Get set for Soweto Marathon

HAVE fun, see the sights, be healthy – this is what the Soweto Marathon offers, from the 42,2km run for serious athletes to the 5km fun run for social sportspeople.Read More
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Have fun, see the sights, be healthy – this is what the Soweto Marathon offers, from the 42,2km run for serious athletes to the 5km fun run for social sportspeople.
ALL is set for the Soweto Marathon, South Africa’s richest standard marathon, which takes place through the streets of Soweto on Sunday, 6 November.

15 000 particiapnts are expected to vie for first place15 000 particiapnts are expected to vie for first placeAnd the organisers, Athletics South Africa, is urging all participating athletes to wear black arm bands in honour of the five runners who lost their lives while training for the race recently. Given Mills, Reneilwe Lesenyeho, Nomvula Dumako, Moroese Mokoatsi and Isaac Tlale were training for the marathon when they were run over by a car. A sixth runner hit by the car, Khanyiswa Sthengile, is recovering in hospital.

Also known as the People’s Race, the Soweto Marathon is sanctioned by the City of Johannesburg and is sponsored by Energade, Netcare 911 and the MTN Expo Centre. Metro police will be on hand on the day to direct the traffic where there are road closures.

The City uses the race to highlight significant developments in Soweto and to promote healthy lifestyles, leisure activities and athletics. The marathon has a total prize purse of R1-million and comprises five categories:

A 42,2km race, which starts at 6am and is reserved for athletes of 20 years and older;
A 10km wheelchair race;
A 10km race for able-bodied athletes;
A 10km walk for professional walkers, and
A 5km fun run.
The three 10km races begin at 5.50am, 6.00am and 6.40am, respectively; the 5km fun run starts at 8.30am.

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Fun run
The cost for the 5km fun run is R10 and must be paid on the day of the race; pre-entry is not necessary. In all, more than 15 000 athletes are expected to take part.

Mamorolla Tjoka won last year's raceMamorolla Tjoka won last year's raceThe male and female winners of the 42,2km race will each pocket R100 000; second and third placed will take home R50 000 and R25 000, respectively. Winners of the 10km run will win R5 000 each; second place will get R3 000 and third will pocket R2 000. All athletes finishing the race within time will receive a medal.

More than 10 000 people participated in the race in 2010. The day’s biggest winners were Mamoroallo Tjoka, who claimed victory in the women’s elite race, finishing in just under 2:48:36, and Nkoka Lebenya, who won the male category. It was the fifth time that Tjoka clinched the gold medal in the Soweto race.

This year’s route will be similar to that of last year, with minor detours to accommodate new developments in the township. Runners will go on a whirlwind tour of Soweto, along circuitous routes that show off some of the area’s history and new projects.

The 42,2km route starts at the MTN Expo Centre in Nasrec, from where the runners will make their way through Soweto. Just after the 12km mark, the route turns into the famous Vilakazi Street, home to two Nobel Peace Prize winners – Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela. The street is also part of the route taken by students on 16 June 1976.

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Bara hospital
Another famous landmark runners will pass is the biggest hospital in Africa, Chris Hani Baragwanath. Other sites that will be passed are Orlando Stadium, Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication, Hector Peterson Memorial, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s current home, Oppenheimer Memorial, Jabulani Hostels, Soweto Mosque and Morris Isaacson School.

The People's RaceAn athelete runs through the streets of SowetoThe halfway mark is in Jabavu, around the Morris Isaacson school precinct. The race will start and finish at the MTN Expo Centre in Nasrec and will be broadcast live on SABC2.

For athletes simply interested in social running, the 5km fun run is great for runners both young and old. And the 32 finalists in the Miss Soweto beauty pageant will be among those taking part. Then, they will hold a beauty parade on the main stage just before prize giving, and they will help hand out medals.

Anybody interested in running the 5km fun run can sign up on race day.

Included in the fun run is a school’s challenge. Schools are invited to enter athletes, who will challenge other schools. The school with the most learners finishing the race will receive R5 000, while second and third place will walk away with R3 000 and R2 000, respectively. This challenge is primarily focused on, but is not restricted to, primary schools.

It is the City’s plan to grow the race into a formidable sporting event that will lure participants from the rest of Africa and abroad, says Nthatise Modingoane, Joburg’s deputy director of communications.

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