News and Events

NEDBANK RUNNING CLUB CGA MILES AHEAD IN LADIES SPAR RACES.

The woman's team of the CGA Nedbank Running Club in Soweto has increased their lead in the team competition in the National Ladies Spar series of races in Port Elizabeth.

Nedbank CGA Running Club Soweto is boosting a massive total score of 171 points against they closest rivals, the Boxer Club of KZN with 95 points and Mr. Price Running Club with 65 points.

This was only the second race of the 5 races in the series and we expect our NEDBAN GREEN DREAM Woman's team to whitewash their opponents in the remaining three races.

Nedbank`s brand running ambassador ,Rene Kalmer is also leading the overall individual competition with a total of 50 points-20 points each for her 2 first places and an extra 10 points that she received in Cape Town for a time bonus.

Spar Grand Prix Port Elizabeth, 1 May
Distance	Men	Time	Women	Time
10km			1 René Kalmer	33min 53sec
			2 Irvette Van Blerk	34min 07sec
			6 Mpho Mabuza	35min 07sec
			7 Christine Kalmer	35min 19sec
			8 Poppy Mlambo	36min 01sec
Verulam 27km & 1 km Challenge Verulam, 2 May
Distance	Men	Time	Women	Time
27km			Hleziphi Ncayiyane	1h 58min 42sec
			Fikile Mbuthuma	1h 59min 06sec
Traumeel Wally Hayward 42, 21 & 10km Centurion, 1 May
Distance	Men	Time	Women	Time
42km	1 Sipho Maisela	2h 26min 48sec	1 Lesley Train	3h 07min 44sec
	3 Joseph Mphuthi	2h 28min 37sec
10km	1 Sibusiso Nzima	30min 30sec	1 Sharon Chiynokuya	38min 00sec
	3 Othaniel Phahlane	31min 33sec	2 Hellen Chiunda	38min 21sec
Cradle Of Humankind (CGA) 10Km 27April
Distance	Men	Time	Women	Time
10km	1 Juan v Deventer	30min 48sec	1 Rene Kalmer	37min 30sec
	2 Sityhilo Diko	31min 08sec
	3 Tumelo Motlagale	31min 16sec
Summerbreezz Superspar Men's 10km PE, 27 April
Distance	Men	Time	Women	Time
10 km	1 George Ntshiliza	29min 11sec
Exxaro 10km nite race 5 May 2010
Distance	Men	Time	Women	Time
10km	2 William Chinyanga	32min 19sec	2 Hellen Chiundo	38min 41sec
			3 Sharon Chinokuya	40min 23sec
Colgate 15/32km run Boksburg 9 May 2010.
Distance	Men	Time	Women	Time
15km	1 Juan v Deventer	46min 47sec	1 Poppy Mlambo	56min 15sec
32km	3 Johannes Mthimkulu	1h 51min 58sec
André van Coller Memorial 21km PE, 8 May
Distance	Men	Time	Women	Time
21km	2 George Ntshiliza	1h 05min 59sec	2 Deliwe Nyanga	1h 20min 09sec
Jackie Mekler 25km & 10km Pretoria, 8 May
Distance	Men	Time	Women	Time
25km			3 Sharon Chynokuya	1h 45min 11sec
10km	3 Lucky Miya	30min 35sec	1 Helen Chiundu	37min 44sec
			2 Loveness Madziva	38min 24sec
Mossel Bay Mall 21 & 10km Mossel Bay, 8 May
Distance	Men	Time	Women	Time
21km	1 Lindile Tokota	1h 10min 31sec	1 Karen Van der Merwe	1h 31min 07sec

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OFFICIAL DISTANCE OF THE 2010 COMRADES MARATHON


After completion of the official measurement of the Comrades Marathon race route by an International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) and Association of International Marathons (AIMS) accredited Course Measurer, the official distance of the 2010 Comrades Marathon was confirmed as 89.28km.  This is 110m longer than the 2009 distance of 89.17km.  The change in distance is as a result of a decision by the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) to change the exit route from Pietermaritzburg.  The change was effected to facilitate an easier and faster flow for the 23 000 athletes expected on 30 May 2010.

"One of the key objectives with the route change was to ensure a quick and safe exit for the runners from Pietermaritzburg as it is still pitch dark at 05H30 in the morning when the race gets underway.  In addition to this consideration we also wanted to keep the race distance as close as possible to that of the 2009 race, which was also a Down Run", said Gary Boshoff, General Manager.

The Comrades Marathon is staged under the auspices of KwaZulu-Natal Athletics (KZNA), a Provincial affiliate of Athletics South Africa (ASA).


TOTAL CONFIRMED ENTRIES: 7 MAY 2010


On Friday 7 May at 12H00 19 300 of the 23 500 athletes who entered for the 2010 Comrades Marathon have registered their qualifying details with the CMA.  This is 83% of the entered field!  With approximately 4300 entry details still to be confirmed, the CMA is confident that final confirmed race entries will grow to well over 20 000 over the next few weeks.

The CMA is delighted with the overwhelming response from aspiring and devoted Comrades Marathon athletes.  The confirmed entries of 19 300 is already the second biggest field assembled under the Comrades banner in the 85 year history of the event! This bodes well for the CMA's attempt to be included in the Guinness Book of Records as the Ultra-Marathon (80km and longer) with highest number of finishers.

What makes this achievement even more remarkable is the fact that 26% (approximately 5000) of these are Novices (first time Comrades athletes) - a development that augurs well for the future growth and sustainability of this, the world's biggest Ultra-Marathon.

With 23 days to go to race day the CMA appeals to those remaining athletes who have entered and qualified (on or before 26 April 2010) for this year's race, to submit their qualifying details to the Comrades Marathon office urgently so that their entries can be confirmed on the 2010 race database.

"This achievement is a huge vote of confidence in Athletics and Road Running in particular.  It is fantastic to see the commitment from both local and international athletes to South African sport in general, but more importantly, to the Ultimate Human Race, South Africa's premier road race", said Johan Van Staden, Race Director.

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The troubled road to Comrades of Darl Sutherland ,one of Nedbank Running Club`s international athletes.

Since leaving Canada for Africa on Jan 15 we have travelled through Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana before flying to Cape Town SA on April 9th.  During this time we have encountered many obstacles in our training and our lives.  Leaving Canada at temperatures that exceed -30 we came into Senegal completely unprepared for the heat and lack of suitable running roads, we then entered the heat waves in Mali and Burkina Faso of +45 daily, heat so dry that it felt like needles in your throat which at times made us very ill, even in Ghana the temperatures were very high and the humidity at 80% meaning that if you bent over to tie your shoes you would break a sweat..  

The road to Comrades has been very tough before this trip ever began having been attacked by a pitbull in 2003 severely damaging my achilles tendon and making the next 4 yrs of running very limited although I still managed to run smaller distances but never fully reaching any type of suitable training schedules until 2006 where I returned to full training winning my first major marathon in Mississauga in 2:31:23 and Prince Edward County marathon in 2:32:04 in 07.  Running was on the up and up and I was planning on a 2:25 marathon until August of 08 where I was vacationing with my spouse Krystal LeBreton meeting the parents and the first night at there place making a wrong turn and falling down the stairs fracturing my knee in two places.  For the next couple of months I struggled in a full leg splint and even once the splint was off had very little movement and I had lost nearly all of my quad muscles on that leg making running more of a limp and any type of speed or training impossible.  Family members, doctors everyone told me that perhaps this was my time to retire.  I had won over 150 races been named Ontario Cross Country Champion in 2005 and two time silver medalist along with two time Canadian Bronze Medalist for the College circuits and I had won ever distance imaginable so there was nothing left to prove except to myself and this feeling that my time wasn't yet done.

In Febuary of 2009 I ran a 1/2 marathon in my worst time of 1:31 limping across the line.  I then realized that I needed a support for my knee while running and got fitted for a knee brace and then ran a marathon in May finishing 5th in 2:45 still a far cry from where I was but things were looking up.  Unfortunately that season wasn't for me as everything that could have gone wrong did, in one race I fell while running around a corner taking off my shoe, in another I was directed off course, my fall marathon saw me so sick that after 12km it felt like I had run 40km and although I finished the doctors afterwards told me that in my condition it could have become life threatening.  Nothing was going my way and and I felt as though perhaps my time was up until coming to Africa.  We have trained through the harshest conditions and gone through everything humanly possible.  Upon entering Cape Town we were able to run with a local track club called the ATC where we were invited to run in a race around a winery.  This race hosted some of the biggest crueliest hills I have ever seen, the day prior we did a 15km run and hiked up and down table mountain so our legs were a little heavy.  Although it saw me coming out on top winning my first and only race of the year, it turned out that the hills became my best friend and allowed me to stay with the current leader until he tired.

