moving properly once the race finally starts asking difficult questions.