Comrades Marathon - replacing one fossil fuel sponsor with another

Comrades Marathon. Photo: Africa Marathons

The Comrades Marathon, South Africa’s iconic ultramarathon, is once again under pressure for accepting fossil fuel sponsorship - despite recently ending its partnership with oil company Engen amidst public criticism.

The return of oil money to the event is the focus of a new satirical video by South African news comedy platform Politically Aweh, created in collaboration with Badvertising. The video, released on UN World Environment Day, highlights the organisers’ quiet addition of Astron Energy to the 2025 sponsor list—just months after dropping Engen.

Last year, Politically Aweh satirised Comrades’ relationship with Engen in a spoof advert featuring fake sports-themed soap products, including a bar of “Engen Soap” - a jab at how oil companies use sport to cleanse their public image. After that video circulated, climate scientist and 27-time Comrades runner Professor Nicholas King contacted organisers directly. They later confirmed they had ended the Engen deal.

The latest video picks up the story, celebrating that initial move - while highlighting how this positive development has already been undermined.

“This is like whack-a-mole,” says comedian and presenter KG Mokgadi, in a segment detailing the sponsor swap. “You remove one oil company and another pops up in its place.”

It’s a development that has disappointed climate-conscious athletes who had seen the end of the Engen partnership as a step forward for the race.

Celebrated British ultramarathoner Damian Hall - a prominent voice on sport and sustainability with The Green Runners - commended organisers for cutting ties with Engen but called for a clearer stance:

“That can’t have been an easy decision. But I’d encourage Comrades to go one step further and make it part of their official policy.”

Jasmin Paris, who made history in 2024 as the first woman to finish the Barkley Marathons, echoed the message:

“As runners, we see climate change impacting the landscapes, people and wildlife we love. I call on Comrades to say no to greenwashing in sport and to commit to a future free from fossil fuel sponsors.”

Jasmin Paris. Photo: Scottish Athletics

Comrades, one of the oldest ultramarathons in the world, is already showing signs of climate vulnerability. A 2024 study in the International Journal of Biometeorology described the 2013 edition - held on one of the hottest days in race history - where only 55% of runners finished. The research cited heat as a rising threat to endurance events.

“I was horrified to see that Engen was still listed as a sponsor,” said Professor King. “Accepting money from a company that's basically going to make Comrades impossible for runners to participate in just doesn't make any sense.”

The new video suggests that while fossil fuel companies may view sport as a brand rehabilitation tool, the sport itself is becoming increasingly unviable under the conditions those companies accelerate.

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