Keeping everyone on track.
Netstar, a subsidiary of Altron and a company which positions itself as South Africa's leading vehicle tracking and telematics provider, has announced a partnership with the Comrades Marathon. Under the campaign banner, Keeping Everyone on Track, Netstar will deploy its real-time traffic monitoring technology across the full route, giving organisers and marshals the real-time intelligence they need to manage resources and deliver a better experience for everyone during the event.
Race day at the Comrades Marathon is as much a logistical challenge as it is an emotional one. For families and friends trying to catch their runner at multiple points along the route, navigating KZN's roads under high congestion pressure, and for event organisers managing a moving operation across 85.777km, reliable real-time information is the difference between a good day and a chaotic one.
Netstar's answer is to deploy the same combination of technology and human ingenuity it uses every day in vehicle tracking and fleet management: real-time monitoring, live data analytics and trained operatives making decisions on the ground to identify congestion before it compounds, redirect resources in real-time, and keep the route moving for everyone on it.
"Netstar was built on an understanding of South African roads, honed over three decades; this is something that very few organisations can match,” said Warren Mande, Managing Director of Netstar. “The Comrades Marathon gives us the opportunity to put that expertise to work on one of the most demanding road events this country produces, and to make a real difference to every person on that route, whether they're running, watching or simply trying to get home."
On race day, Netstar operatives will continuously monitor the full route from 3am to 7:30pm using Netstar's traffic-monitoring technology. A moving monitoring point will track the flow of the event – from the lead elite athletes to tail runners – with intensified coverage at the high-traffic areas such as interchanges, spectator access points and known bottlenecks. When congestion builds, operatives will notify the Venue Operations Centre in real-time, providing them with location, severity, estimated impact and recommended actions. That intelligence will be shared with traffic marshals on the ground, enabling faster, better-informed decisions about where resources should be deployed.
A Netstar helicopter will provide aerial coverage between 7am and 4:30pm, capturing footage of the route and supporting the operational team's situational awareness from above. On the ground, marshals will be equipped with Netstar's StarTag tracking technology, giving the control room a live, shared map of pointsman locations for the duration of the race.
“The Comrades Marathon is a national moment that belongs to every South African who has ever lined up at the start, cheered from the roadside or stayed up to watch the final cut-off,” said Sue Forge, Race Director, Comrades Marathon Association. “In Netstar, we have found a partner that shares our commitment to making that experience better for every single person on the day, and we are proud to welcome them to the Comrades family in 2026.”
The 2026 Comrades Marathon takes place on 14 June 2026. Netstar's real-time traffic updates and route information will be available to the public on the official Comrades Marathon social media platforms throughout race day.
