Where is my runner? Following the Comrades live

The Comrades is a long day for the people at home as well as the runners. From the 05:00 start in Pietermaritzburg to the finish in Durban, the question is always the same: where are they now, and will they make it? This guide is for families, friends and clubs following a Comrades runner live, in a browser or by asking ChatGPT or Claude, and for runners setting it up for them.

What does my runner need to do?

Three things, before and on race day. It's free.

1. Add the Comrades as a race in the RunFast app or at runfast.tech, with the course and the gun time, and a goal time if they have one.
2. Turn on live tracking for it, and choose who can follow: anyone with their link, people they approve, and Findable by anyone if they want to be found by name.
3. Go live at the start. Their phone sends its position every 30 seconds.

Then send you their link. Their livedot link, such as livedot.me/megan, is one link for every race. See how to get your livedot link and how to go live on race day.

How do I follow them?

Two ways, both free, neither needing an account.

• In any browser: open their link. Their dot moves along the course, with their pace, their finish time and the heat where they are, updating every 10 seconds.
• In ChatGPT or Claude: add livedot (search for livedot, or add https://livedot.me/mcp) and ask "Where's Megan in the Comrades?" or paste their link. You get the same answer in words, with a live map in the chat.

What will I see?

The heat is worked out at your runner's own pace, so someone finishing in the afternoon is shown a very different day from the leaders.

How do I find them in a big field?

With their link, there's nothing to find: it points to them. By name, livedot finds runners who chose Findable by anyone, and with thousands of runners it shows a short list, live runners first, each with their km and pace, and asks for a surname or initial. It never guesses.

If the race is on livedot as a race, ask "How's the Comrades going?" for the whole field: how long it's been under way, how many are on the map, who's furthest along.

What if their dot stops?

Usually it's signal. The phone keeps every position and sends them when the signal's back, so the line fills in, and the answer says when they were last heard from. Near the start and finish, positions stay hidden for the runner's privacy, but how they're doing against their goal still shows on their live page. See what happens when you lose signal.

How do I cheer them on?

Ask livedot in ChatGPT or Claude: "Give Megan a tap on the back." Or give one from their live page. Their phone buzzes and they see the count, once a minute, with your name if your RunFast account is connected or a first name you give. In the day after the finish, a tap lands as a congratulation. Save longer messages for before the start and after the finish. See how to send encouragement to a runner during a race.

Try it before June

The Comrades demo runs every day, with Megan mid-race in a field of demo runners. Open runfast.tech/f/demo, or ask livedot "Where's Megan in the Comrades?": when nobody real matches, it shows the demo runner, labelled as the demo For what race day's weather might bring, see what will the weather be for the Comrades?