Thousands take to streets for marathon
One of Africa’s biggest sporting events hopes to raise R1.5m
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 18 2017
ON A balmy Cape Town spring day, thousands of runners took to the streets to participate in the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon. There were elite athletes, first-time runners, fun runners and social joggers. As the colourful crowd meandered through the streets of Cape Town,motorised traffic had a tough time coping with the many road closures. Several cyclists also made use of the quiet streets to practise their sport.
But it was Mengstu Negewo, who had the last laugh of the professional runners when he successfully defended his title and won the IAAF-accredited marathon.
Negewo crossed the finishing line in 2:10.01
“Defending my title was important to me. I am really happy to be able to defend my title as this race put me on the map,” Negewosaid.
“I was hoping for a faster time. I wanted to break my course record (2:08.42) but there was a bit of wind, between 11km and 18km, which slowed us down, and the guys didn’t want to work together. So, if things go well, I would like to come back next year and try and win the race for the third time and break my course record,” he added.
The second person to cross the finishing line was Ketema Negessa who came in at 2:11.06 and taking the third spot was Duncan Maiyo from Kenya who came in at 2:11.26.
The marathon is one of Africa’s biggest sporting events with over 20 000 people participating this year. A few noteworthy people also took part in this year’s event such as Mayor Patricia de Lille and twotime Metro FM music award winner Nomfundo Xalua.
This year, the big focus was on fundraising. The marathon had one goal, which was to raise R1.5 million for charity and raise awareness for health and wellness.
“There is no doubt now that the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon has established itself on the global stage. We have IAAF Gold Label Status and have seen times that we are not used to in South Africa. This can only be good for South African road running as the standard can only improve from here,” Elana van Zyl-Meyer, race ambassador, said.
The event is managed by a joint partnership through Western Province Athletics, ASEM Running and the City of Cape Town. This year Independent Media was named the official partner for the event. –