Race Organiser's Guide to Athletics South Africa Road Races All Ages 2026

Under ASA Rule 33.2:

• Every road race in South Africa must be measured with the calibrated bicycle method, by an ASA-approved course measurer, before the race.
• Lodge the measurement report and certificate with the provincial athletics body before race day. For national and provincial road championships, inter-provincial races and ASA permit races, lodge them with ASA at least 7 days before the event.
• The course may not be shorter than the advertised distance. ASA recommends a short-course prevention factor of 0.1% (1,001m measured for every kilometre).
• Decide the position of cones and barriers by the time of measurement and record them in the report.
• A certificate is valid for five years, after which the course must be remeasured even if nothing has changed. ASA may order an independent remeasurement at any time.
• A course starting and finishing above 1,000m is an altitude course.

Course types (Rule 33.4):

Course marking (ASA Rule 33.3):

• Mark the course clearly, with repeated direction signs wherever runners might be unsure or the course changes direction.
• Place kilometre markers along the route and display the distance in kilometres.
• Runners who go off course get no credit for the extra distance but may be given a lift back to where they left the course.
• Provide a route map and profile before the race where possible.

Start (Rule 33.5):

• Mark the start with a white line at least 5cm wide.
• Have a PA system or loudhailer, and give 5-minute, 3-minute and 1-minute warnings.
• Start with a gun, cannon, air horn or similar, using the commands for races longer than 400m ("On your marks", then the signal).
• ASA recommends seeding faster runners to the front and keeping the first 500m smooth, without potholes, sharp bends, speed bumps or narrowing.

Finish (Rule 33.6):

• Mark the finish line 50mm wide.
• Build a funnel starting immediately after the line, with a tunnel area starting at least 35m after the finish line. Any finish arch should be placed after the line.

ASA Rule 18 requires a medical delegate for every athletics competition in South Africa:

• The medical delegate must be a qualified medical doctor or a registered medical services provider, appointed by the local organising committee. For national competitions, ASA must approve the appointment.
• They must make sure appropriate medical facilities and personnel are available for the whole event.
• Medical cover must meet local authority legislation, and as a minimum consist of an ILS (intermediate life support) paramedic with appropriate equipment. A medical doctor or ALS (advanced life support) paramedic and an ambulance must be on standby and available at short notice.
• Medical personnel on duty may not compete.
• The medical delegate needs a reliable way to communicate with the technical delegate and competition director about whether athletes may continue.

Emergency services should also be notified, with a plan for managing medical emergencies.

Refreshment stations and seconding (ASA Rule 33.8):

• You (with the technical delegate) decide what personal seconding is allowed and must publish it in the race rules and information.
• If you restrict personal seconding, you must provide refreshment stations at least every 3km. Any other spacing needs the provincial body's permission and must be clearly stated in the event information.
• Unless your rules say otherwise, seconds may only help runners inside the refreshment area you mark out, or within 100m either side of the first or last table if it isn't marked. No seconding from vehicles.

Waste (Rule 28):

• You must have a waste management plan that includes bins, boxes or troughs at the start, the finish and every refreshment station.
• ASA's guidance is to place receptacles between the tables and then at regular intervals to at least 200m past the last table.
• Provinces may fine organisers who don't comply.

• Law: every competition under ASA must comply with the Safety at Sports and Recreational Events Act (2 of 2010) and the Occupational Health and Safety Act (85 of 1993) and their regulations (ASA Rule 1.4).
• Safety officer and permissions: appoint a qualified safety officer and get permission from all relevant local authorities (Rule 13.1.12). Any race on local authority roads needs their approval (Rule 33.10.2).
• Risk management: you must carry out a formal risk management appraisal of every aspect of the event to protect runners, spectators, officials and other road users.
• Start clearance: the race may not start until clearance is received from the organiser or race director, safety officer, traffic officials, venue operations centre, joint operations centre and any other relevant authority (Rule 33.5.4).
• Emergency information: capture all pre-entries electronically with race numbers cross-referenced to entrant details and easily accessible during the race. On-the-day entry forms, cards or bibs should include an ICE (emergency contact) number. Give an emergency number to all workers, marshals, officials and runners.
• Runner safety rules to enforce: no headphones, no animals, prams only with traffic authority permission and from the back, wheelchairs in a separate earlier start, and guides for blind runners must be official entrants.

Marshals are usually volunteers recruited by the organiser. Under ASA Rule 21.3.9 they:

• direct runners along the correct route, keep them within the defined areas and warn motorists;
• must be placed at every point that may be a security or injury risk;
• must be firm without obstructing or frustrating runners;
• must wear bibs or clothing that makes them clearly identifiable; flags are normally issued to warn motorists. Lead cyclists can act as mobile marshals.

ASA's guidance for marshals:

• Make sure no corners are cut (tape them off); runners must run where the course was measured.
• Marshals have no authority over traffic and may not stop traffic. Road junctions carrying significant traffic must be controlled by the traffic authorities together with marshals in conspicuous tabards or bibs (Rule 33.3.5).
• Marshals should be at least 18.
• In areas with a security risk, deploy marshals in pairs.
• In poor light, bibs and flags should have reflective strips or lights.
• Give every marshal an emergency contact number (safety officer, medical service or venue operations centre).

Runners must obey marshals and traffic officers on the route.

Under ASA Rules 24 and 26.6:

• Every runner in a race on the national or provincial fixtures list must hold an ASA licence or buy a temporary licence. Temporary licences are issued to you by the provincial athletics body, and you sell them to unlicensed runners. The province invoices you for the licences issued.
• Temporary licences may be sold for races up to the standard marathon (42.2km). In ultra-marathons they may only be sold to foreign athletes.
• Each one is valid for your race only. Put mechanisms in place so a temporary licence can only be used once.
• Every buyer must sign an indemnity. If you don't provide indemnity forms, you are liable for related claims. Temporary licence holders have no ASA medical insurance.
• The temporary licence is worn on the front; if you issue one race number, the licence goes on the back. If you issue two race numbers, unlicensed runners still pay for a temporary licence but don't have to wear it.
• Provide the administration and facilities to enter temporary-licensed runners. If you don't sell or account for them, the province may estimate how many temporary-licensed runners took part and invoice you.
• Don't sell a temporary licence to an ineligible athlete or for ASA championships.

• Technical delegate: for an event to be eligible, the provincial athletics body appoints a technical delegate from its list of eligible national and provincial technical officials. The delegate checks that the event meets minimum standards, including licensing and numbering, and must report violations. Budget for this official (ASA Rules 17 and 26.2). In road and off-road races, if the budget can't support a separate delegate, one of the appointed referees may also act as technical delegate.
• Eligible technical officials: you must use eligible ASA technical officials to regulate the event (Rule 13.1.8). Officials may not compete in events where they're on duty.
• Medical delegate: a qualified doctor or registered medical services provider (Rule 18).
• Safety officer: a qualified safety officer must be appointed (Rule 13.1.12).
• Back-up timekeepers when chip timing is used (Rule 21.3.4.3).

The organiser must have a mandate from a club, province or associate member to organise an event on the ASA national or provincial fixtures list.

• Gun time decides awards (ASA Rule 33.17): from the gun that starts the first wave to the runner crossing the finish. Net (mat-to-mat) times may be given to runners but may not be used for individual or team placings.
• Back-up timekeepers (Rule 21.3.4): when you use chip or transponder timing, appoint at least one qualified timekeeper to record manual back-up times. As a minimum they record two stopped times for the winner; that time is the official time and the chip times must be adjusted to match.
• Disqualifications must appear in the official results with the reason.
• Results not available at prize-giving (Rule 27.2): post them on the event website and circulate them through club channels. Individuals and clubs then have 7 days to appeal in writing to you, after which the results are final.
• Team results (Rule 33.11): add the times of each club's first finishers up to the team size; ties go to the team whose last scorer finished nearer first. Temporary licence holders never count.

Under ASA Rule 2:

• Equal prize money for men and women.
• Team prizes are only for South African citizens and permanent residents. Road race teams are 3 to count in each category, except Senior/Open men and women where 4 count, unless the province approves otherwise.
• Prizes and prize money must be paid directly to the athlete, even if they have an athlete representative. The athlete may authorise a third party in writing.
• At events without drug testing, prize money should be paid immediately after the prize-giving, and the athlete signs the payment schedule approved by the referee.
• At minimum, provide awards for Senior/Open athletes. If the budget allows, add Junior, Masters and adaptive athletes. Junior awards cover all ages up to 19. For masters, offer all 10-year categories (35-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70+) before 5-year ones.
• Junior prize money must follow ASA's financial and safeguarding policies.
• Only eligible athletes may receive prize money.

Fun runs may only offer lucky-draw prizes, never money or money vouchers.

Yes. Staggered starts can reduce pacing and congestion. The timing is set by the technical delegate or, if there isn't one, approved by the chief referee in consultation with the course measurer (ASA Rule 33.9.5).

ASA's suggested gender-based staggers (Rule 33.5 note):

For races of different distances on the same route, ASA suggests starting fun runs (6km or less) 15 minutes, races of 15km or less 20 minutes, and races of 20km or less 30 minutes after the marathon start.

Wave starts and prizes (Rule 33.17.2): all potential prize winners in a category must be seeded in the same wave. Runners in later waves are not eligible for category awards, and you must say so in the event rules.