Grishin: Triple Comrades pay, and more to men

Dmitri Grishin has never been known to keep his opinions to himself, and his latest offering will not only have the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) on his back, but also the Women's Liberation Movement.

"The prizemoney that the Comrades Marathon offers is disappointing," the two-time winner of the world's biggest ultra-marathon said on Tuesday. "And they must pay the men more than the women."

The 35-year-old Russian, who obtained South African citizenship last year and now lives in Pretoria with his wife Anastasia and their five-year-old son Grigoriy, said it had become more lucrative to win the shorter, easier Two Oceans Marathon these days.

"First prize for Comrades is R160 000, but after tax it is R100 000," said Grishin, who won the 89km Comrades on debut in 1996 and again two years later.

"In the (56km) Two Oceans, the winner gets R150 000, which is already taxed."

He said that a fair Comrades winner's cheque should be "R500 000 at least" - more than three times the present figure. "They can afford it," he added. "They get lots of money from entry fees, 12 hours of live TV coverage on the day, the sale of water tables and sponsorship."

Grishin also called on the CMA to increase the men's prize fund by paying the top 20 men's finishers. Currently, the top 10 men and women earn cash and gold medals.

"The men's race is more competitive while sometimes there is 10 minutes between the top women's positions," he said.

"I know I will probably get into trouble for saying this, but I must be honest," he added. "For most of the top guys these days, Comrades is the only race we focus on all year.

"The 'down' run is not my favourite (both of his wins came on the 'up' route)."

This year's Comrades will be Grishin's eighth since his debut in 1996, but this is the first time that he has not returned to Russia to train for the event.

"Where I live (he rents a house on property owned by former Foreign Minister Pik Botha), there are lots of hills for training, the altitude of one mile is perfect and there is very little traffic, so I have trained quite well," he said.

"I am happy with my condition, but the 'down' run is unpredictable. There will be 30-40 guys fighting for top 10."

- Imperial Car Rental on Tuesday signalled their 16th year of Comrades involvement by announcing they had again selected a group of underprivileged athletes to participate in their Grass Roots Runners programme.