Over E40k prizes in Mbabane Half Marathon
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M– It will be the first-of-its-kind in the fourth edition of the Mbabane Half Marathon as winners will take home monetary prizes.
This was revealed during the launch of the half marathon which was held at Coronation Park yesterday. The Mbabane Half Marathon is an annual event which started in 2018 with 200 athletes and the numbers have been growing over the years. A half marathon is a 21km long in distance.
Last year, 800 athletes participated. This year, it is projected that the event will draw more than a thousand competing athletes, excluding spectators. It will commence at 5:30am at the Prince of Wales Sports Ground on November 26, which gives participants enough time to prepare as they have nearly a whole month. There will be three categories namely; 5km, 10km and 21km.
The race will be co-hosted with the Mbabane Day. This will provide a diverse range of activities and games including children’s games, netball and volleyball. Municipal Council of Mbabane Mayor Zephaniah Nkambule launched the event. Registration for the race will open next Monday and those interested to partake will have to pay E50 for all categories. They will have to register at council offices. The registration will be closed after two weeks.
The winners in the 21km, both males and females will take home E4 000 while champions in the 10km are entitled to E3 000. Other
Mbabane Mayor Zephaniah Nkambule (3rd L) taking a walk with councillors and some officials from different entities.
categories that will win monetary prizes are the grand master and master category. In the 5km the winners will only get medals. Noteworthy is that in the past three editions, winners were only given medals. In total the prize package for this edition is E49 400.
The mayor thanked all partner organisations towards the hosting of the half marathon.
“On a very interesting note, the Council has partnered with Eswatini Television Authority (ESTVA) and the Eswatini Football Association (EFA) in hosting a FIFA Fan Park for the 2022 FIFA World Cup at Prince of Wales Sports Ground,” Nkambule said.
He also added that the council has completed two projects at the Coronation Park.
“The park now has an outdoor chess game and the play maze. This is an addition to the available recreational facilities in the park. It is my singular honour to unveil the two projects, and declare that they are available to Mbabane residents free of charge,” he said.
Meanwhile, Athletics Eswatini (AE) Vice President Henry Malindzisa said they fully support the race. Malindzisa was representing the AE President Zakhele Dlamini.
“We are all about exercising and this half marathon will create a platform where the nation gets together and exercise,” he remarked.