This weekend brings a close to the 2021 World Marathon majors with the running of the New York Marathon whilst over in Spain, the annual Barcelona Marathon takes place and the Nedbank running club will be represented by two very exciting athletes.
In Barcelona, Nedbank running club Ethiopia’s Tadu Nare will be making her marathon debut. The 20-year-old who trains in Addis Ababa has had a great build-up so far, claiming 6 wins out of 6 as well as the overall Grand Prix title in the Spar Ladies race.
“I am looking forward to my race this weekend, but I am also a little bit nervous because the marathon is far,” said Nare. When asked if there was any goal time she would like to aim for, Nare said it would depend on the conditions and the pacemakers.
“I will be happy if I can run 2:24 for my first marathon.”
Training in Addis Ababa at an altitude of over 2700m above sea level, her coach Belay Hagos believes all the work has been done and it’s now just a wait to race day. “Tadu’s training went very well for the race and there isn’t much more we could have done,” said Hagos. “I was a little concerned about her endurance as she ran all the Spar races, but we were fitting in the long runs in the middle of the week, and it’s worked well.”
Over in New York, Nedbank running club Namibia’s Helalia Johannes will be taking her first bite at the big apple. Now a veteran, Johannes goes into the race as the 2nd fastest athlete in the field, thanks to her 2:19 clocking in 2020 at the Valencia Marathon, a time that is also a veterans World record. After finishing 11th in the Olympic Games Marathon, Johannes will be looking for a podium finish where she will face off against Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir from Kenya.
“I didn’t have the best preparations for both Olympics and the beginning of the program for New York due to some injustices but in the last few weeks the body has started to feel better,” says Johannes. The veteran athlete who earned a bronze medal at the 2019 Doha World Championships in the marathon is ranked as one of the World’s best female marathon runners.
National Nedbank Running Club Manager-Nick Bester” I am delighted that our Nedbank Running Club and African Club athletes are playing an important role in the big International City Marathons across the globe. We are really a club for everyone”
The Nedbank running club wishes Tadu and Helalia great races this weekend.