Comrades Marathon 2027 weather: what race day will likely feel like

The 2027 Comrades Marathon is on Sunday 13 June: the 100th edition, and a down run of about 91 km from the Pietermaritzburg City Hall, over Polly Shortts, Inchanga, Botha's Hill and Cowies Hill, to the Kings Park Rugby Precinct in Durban. Here's what race day has usually felt like, section by section, for a runner in the middle of the field.

What will the weather be like at the 2027 Comrades Marathon?

Usually a cold start and a warm, humid finish: the heat of the second half is what makes it hard. In the records, a runner from the 05:00 start set off at about 8° and finished at about 22°, with a dew point near 14°. RunFast's engine rated race day Fair on 6 days in 10 and Tough on 4, and Good on under 1.

The heat stress (WBGT, the number race medical teams use) was usually about 22°. It reached Moderate or more on about 9 days in 10, and High on about 4. The warmest race day in the records reached 29°.

Where does the weather usually cost runners time?

Almost entirely the heat. On the middle day of the records, the weather cost a 6:36-per-km runner about 19 minutes over the whole race, and 23 minutes or more on 1 day in 10. The heat was the main cause on about 9 to 10 of those days in 10.

Start · Pietermaritzburg City HallCato RidgeDrummondPinetownFinish · Kings Park1234567Historic

Green for the first 40 km, through the cold morning in the hills: on a middle day the weather cost nothing there, and the cool air even helped a little. Around Drummond it turns yellow, then orange, hard, through Botha's Hill and Hillcrest, and from about km 61, just past Winston Park, mostly red, very hard: each stretch 6 to 8.5% slower on a middle day, as the heat of the day builds and the wind turns into runners' faces. The down run heads east-south-east almost all the way, so a wind from the north-west at 6 to 9 km/h is behind runners through the morning. In the afternoon it turns: from Pinetown on, an easterly of about 12 to 13 km/h is in their faces. The air also warms as the course drops from the inland hills towards the coast and the day goes on.

What is each section likely to feel like?

Each section with its usual race day, hour by hour, timed for the 05:00 start and a steady 6:36 per km. The kilometres are the organiser's down-run checkpoints; the 2027 route is still to be measured.

1. Pietermaritzburg and Polly Shortts

Out of the city in the dark, the first big climb of Polly Shortts, then through Ashburton and down Little Polly's to Lynnfield Park at about 15.6 km. It was about 9° here, the coldest part of the day.

2. Umlaas Road and Camperdown

Over Umlaas Road and through Camperdown to Cato Ridge, at about 30 km, as day breaks. The best running of the day: about 10°, with the light north-westerly behind runners almost all the way, and rated Good on nearly every day in the records.

3. Inchanga to Drummond

Across the hills from Cato Ridge, then down Inchanga to halfway at Drummond, at about 44 km. It warms quickly here, to about 17°, and as the sun gets up the heat stress reached Moderate on about 4 days in 10. This section was rated Good on 6 days in 10 and Fair on 4.

4. Botha's Hill and Hillcrest

The hilly section through Alverstone, up Botha's Hill and through Hillcrest to Winston Park, at about 58 km. It's late morning now: about 21°, and the heat stress reached Moderate on about 9 days in 10 and High on about 2. This section was rated Fair on 5 days in 10 and Tough on 4.

5. Kloof to Pinetown

Through Kloof and down into Pinetown, at about 69 km. Usually the start of the hottest stretch: about 22°, with the heat stress Moderate on about 9 days in 10 and High on about 2, and the light breeze turning round to the east, into runners' faces. This section was rated Tough on 7 days in 10.

6. Cowies Hill and Westville

Up Cowies Hill, the last major climb, and through Westville to Sherwood, at about 81 km. It's early afternoon: about 22°, and the heat stress reached Moderate on about 9 days in 10.

7. Sherwood to Kings Park

Past the 45th Cutting and into Durban to the finish at the Kings Park Rugby Precinct. Still about 22° at a ten-hour finish, and more humid, with a dew point near 14°, and the easterly off the sea, about 13 km/h, was mostly in runners' faces on about 6 days in 10. This section was rated Tough on 8 days in 10.

What should runners wear and pack for race day?

Warm layers for a dark, cold start, and race kit for a much warmer afternoon. The organiser's race information page has the route, the rules, the cut-offs and the start group seedings, which it will announce at the start of 2027. From the weather records:

• Throwaway layers for the start. It was about 8° before the gun, 5° or colder on 1 morning in 10, and dark until about 6:45.
• Race kit for 8–23°. The day warms up a lot between Pietermaritzburg and Durban.
• A cap and sunscreen for the afternoon. Heat stress reached Moderate or more on about 9 days in 10, mostly from Drummond on, after about 10:00, and through the afternoon to the finish. Check the organiser's guidance on the day.
• Something for wet days. Rain fell during the run on about 1 day in 20.

Every runner has 12 hours from their gun start to finish, with cut-off points along the route to be confirmed in the Final Race Instructions. South Africa has no daylight saving, so every time is South African Standard Time.

When does the real forecast open?

Ten days before the race, in the RunFast app: on 3 June 2027. Load the course with your own pace and start group, and RunFast shows the heat and the wind at each stretch as you get there. From then on, trust the forecast over this preview.

How did we work this out?

The course was run again on every day from a week before to a week after 13 June, in each year from 2015 to 2024: 150 days. Each run started at the race's 05:00, South African Standard Time, at a steady 6:36 per km, on that day's hourly Copernicus ERA5 weather, with its dew point and sunshine. RunFast's engine, the same one the app uses, worked out the heat stress and the weather's toll, and rated the run and each section. The start-area wait is the lowest temperature between 03:00 and the start, and a wet day has 1 mm of rain or more. Where ERA5's hourly temperature and dew point step every three hours (its weather stations there report every three hours), they're read at 00, 03, … 21 UTC and joined in straight lines, as Windline's route pages read them.

ERA5's grid cells are about 25 km across, and several cover this course, from the inland hills to the coast. Valleys, cuttings, shelter and the cities' own warmth don't show. The official 2027 route map isn't published yet, so the course line follows the down-run route the organiser names, mostly the R103 Old Main Road. It's close to the course but not the organiser's own file. Historic weather, not a forecast.

Sources: the Comrades Marathon Association's race information page (the date, the down run, the 12-hour cut-off) and FAQs (the 100th edition, the 05:00 start at the Pietermaritzburg City Hall, the finish at the Kings Park Rugby Precinct, about 91 km), and its race histories for the down-run checkpoints and landmarks; ERA5 hourly time series (Hersbach et al., 2020). Course line drawn from © OpenStreetMap contributors. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information (2026). Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.