Photo: Mark Bloomfield celebrates his finish of the Comrades Ultra Marathon

On Friday, June 16, at 5:30 am, the cock will crow, "Chariots of Fire" will play and the 81st Comrades Ultra Marathon in South Africa will begin. Some 14,000 runners will start the 90K trek, which includes the "Big Five hills" from the coastal city of Durban to the British colonial style town of Pietermaritzburg. Twelve hours later, if history is a guide, some 12,000 men and women will cross the finish line with others hoping for a Comrades medal another time. Yours truly has now run Comrades three times in a row. I'm going back this June. Join me and other Washington area runners this year!

Comrades is the oldest and largest ultra, and a legend race in ultra running circles. Comrades is to ultra running what the Boston Marathon is to marathons. The first Comrades race took place in 1921 as a tribute to the fallen heroes of World War I. Folklore has it that a Zulu prided himself on running between Durban and Pietermaritzburg each week delivering newspapers and mail in the mid-1800s and in 12 hours flat. In subsequent years, Comrades became a universal symbol in long distance running. A grueling athletic experience, Comrades is a true test of one's physical and mental limits, a celebration of guts and glory, a great test of human endurance and courage, and a celebration of man's fighting spirit and an affirmation of life. All Comrades runners face the same mental and physical ordeals and have an equal chance to become a Comrades veteran. Comrades allows ordinary people to meet extraordinary physical and mental challenges and to do so in a spirit of camaraderie.

Today, in the words of U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Barbara Masekela, "Comrades is a national treasure. It is more than a race. It is a symbol of the new South Africa. Comrades is about inclusion, rich and poor, black and white, participants from the townships of Soweto to the leafy suburbs of Johannesburg."

In 2005 it is estimated that there were up to half a million spectators lining the route and 3.9 million people watching the race on television. Comrades can be a great starting point for learning about South Africa, its rich history, its beautiful land, and its culture. On my four trips to South Africa built around three Comrades and the Two Oceans Ultra Marathon in Cape Town, I saw places and had experiences only dreamed about or seen on TV and in books: "The Big Five" African animals seen close up in game reserves, Victoria Falls, Fugitive Drift (the historical battlefield between the Zulus and Afrikaners), Cape Town and the surrounding wine country, and Robbins Island (Nelson Mandela's prison home for almost a quarter of a century. Everyone needs to go to Africa once in his or her lifetime.

Alberto Salazar won the Comrades Ultra Marathon. So did Anne Trason, a seven-time winner of the U.S. Western States 100 Miler. Phil Fenty of Fleet Feet in Adams Morgan ran it in 2000 and wants to go back. Paul Newton of Bethesda was there in 2003. The Washington Post did a big feature piece on the race in 2003 and called it "one of the most unusual sporting events in the world." Cheryl Winn, from Byrn Mawr, PA, was one of the first Comrades female winners in 1982; she became acting CEO of the race last year, and appointed yours truly to be the first U.S. Comrades Ambassador (a pro bono position) to encourage more American awareness and participation in the race.

One of my first projects was helping organize the first official Comrades team participation in a U.S. marathon. What better race than our own Marine Corps "Peoples Marathon," where I am sure I saw many of you readers. I will be leading a group of Washington, DC runners and runners from across America to the 81st Comrades Ultra Marathon in South Africa on June 16 and want you on board.

I think I've said enough about Comrades. But, now, here comes the big question, "Can you, a reader of the Washington Running Report, a running enthusiast with a few marathons under your belt, but perhaps with no spectacular finish times, qualify and train sufficiently to finish Comrades in the time limit of twelve hours? The answer from Don Oliver, the official Comrades coach for many years who just agreed to also coach U.S. Comrades runners, is a resounding "yes," if you've recently run a marathon under five hours and are willing to put in enough hours to train for the race.

Alberto Salazar won three consecutive NYC Marathons in the early '80s, setting one world and six U.S. records. Salazar then surprised the world running community by showing up at Comrades. The South Africans said, "No way can he win Comrades. He's never run more than a marathon. That's just a training run for us." But, when asked, Alberto said he would win the race. And he did, having never competed in an ultra marathon before. What's the lesson for average runners? Don Oliver is right. You may not pull off a Salazar but you can become a Comrades veteran.

Finally, there is a confession to those of you potential Comrades runners who are worried about finishing the race. I took a bus at the Comrades ultra marathon on June 16, 2004. A bus, you may ask? Aren't you supposed to run or at least walk an ultra marathon? Is this a confession of a caper similar to the one by the runner who broke the rules by sneaking away from the New York marathon and taking a subway to get a "better time?" No, this is legitimate. Let me explain.

A Comrades Bus consists of the "bus driver" (an experienced runner), with a flag on a pole attached to his back indicating the "bus number." The Sub-10 Hour Bus, for example, brings the "passengers" in to the finish line in less than ten hours. Runners can depend on the bus, especially the 12 hour one, the last bus, to finish in time to get a medal. One of the challenges is managing to stay on the bus. The bus driver is an experienced athlete, runner and pacer who knows which hills to walk, which stretch to run and when to stop, when to go for a pit stop, how to breathe, and how to motivate his passengers. He is a coach and the best guide one could have to understand and run Comrades. If you get on a Comrades bus, if you've done your training, I promise you'll get a Comrades medal. I hope to get my fourth on June 16.

Mark Bloomfield has run in the Washington, DC area for more than three decades and is the Comrades' first Ambassador to the United States. BBC WorldNews observed, "Mark is head of an economic think tank by day and a mega-runner in between." He has run 22 marathons and 10 ultra marathons around the world, including the Comrades in South Africa. The Hill profiled Mark as "The Ambassador: Mark Bloomfield is part wonk, part endurance athlete." Mark is a columnist for Ultra Running magazine. Mark can be reached at mbloomfield@accf.org. The Comrades Web site is www.comrades.com.