Pietermaritzburg Residents Rally Together to Make the City Shine for Comrades

Photo Credit: KPCA Group via Facebook

United by a shared love for the Comrades Marathon, Pietermaritzburg residents, schools, and local businesses spontaneously came together to clear tons of litter, transforming their streets and restoring a deep sense of community pride just in time for the big race.

Pietermaritzburg, South Africa (15 June 2026) – Thousands of runners took the starting line at Durban City Hall yesterday morning to tackle the gruelling, uphill route inland to finish at the Scottsville Racecourse in Pietermaritzburg.

And while most of the spotlight and cameras were on the athletes pushing their bodies to the ultimate limit, something just as special happened in the background long before the highly anticipated race.

Community members of Pietermaritzburg, in the spirit of patriotism and love for this awesome race, stepped up to clear the route of litter and tons of domestic refuse.

It was a sight that especially brought pride and joy to Lara Edmonds, Executive Director of the Keep PMB Clean Action Group, as her mission to ensure the upkeep of the city came alive through proactive citizens.

“They say faith moves mountains, but in Maritzburg, a call for help and bakkie/trailer loads of community determination moved a MOUNTAIN of Rubbish today,” Lara shared in a Facebook post.

She extended her heartfelt gratitude to members who took the time to restore order along the Comrades Marathon route in preparation for the main event on Saturday.

On Chamberlain Road, Linda Arbuthnot and her husband collected tons of bags and hauled them to the landfill site. Filled with a wonderful sense of purpose, Linda shared that the effort made her feel so much better about the area. She added that neighbours who weren’t able to physically help still pitched in by donating money for those handling the heavy trash loads.

Meanwhile, Neil Bruwer of Fatboy & Co focused his efforts on New England Road and put out a call for backup. St Charles College eagerly responded, sending a small group of boarders to pick up litter from the Casino all the way to the bridge.

The College’s Mr Van Blerk shared that they brought their collected rubbish back to the school for disposal. They also arranged for someone to clean the New England bridge and clear the mess at the corner of Phipson Road. Thanks to these efforts, the New England stretch from Ridge Road to King Edward Avenue was left looking significantly better.

Further down, Pam Esterhuysen and residents along King Edward Avenue had been deeply concerned about the piles of domestic refuse accumulating from local student residences. However, they happily joined the spontaneous community clean-up and were delighted to report:

“There were quite a few people with trucks and trailers around helping. I think everyone realised how much litter was around and stepped in to help – all by word of mouth.”

KPCA GROUP, in communication with the event organisers, further ensured that waste was collected along the main route in Oribi and King Edward, which looked good and ready for Sunday’s race.

And with trash bags filled and appropriately disposed of, Pietermaritzburg was ready to welcome the masses. As Lara puts it: