Youth Run draws top f ield
LEADING Eastern Province distance runner Melikhaya Frans will have one eye on the SA Half Marathon Championship when he competes at the inaugural 10km Youth Run at Kings Beach on Saturday.
The 28-year-old Ikhamva Athletics Club athlete said he was expecting tough competition on race day but would be up for the challenge.
“My preparations for the race have gone fairly well,” Frans said.
“I am using this event as part of my preparations for the Nelson Mandela Bay SA Half Marathon Championships on July 28.
“I know the competition will be tough, with Gladwin Mzazi making his way to Port Elizabeth from Johannesburg.
“Nkosinathi Madyo, of Cape Town, is also coming and our very own Amos Nyongo, who recently broke the SA 5km parkrun record.
“It’s going to be very competitive. Nyongo is the runner I look up to at the moment, but I am up for it.
“My club is co-hosting the race so the title cannot go somewhere else. I have to win the race on Saturday.”
Race organiser Michael Mbambani said preparations had gone well.
“We are ready for the race in terms of preparations. Everything is in place. We have done all the safety measures as per requirement,” Mbambani said.
“We are just waiting for Saturday to come so that we can deliver a successful Youth Run event, celebrating Youth Day in a different way through sport.
“In terms of main contenders, Gladwin Mzazi, who is one of South African’s top elite athletes, is going to run on Saturday and we also have Lebogang Phalula.
“They are not coming to just take over because we have our own athletes here, Mariano Eesou, Amos Nyongo and Melikhaya Frans, who will be highly competitive on the day.
“On the women’s side we have Ntombesintu Mfunzi and Luthando Nxanisa, who is improving very well.
“Even those little boys and girls who will participate in the 5km might end up seeing road-running as a career.”
Mbambani said entries for the race were still open.
“On Friday [tomorrow] we will be taking entries here at Kings Beach from 4-7pm and also on Saturday morning from 5am.”
The event, which is hosted by Ikhamva Athletics Club and Nedbank Running Club, will start and finish at Kings Beach, with the 10km race starting at 7am and the 5km event 10 minutes later.
The race is sponsored by the Eastern Cape Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture and the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality.