CMA Race Director Sue Forge says, “The 2026 race produced exceptional performances, including two new race records. We welcome SAIDS’ confirmation that all athletes tested returned negative results for prohibited substances. We applaud these athletes for upholding the principles of fair competition and contributing to a clean and credible sport.”

“The CMA can now officially confirm the results and records from the 2026 race and begin processing the payment of prize money and incentives. We are committed to completing this process as quickly and efficiently as possible so that the athletes are rewarded for their outstanding performances. We once again congratulate our 2026 champions and every category winner on a phenomenal race!”

BIGGEST PRIZE PURSE
The top contenders in this year’s race had a total prize money purse of R5,790,400 to race for across the top 10 positions, individual prizes, age categories, and team prizes for men and women, including prize money for the first South African finisher and top three KwaZulu-Natal athletes. The prize for the first man and woman was a staggering R925,000 each, including a Cell C Top-up that boosted their winnings by just over 30%. (This Cell C Top-up was also applied to all top 10 positions.)

A further R2,420,000 was on offer for various records or time incentives, including the Cell C Hot Spot and Cell C Average Pace bonus incentives, taking the total prize monies for the 2026 race to R8,210,400. This represented a 10% increase across all categories on the total prize monies on offer in the 2025 edition of the race and made the 2026 prize money purse the largest ever in the history of the Comrades Marathon.

“This once again demonstrates the CMA’s commitment to ensuring that The Ultimate Human Race remains one of the world’s most sought after and competitive ultramarathons. Increasing the prize money purse represents an important investment in the world class elite athletes that the race attracts. These athletes play a major role in the excitement, drama and inspiration that make the race so special each year,” says Forge.

RECORD-BREAKING RESULTS
The 2026 Comrades Marathon was the 99th edition of the race overall, and the 50th Up Run from Durban to Pietermaritzburg. It was the shortest Up Run route in recorded history, with the 85.777km route measuring 133 metres shorter than the previous Up Run in 2024, and was expected to deliver fast times, perhaps even records.

In a dramatic day of racing, line honours on the day were claimed by South Africans George Kusche and Gerda Steyn, with both winners crossing the line in new race records and claiming huge paydays through the combination of prize monies and various incentives they earned.

Kusche won the men’s race in 5:15:56, shattering the 18-year-old Up Run Record of 5:24:49 (Leonid Shvetsov, 2008). He also managed an average pace of 3:40.99 per kilometre, breaking the Best Average Time Record of 3:43.75/km set by Vladimir Kotov in 2000. This was Kusche’s first Comrades Marathon win, in just his second run, having finished 12th on debut in 2025.

Second over the line was Dutchman Piet Wiersma, the 2024 winner and defending champion in the Up Run, who finished in 5:19:36. Third home was SA’s Mbuti Mollo, in 5:21:31, and he also claimed the Cell C Hot Spot prize for being first finisher through the Camperdown timing point. Current 50km World Champion Alex Milne (Great Britain) was fourth in 5:22:29, while former 100km World Champion Japan’s Haruki Okayama finished fifth in 5:24:46, with both also dipping under the previous Up Run best time.

In the women’s race, Steyn cruised to her third Up Run victory and fifth Comrades Marathon title overall, with an impressive time of 5:44:53. This was well inside her own race record for the women’s Up Run of 5:49:46, which she set in 2024. Steyn also set a new Best Average Pace for the Up Run, with 4:01.24 per kilometre to beat her 2024 best of 4:04.28/km. With a fifth win, Steyn became just the second woman to win the Comrades Marathon five times – the other is Elena Nurgalieva (eight wins) – and one of just seven athletes to achieve this feat.

Second over the line was Zimbabwean Nobukhosi Tshuma, who finished in 5:53:36 and improved greatly on her fifth-place finish in 2024, while third place went to SA’s Irvette van Zyl in 6:02:30, one position better than the fourth place she achieved in her Comrades Marathon debut in 2025. Fourth was Kenyan Shelmith Muruiki (6:06:38), the 2025 third-place finisher, who also took first place in the women’s 40-49 age category, with Great Britain’s Naomi Robinson fifth in 6:07:55, improving considerably on her 15th place in her Comrades Marathon debut in 2025.

PRIZE MONEY BONANZA
Kusche and Steyn’s record-breaking performances saw them both earn over R2-million in prize money and incentive bonuses. This includes the first-place prize money, including the Cell C Top-up, of R925,000, as well as the R242,000 prize for being the first South African over the line. They also both earned a R605,000 incentive bonus for breaking the best time previously recorded for the Up Run, as well as claiming the Cell C Average Pace incentive bonus of R550,000. That took their individual winnings to R2,322,000 each.

To add to her incredible day, Steyn was also the first woman through the Cell C Hot Spot in Camperdown, and she was part of the Hollywood Athletics Club team that claimed the Women’s Elite Team prize. With these additional prizes, her earnings for the day jumped to R2,388,192, the largest prize money purse ever won by a single athlete in the history of the race.

Reflecting on a successful 99th edition of the race, Forge says, “We are incredibly proud of the 2026 race, and our two record-breaking winners, George Kusche and Gerda Steyn. They proved they were the best on the day, and they have been richly rewarded for their world-class performances with over R2-million in prize money and incentives each.”

“Now we look forward to the 2027 Down Run, and one of the biggest running celebrations yet as the Comrades Marathon celebrates its 100th edition. As part of this historic occasion, our leading athletes will once again be incentivised to push the boundaries, thanks to an even greater prize money purse, which the CMA will be announcing soon!” concludes Forge.

OFFICIAL CONFIRMED RESULTS OF THE 2026 COMRADES MARATHON

Top 10 Men
1 George Kusche        Nedbank Running Club GN                       South Africa                            5:15:56
2 Piet Wiersma            Nedbank Running Club International        Netherlands                            5:19:36
3 Mbuti Mollo               Maxed Elite KZN                                       South Africa                            5:21:31
4 Alex Milne                 Nedbank Running Club International        Great Britain                           5:22:29
5 Haruki Okayama       Nedbank Running Club International        Japan                                     5:24:46
6 Charles Lawrence     Adidas                                                       United States of America       5:27:08
7 Lloyd Bosman           Nedbank Running Club SWD                   South Africa                            5:28:53
8 Nikolai Volkov           Nedbank Running Club International        ANA                                        5:28:59
9 Vasilii Korytkin          Kemerovo Runners                                    ANA                                        5:29:29
10 Tebogo Pulusa        Dwarsrivier Mine Athletic Club                  South Africa                            5:29:40

Top 10 Women
1 Gerda Steyn               Hollywood Athletic Club CGA                  South Africa                           5:44:53
2 Nobukhosi Tshuma     Entsika                                                    Zimbabwe                              5:53:36
3 Irvette van Zyl             Hollywood Athletic Club CGA                  South Africa                           6:02:30
4 Shelmith Muruiki         Entsika                                                    Kenya                                    6:06:38
5 Naomi Robinson         Nedbank Running Club International      Great Britain                          6:07:55
6 Loveness Madziva      Nedbank Running Club Zimbabwe         Zimbabwe                              6:09:54
7 Courtney Olsen           Hollywood Athletic Club International     United States of America       6:11:20
8 Dikiledi Majara            Nedbank Running Club AFS                   Lesotho                                  6:12:29
9 Jenet Mbhele              Umzimkhulu Striders                               South Africa                           6:13:08
10 Carla Molinaro          Hollywood Athletic Club International      Great Britain                          6:14:04

For the full results of the 2026 Comrades Marathon, go to https://comrades.com/2026-entry-list.