It took a shade over 2 hours and 37 minutes on Saturday morning on a stretch of road in Mpumalanga for Nedbank running club’s Tadu Nare to earn herself a first prize of R1 million as she was crowned winner of the inaugural Mpumalanga Marathon which put up the biggest ever prize money awarded to the winning male and female athlete across the line.
“I am really grateful to have won this race today and I want to thank the organizers for the generous prize money as well as my club Nedbank and all of our sponsors who enable me to perform at my best,” said Nare afterwards. Running together with Kenya’s Shelmith Muriuki in the beginning stages of the race, Nare made a break for it shortly before halfway and was unchallenged to the finish, crossing the line over 7 minutes ahead of the Kenyan who held on for 2nd.
“My tactic was to just run a pace that was comfortable so when I broke away just before halfway, I did not increase my pace,” said Nare. “I was just maintaining, and I felt comfortable throughout the race.” With a 2:17 marathon personal best, Nare was never under any pressure in what was to be one of her biggest ever pay days in what was essentially a long training run.
Jane Mudau also achieved a podium finish for the Nedbank running club where she took victory in the 60+ category and finished an amazing 11th overall in the ladies’ field. Gladys Jemeli Koech and Christine Stoppel-Grove finished 1st and 2nd in the 40+ category to paint the podium in Nedbank green.
In the men’s race, Nedbank running club’s Lucky Mohale made a break for it after 10km to try and chase down Lesotho’s Jobo Khatoane who made an early break just after the 10km mark. Mohale ran essentially alone and although he managed to close a minute over Khatoane over the final 5km, the Lesotho athlete had built up a 3-minute lead at one stage and there was no road left to cover. Mohale finished a well-deserved 2nf to bag R150 000 with Nedbank running club teammate Samuel Kalalei finishing a close 3rd just behind.
It was a sea of green in the men’s top positions with Samuel Kalalei, Matheus Jesaya and Asefa Negweo finishing in 3rd, 5th and 6th positions respectively. Negewo was the fastest man in the field with a 2:04 marathon, but the hilly conditions of the course did not suit the fast Ethiopian who performs better on flatter courses. “This is one of the toughest marathon courses I have ever witnessed,” said Nedbank running club national team manager Nick Bester. “The first half there was some serious climbs and although there was a nice downhill to the finish, the finishing times should not say they ran slow because the times are quite quick for the nature of the course.”
With an even bigger and better race planned for 2025, the Mpumalanga Marathon is set to catch the eyes of some of the best marathoners in the world all eyeing for that R1 million first prize.