E4k for ‘Wafa Wafa’ Half Marathon champion

MBABANE – A winner during the UEDF Wafa Wafa Half Marathon race will have E4 000 to grab on the finish line.

This comes after the organisers of the race, Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) and Athletics Eswatini revealed the prize breakdown of the total sponsorship of E100 000. The race was last staged in 2020 and the sponsorship was around E80 000.

Reward

Winners in both the males and females 21k race will each receive E4 000 as a reward for their fast paces on a day for the race yet to be confirmed. The cash prizes stretch up to the 10th place. Runners-up will receive E2 500, while the bronze medallist will have a share of E1 500.

Meanwhile, the prize breakdown reveals that the 10km champions get E2 500, with E1 500 to be won by runners-up. The 10th position will get E250 as compared to the E400 in the 21km race. The Wafa Wafa race also offers some cash incentives for the 5km winners.

champions

Champions in both categories will walk away with E1 500, and prizes stretch up to the fifth place.

There are also cash incentives reserved for the 21km juniors as well as the veterans, masters and grandmasters.

Worth noting is that the sponsors are headlined by giant insurer, the Eswatini Royal Insurance Corporation (ESRIC) which pumped in E30 000 for water points. Hlalawati, which is a cooperative under the UEDF wing, pumped in E28 000 for medals, with an extra E5 000 from Eswatini AutoFin (Kia) that is widely known as Kia Eswatini.

The latter will further provide a vehicle to lead the athletes during the race. Even though the full breakdown was not disclosed, the total sponsorship was calculated at E100 000.

Runners will endure a familiar course when the Wafa Wafa Half Marathon returns in about tentatively next month. It will start at St Georges Army Barracks in Matsapha and reports suggest that an appropriate date is being considered after Athletics Eswatini (AE) advised staging two races during the month of April.