Cash lure for half-marathon
TOP-class running will be the order of the day tomorrow at the Jumbo South African HalfMarathon Championships, which starts and finishes at Pollock Beach in Summerstrand, Nelson Mandela Bay.
Some of the country’s leading runners in the men’s and women’s divisions will be among the expected 1 500 participants. “I am expecting a toughly contested and fun race,” said head of sponsorship, Mike Mbambani.
Some of the big names to look out for in the men’s race will be Elroy Gallant, Lucky Mohale, Sibusiso Nzima and Stephen Mokoka.
Local marathon star Lusapho April will also be in the running for top honours.
“We have a very competitive field ... which will make for an exciting race,” said Mbambani. “Most of the top guys are in good form at the moment, and it could all come down to how well they do on the day.”
On the women’s side the Phalula twins, Lebogang and Diana Lebo, will be seen as two of the race favourites, and the talented duo will be aiming for top honours.
Defending women’s champion Mapaseka Masetla will be back, and she will be looking to hold on to her title.
Sponsorship of R1.3-million has been raised for the race, making the prizes on offer attractive. This should lead to some extremely exciting running.
The winning male and female athlete will receive R35 000 each, which amounts to one of the largest prizes on offer in South Africa.
With the course set to be a fast one, adding to the excitement will be the R100 000 bonus prize for the man and the woman who manages to break the South African men’s and women’s half-marathon records.
Both these records were set in East London and have stood for decades, and it would take extremely impressive performances to break them. However, the lure of the bonus prize could lead to some special runs on the day.
“With the route we have here, the record can be broken if we see an exceptional performance,” said Mbambani.
The race on the two-lap course gets under way at 7am. A 5km fun run, starting at 6:45am, precedes the main race.