This Sunday (24 May) SABC2 will be broadcasting the 84th
Nutjobs! Comrades Marathon, live from 05h00.
The broadcast will continue throughout the day and features coverage of the racers, scenery, fast-in-the-moment facts and the drama as it unfolds.
This year the race begins in Pietermaritzburg and follows the big five "major hills" route.
Here's a blow-by-blow of the torture the racers will go through:
Polly ShortsThe start of the race in Pietermaritzburg is in the centre of town outside the red brick City Hall - at an altitude of approximately 650m.
After an initial gentle downhill from the start some moderate climbing is experienced to the top of the notorious Polly Shorts - some 7km from the start, which should pose no problem to fresh legs.
A short but fairly steep climb to Ashburton follows and then the easy descent of Little Pollys to Mpusheni. Often overlooked, but nevertheless an energy-sapper is the 7km ascent which follows to the highest point on the course at Umlaas Road.
This is 18km into the race.
InchangaFrom the highest point to the foot of Inchanga the route is undulating and offers fairly comfortable running. At Mayets Superette the 2km climb to the top of Inchanga begins.
While fairly long, the gradient is not very severe and is usually negotiated relatively easily by most runners. The standard marathon mark is at the top. It is the decent to the halfway mark in Drummond which runners should be wary of.
It is this steep downhill and camber of the road, which heralds the start of jarring damage to legs. After the passing through the halfway, the course follows a steady climb, with Alverstone offering a difficult challenge, to the top of Botha's Hill.
Botha's HillWhat Inchanga began, Botha's continues, with 2,5km of downhill racing stressing the leg muscles. The severity of this descent cannot be over emphasized. The effects of this hill are usually only felt and appreciated later in the day. After this jarring downhill the short sharp ascent into Hillcrest can also be taxing.
Fields HillFrom Hillcrest, Fields Hill is reached after 10km of comfortable terrain during which quivering legs can gain some respite and recover to a degree. However, this is offset by another 3km of really punishing downhill which reduces legs to jelly again.
Physio stations are much in demand from here on. After reaching the bottom of this seemingly never ending down, Pinetown flats should come as welcome relief, but this 3,3km stretch can often reduce runners to walk.
Cowies HillFrom here to the finish there are numerous little down hills, the notable one being from the top of 45th Cutting to Mayville, which all add to the leg-weary runners woes as they head towards the finish in Durban.
Check out! This e-mail to crazy-man Bruce Fordyce:
