Live Adventure, organisers of the Buffs Marathon and Half-marathon, have assured athletes that water supply issues will not affect their chances of qualifying for the Two Oceans and Comrades Marathons in 2026.
This follows concerns from runners in the 51st edition of the SA Home Loans Buffalo Marathon on February 23, lodged complaints with Athletics SA (ASA) Road Running Commission to highlight water shortages along the route. This is the second consecutive year runners have approached ASA for intervention, as last year complaints were submitted about water quality at the race.
Race director, Sian O’Keefe said they have since conducted an internal investigation into the water supply and management for this year’s race and have submitted their findings to Border Athletics (BORA) for review.
O’Keefe and Buffalo Road Runners stressed that they remain proud of the 51st edition of the race given that, despite water related contentions, 82% of the runners achieved Comrades or Two Oceans qualifying times.
Their investigation found that a combination of factors including weather may have exacerbated limitations placed on water. The findings indicate that contrary to the standard weather check performed on February 17, which had predicted light rain for the race, the conditions on race day were high in heat and humidity. This in turn prompted runners to use water sachets available for drinking and cooling down — using more water than was catered for.
O’Keeffe explained: “We had no issues with water quality this year but water supply was an issue. To combat this we plan to significantly increase our water allocation for next year.
“We are also considering adding in water sponge stations for cooling down purposes at selected water points to minimise the impact on athletes using drinking water for cooling down instead of hydration.
“We do not want any athletes running into water supply issues at Buffs Marathon and will work with our water team and BORA to ensure we have adequate provisions at next year’s event.”
ASA’s Enoch Skhosana said weather notwithstanding, clubs and organisers must not compromise on water supply and should instead endeavour to oversupply to safeguard against dehydration being the cause for compromised performance of athletes on race day.
He said challenges experienced with marathons that were essential qualifiers for national events speak to a void in what should ideally be a close relationship between the provincial structure and the hosting club and their organisers.
Skhosana said: “BORA’s road running commission is in position now to work closely with the organisers for next year to tighten key issues. Reports must be compiled, discussions must be held and a joint way forward must be established. This is not a normal race, it’s a qualifier for national races that are defining events in the careers of our athletes and if anything is not in place on race day, it can impact a runners qualifying time and that cannot happen.”
ASA encourages races around the country to learn from this given that registration times being left open up until race day is also a factor that impacts available water supply for a race.
Complaints were also raised from runners regarding seconding vehicles and the traffic on the N6, however the internal investigation has found that hat personal seconding is not prohibited, contrary to some claims. While organisers attempted to remove it last year, strong pushback from athletes led to its reinstatement under strict rules. These include limiting seconding to designated zones within 100m of refreshment stations and prohibiting seconding directly from vehicles. O’Keeffe stated that, apart from three isolated incidents he personally addressed, he did not observe widespread rule violations.
While seconding inevitably adds to traffic volume, most vehicles were seen adhering to safety measures such as driving inside the yellow line with hazard lights on. Additionally, many supporters drive the route to cheer for athletes, which cannot be controlled by organisers.
Regarding the decision not to fully close the race route to traffic, O’Keeffe explained that the N6 is a major entry route into the city, and the later race sections run through suburban areas.
Limited resources from both municipal and provincial traffic authorities make full road closures impractical.
BORA did not respond to request for comment by print deadline.