I'm now more than ever determined to not only run comrades but to attempt to break 6hrs and prove that anything is possible.  This has been a journey of a life time, I don't know if ill ever be able to return and run Comrades again but I plan on taking as much in as we can.  

One of our greatest running moments came in Ghana while completing a 4hr run we had run out of water with about 5k remaining and were invited but a local coconut farmer along the road to join them in the bushes for some coconuts which they cut down from the tree and opened the tops for us.  Nothing tastes as good as this..  When we asked if we could pay them, their only comments were that they had invited us to join them as friends and they couldn't accept payments.  To me this is very typical of Africa, you will never meet a country that is so willing to help each other when they can and appreciate the things that really matter such as friends and family..

 
Here are some of my highlights
Marathon 2:31:22
1/2 marathon 1:11:47
10k 31:47
5k 15:08

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Nedbank Running Club athletes chase massive incentives at 2010 Comrades.

Nedbank, through the Nedbank Running Club, and Nike South Africa have joined forces to incentivised athletes running in the 2010 Comrades Marathon. Combined incentives from Nedbank, Nike and the Comrades Marathon Association make it possible for the winner of this year's historic race to earn in excess of R1 million in prize money.

Nike's contribution to the incentive pool adds up to an impressive R250 000-00 for all Nedbank Running Club athletes wearing Nike shoes who finish in the top ten. An allocation of R50 000 has been set aside should a NRC athlete running in Nike shoes finish first.

Nedbank Running Club athletes have a further incentive in the form of a possible R125 000 from the Nedbank Running Club and a matched amount of R125 000 from Nedbank if the athlete breaks the current Comrades Marathon record. The R250 000 incentive is open to runners in the men's and women's category.

"We are very blessed that Nike & Nedbank have recognised the time and effort invested by the athletes this past year and trust it will motivate our athletes to reach for the sky and perform above expectations."

Prize monies from the Comrades Marathon Association is pitched at R250 000.00, R120 000.00 and R90 000.00 for the top three positions in this year's event. The CMA and its partners also contribute a R250 000.00 record incentive and R125 000.00 prize to the top South African, so the first South African could be running away as a millionaire!

Click here for Comrades 2010 Nike Incentives

Click here for Comrades 2010 Nedbank Incentives

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Great news for all Nedbank Running Club Comrades runners.

We will once again have a hot meal and refreshments ready for you at the finish of the 2010 Comrades Marathon at the Kings Mead stadium in Durban.

Look out for the Nedbank hospitality tent that will be situated on the western side of the stadium just next to the finish area.

There will be ample chairs to sit on and rest your tired legs as well as a TV screen to watch the rest of the Comrades marathon after you finished.
Please see location of the NEDBANK tent above.

Click Here for Map of tent site


The Sports Trust

You are cordially invited to run in support of The Sports Trust,
one of the 5 Official Charities at this year's
85th Comrades Marathon.

Nedbank is one of the founding Trustees of The Sports Trust and a major sponsor of the Comrades Marathon.

And we're asking you to show your support by wearing a Sports Trust 
blue & white beaded armband during the race,
to help create awareness
as well as showing your generous support.

Please visit us at the Amabeadibeadi Charity Stand at the Durban Exhibition Centre to collect your FREE `runners goodie bag' which will include a backpack, kick a sac and your beaded bangle to wear for the race. (Only confirmed runners accepted)

This offer is limited to the 1st 150 Nedbank Running Club runners that take up this Sports Trust Comrades challenge.

	FIRST NAME	LAST NAME	NAME OF RUNNING CLUB	RACE NUMBER
Sample	Nick	Bester	Nedbank RC - Tshwane	13617
1

To sign-up, send your details as below
to marketing@sportstrust.co.za 

You can also log onto `back a buddy' and help raise funds or challenge your friends and family to support the cause.
Show your care for the Sports Trust and our Mascot `Coach' by clicking on

http://www.backabuddy.co.za/champion/project/coach2010

Watch out for our Mascot, "COACH" during the race,
and please Cheer him on !

Lastly, runners and viewers can enter the Amabeadibeadi Car Competition by sms ing the word `TOYOTA' to 38275 and stand a chance to win a new Toyota Corolla. SMS cost R10 each with funds shared between the 5 official charities.

We look forward to meeting you and thank you for your ongoing support and helping us to
MAKE THINGS HAPPEN !

The Sports Trust helps to build active communities through sport and recreation.

For more information contact : Carol Crawford via email: marketing@sportstrust.co.za or Tel: 011 802 1818

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