Enthusiastic top runners and social participants are putting the final touches to their preparations for the Soweto Marathon which takes place on Sunday.
The excitement is high and anticipation is building up ahead of the race, the first after the Covid-19 pandemic affected indoor and outdoor sporting activities in the past two years.
The last race was held in 2019 and the organisers are pulling all the stops to give the runners a fantastic day of running and memories. But there have been concerns about the low number of runners who have registered so far.
The organisers have also been running against the clock hoping to get the title sponsor for the race – something that would have eased the strain on them.
In the last men’s race, Ethiopia’s Debeko Dakamo Dasa won the marathon in 2:18:35 followed by Kenyan David Maru who finished in 2:18:48, while Refera Merga Madesa took the third spot.
In the female category, Irvette van Zyl continued to dominate when she won the third consecutive 42.2km and Ethiopia’s Selam Abere Alebachew came in at second position. This year, stiff competition is expected from South Africans, Ethiopians and Kenyan.
The race comprises of 42.2km, the half-marathon and the 10km – so the event is inclusive of everyone and casual walkers or runners are also catered for.
The winner of the 42.2km will pocket a whopping R250 000 while the first runner to finish the 21.1km will walk away with R10 000. The 10km champion will win a cool R5 000.
Compared with past races, increased entry prices have resulted in complaints and low registration. The price for the 42.2km is R400, for the 21.1km (R300) and 10km (R200).
The organisers say 20 000 entries have been sold, but registration remains open after it was extended in early September due to low interest.
Dubbed the “People’s Race”, the Soweto Marathon is not just a race in the South African spectrum – it is a historic event and marathon that takes you in the heart of the biggest township in the country.
Participants get to run past the houses of two Nobel Peace Laureates Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu on the famous Vilakazi Street in Orlando.
Other historic sights include running through Kliptown where the ANC penned the Freedom Charter. The Morris Isaacson Secondary, where the 1976 student uprisings began, is also alongside the route before you hit the Hector Peterson Memorial Museum – all in one race.
The Orlando Stadium, the mecca of South African soccer during the apartheid era, is located towards the last 10km of the full marathon.
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