Polly Shortts is a
hill
A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct Summit (topography), summit.
Terminology
The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally con ...
on the outskirts of
Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...
,
KwaZulu Natal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locat ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
. Polly Shortts is named after a farmer who lived nearby, and whose help was often sought when after heavy rain, the road up the hill became muddy and impassable.
Polly Shortts is now famous because it is located on the route of the famous 90 km
ultramarathon
An ultramarathon, also called ultra distance or ultra running, is any footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of . Various distances are raced competitively, from the shortest common ultramarathon of to over . 50k and 100k are bot ...
, the
Comrades Marathon
The Comrades Marathon is an ultramarathon of approximately which is run annually in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa between the cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg. It is the world's largest and oldest ultramarathon race. The direc ...
. Pollys, as it is known among participants, is about 2 kilometers long, is particularly steep and comes about 7 – 8 km from the end of the race in odd-numbered years (when it goes from
Durban
Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
to Pietermaritzburg). Few runners outside the top ten manage the ascent without stopping to walk. In even-numbered years (Pietermaritzburg to Durban), Pollys is near the start of the race, and the runners must descend it.
Landforms of KwaZulu-Natal
Hills of South Africa
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