Comrades Marathon Association vice chairperson, Les Burnard, Comrades Marathon Association race & operations manager, Ann Ashworth and Comrades Marathon Association chairperson, Mqondisi Ngcobo. Picture: Supplied
Durban — The Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) has a new race and operations manager, Ann Ashworth, and road running and the Comrades Marathon are not a novelty to her.
Ashworth won the Comrades Marathon in 2018. She shocked the field to win the 2018 race with a tactical and composed performance. Ashworth subsequently left her career as an advocate to run full-time ahead of the 2019 race.
With the opportunity to manage one of the world’s most iconic sporting brands and one which is close to her heart, Ashworth said she is ready to take up her new position.
She said she looks forward to working with the various Comrades Marathon stakeholders.
Ashworth grew up in Howick, KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, but has been living in Johannesburg.
“Moving back to the KZN Midlands will be a change from Johannesburg but I am really looking forward to coming home. I have had the pleasure of dealing with the Comrades team in the past and anticipate that together we will achieve great things as we launch the 2024 edition of the race next week,” Ashworth said.
She has a Master of Laws degree from the London School of Economics and political science, is an admitted advocate, a running coach and now a retired elite ultra-distance athlete.
“I am so looking forward to the journey ahead. Comrades has always been very close to my heart as an athlete and as a coach, but to have the opportunity to contribute towards the future growth and development of the race is truly extraordinary. It is an honour to be able to give back to the sport in this way,” Ashworth said.
CMA chairperson Mqondisi Ngcobo welcomed Ashworth as the new race and operations manager at the CMA.
“Ann brings with her a wealth of experience and skills, and we look forward to leveraging her unique expertise towards achieving the Comrades Marathon’s strategic goals. Our vision as the CMA, coupled with her presentation on her vision for the future of The Ultimate Human Race, will no doubt take this iconic event to greater heights,” Ngcobo said.
The 2024 edition of the Ultimate Human Race will be an up run. It will start in the coastal city of Durban and finish in the inland city of Pietermaritzburg on Sunday, June 9, 2024.
The last Comrades up run took place in 2019 before two consecutive editions of the event were cancelled due to Covid-19. Since then, both the 2022 and 2023 editions were down runs which brought the up and down Comrades on par with the race’s tradition of hosting a down run in odd years and an up run in even years.
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