This weekend’s Mpumalanga Marathon has not only attracted some of the best marathon runners on the African continent whop will be eyeing out the R1 million first prize paid to the first male and female athlete across the line but has also attracted a number of athletes from not only outside of the Southern Africa borders, but internationally too.
South Africa’s Onalenna Khonkobe will lead the South African charge. A hugely talented youngster who this year took victory at the Two Oceans Marathon, Khonkhobe clocked 2:11 for the marathon during the Nedbank Runified Breaking Barriers 50km and has his eyes set on the R1 million prize.
Besides some of South Africa’s top marathon runners who will be out in action on Sunday, the R1 million-rand first prize has also attracted athletes from Namibia, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Kenya and Ethiopia. Outside of the African continent, race organizers have also confirmed that they have received entries from athletes from Canada and Portugal, making the 2024 Mpumalanga Marathon a truly international affair.
“Besides the amazing prize money that has been put in place for the elites, we saw that this event has a lot of potential and that is one of the reasons why we have a strong Nedbank running club team that will be out in action on Sunday,” said Nick Bester, National team manager of the Nedbank running club. “We have the fastest athletes on paper in the form of Asefa Negewo in the men’s race and Tadu Nare in the women’s race but with such a big prize on offer, you never know what can happen and you can always be in for a surprise.”
Negewo is a former double champion of the Cape Town Marathon and has podiumed internationally in many marathons. His personal best time of 02:04:06 ranks him as one of the fastest ever and with previous winning experience on the South African roads, Negewo who also uses the last name of Mengstu will be someone to look out for. Nare on the other hand is no stranger to South Africa, having dominated the Spar Grand Prix series for the last 5 years. Her personal best marathon time of 2:17:36 ranks her as one of the fastest women ever over the distance and she will be hard to beat.
“The fact that we are getting runners such as Negewo and Nare skipping some of the big world marathon majors that they normally take part in and to run the Mpumalanga Marathon just shows you that this race is attracting superstars and I believe that if it can keep the momentum, we will have many more internationals coming to run the Mpumalanga Marathon whether they are fast or just social runners,” said Bester.
The Marathon will pay tribute to the world-renowned artist Dr Esther Mahlangu, with each medal featuring a ribbon that is a unique piece of artwork. This medal will be more than just a medal to each athlete who finishes and will symbolize both achievement and cultural pride.