The Comrades Marathon is one of South Africa’s miracles. It is the oldest ultramarathon in the world, and still manages to retain the spot of biggest ultramarathon in a time when ultramarathons are increasingly popular and more common globally.
This race was started 105 years ago by First World War veteran Vic Clapham as a tribute to fellow South African soldiers who lost their lives in fighting for a cause greater than themselves. Doing so, Clapham unintentionally created one of the most durable pieces of “messaging” South Africa has ever produced: the idea that ordinary people, working-class and elite, black and white, South African, African and from anywhere in the world, can test themselves together, up and down the same KwaZulu-Natal hills, and when they cross the finish line they become part of something greater than the sum of its parts.
This is perhaps why the Comrades is such a gravitational force not only for runners, but also for everyday South Africans.
This year, the Comrades was run for the 99th time over 105 years, having only been interrupted by the Second World War and the global Covid-19 pandemic. It is a remarkable message that has outlasted many fractious moments in South Africa’s history. This year, the message may have been overshadowed by other elements in the South African – and global – news cycle: xenophobia, conflict, corruption, the list goes on.
But the Comrades is a masterclass in what survives versus what doesn’t. Campaigns built on division and conflict may dominate in the short term, but they often under their own weight or get replaced by the next outrage.
Messages built on shared goals are often quieter, but they compound over time. Every year Comrades runs, it reinforces the same idea, to a new generation, in a new context, without needing to reinvent itself.
For brands, government communicators, and PR firms working in South Africa, the takeaway isn’t to manufacture unity messaging — audiences see through that instantly. It’s to recognise and amplify the institutions and rituals that have already earned trust through consistency. It is to emphasise that the only way through is to tackle each hill as they come, together.
Comrades didn’t need a rebrand to stay relevant for 105 years. It needed to keep showing up, keep meaning the same thing, and let runners and spectators carry the message forward themselves.
In a moment when South Africans are being told, loudly and often, what divides them, perhaps the most powerful communications strategy is simply pointing at the things that quietly, consistently, unite people and businesses, even when facing the next uphill battle.
– Gerhard Mulder
Account Director