Distance running becoming more popular

Apart from the 8 675 runners in the 10km and 21km races, an additional 2 095 entries were received for the 5km (no shoe count). Many of the runners and walkers were first timers, which could account for the high percentage of “no reply” and “other” responses in the shoe count. The Comrades – with a 17% increase in entries to 12 890 – also has a high 19% of first time runners entering. It is interesting to note that whereas Asics still leads the pack in the half marathon, the runners who entered the 10km race preferred other brands like New Balance, Nike and adidas (see count numbers).

Safari marathon shoe count 2009