Greening South Africa’s streets

Nedbank has recommitted to South African running for a further four years, extending existing sponsorship agreements with The Comrades Marathon Association (CMA), Tom Cottrell’s Guidebook Publications and the Nedbank Running Club (NRC).
The announcement reaffirms Nedbank’s position as one of the major sponsors of running in South Africa.

“With a 12 year history as a sponsor of the Comrades Marathon, eight years with Tom Cottrell and five years of the Nedbank Running Club the Nedbank brand has become synonymous with running over the years and this wouldn’t have been possible without our valued partners; The Comrades Marathon Association, Tom Cottrell’s Guidebook Publications and the Nedbank Running Club,” says Andy Scott, head of Nedbank Group Sponsorships.

Each partner plays a unique and valuable role in growing the sport of running enabling walkers, joggers and runners of all abilities to take to the road and achieve their individual goals.

The NRCs were founded five years ago with the aim of attracting Nedbank employees, Nedbank clients and the general public to the sport.  The 13 national clubs are open to runners and walkers of all abilities and provide an easily accessible platform for likeminded people to get together and pursue a healthy lifestyle.

“The NRC is the only club in the country that develops athletes at all levels, across all disciplines and has a national footprint. Since its establishment in 2008 the NRC has grown to over 3300 members and our elite athletes include numerous Comrades Marathon gold medal winners, numerous South African national representatives and three members of the recent South African Olympic Games Marathon team,” says Nick Bester, NRC National Manager.

“Development remains a priority for the club as we aim to grow the sport by encouraging families and individuals to join us and take to the road in a safe, supportive environment,” adds Bester.

Peter Proctor, Chairman of the Comrades Marathon Association reinforced the value of the partnership and what it means for runners in the country.

“We at the Comrades Marathon Association deeply appreciate the enduring support of Nedbank, who over the years, has been a major pillar of support to ‘The Ultimate Human Race’ and running in general. We greatly value the generous support of this premier financial institution and look forward to many more years of mutually beneficial collaboration,” says Proctor.

Tom Cottrell, the publisher of the Tom Cottrell’s Guidebook Publications has served the athletics community for over two decades and with Nedbank as title sponsor, established a race dates, training and information system without peer.

“The Nedbank Runners’ Guide has become a valuable resource for athletes and I am pleased to announce that the 2013 Nedbank Runners’ Guide will also be available in iPad format. The main focus of Guide Book Publication remains the same: to provide the athletics community with comprehensive and accurate information at as little or no cost to the athlete,” says Tom Cottrell.

In a country with increasing obesity levels, the need for regular exercise cannot be overstated. Nedbank and its valued partners look forward to making things happen in a sport that is available to people of all abilities and has little to no barrier to entry.

Nedbank Running Club Johannesburg hosted a very successful Nedbank Running Club promotion day at the Nedbank Head Office in Sandton. It started at 09:00 and finished at 15:00. There was great interest in the Nedbank Running club from the Nedbank work force as several employees joined the club on the day and much more people interested in joining the club in the New Year.

Also present to create a festive and sporty atmosphere was our partners- 32Gi, Modern Athlete, the Sweat Shop, Winter solutions and Venom Sportswear.

Coolboy Ngamole, Derrick (32Gi) & Xolisa Tyali

SABS Jacaranda City Challenge 

For more details click here 

Date: 20 October 2012

Start:
06:00 - 42.2km
06:00 - 21.1km
06:30 - 10km
06:45 - 5km 

Cut-off Time 
5 hours 30 min - 42.2km
3 hours - 21.1km
2 hours - 10km
2 hours - 5km 

Entry Forms: Click to view full entry form

Venue: SABS, 1 Dr Lategan Road, Groenkloof, Pretoria

Pamphlet: Click to view full pamphlet

Route Map: Click to view route map

Nedbank Schweizer-Reneke Half Marathon & 10 km  

For race flyer click here

Date: 20 October 2012
Time: 06h30
Organisers: Nedbank Development Club Central North West (Klerksdorp)
Distance: 21.1; 10; 5; 
Province: Central North West
Start: DRC Klipkerk
18 Cronje Street
Schweizer-Reneke

Enquiries:
Contact 1: Susna du Plessis
(C) 082-9205063
(Email) susna@locklore.co.za
Contact 2: Lebogang Seleko
(C) 073-3917340

Entry Details:
Contact Michiel van Straten on 083-3798446 for pre-entry details. Entries are accepted at the start from 05h30.

Nedbank Running Club ladies dominate Spar Grand Prix series.

Nedbank Green Dream Team athlete Irvette van Blerk/Van Zyl led the Spar ladies race in Johannesburg yesterday from start to finish. She managed to break away early in the race, and at the 6km mark she was out of sight to the chasing athletes behind her. Irvette won the race in a fast 34:34 in perfect running conditions.

Irvette was very pleased with her comeback win after she has to pull out of the Olympic marathon in London earlier this year due to an injury.

Nedbank team mate,Rutendo Nyahora from Nedbank Running Club in Gauteng North finished  2nd, exactly a minute behind Irvette in 35:34.There  were 5 Nedbank athletes in the top ten with  Christine Kalmer  5th in 36:15,Nolene Conrand 6th in 36:33 and Cornelia Joubert  9th in a time of 37.31.

Nedbank Running Club and Olympian athlete ,Rene Kalmer who could not compete in the last leg of the Spar series due to an achillis injury did enough in the previous races to secure the overall series title and a car as first prize.

The top 3 positions in the series were filled by the Nedbank Green Dream Team ladies with Irvette Van Blerk/Van Zyl second and Christine Kalmer in third.

Click on the link below for news article
http://gsport.co.za/van-blerk-wins-spar-10km-challenge 

Irvette Van Blerk

Picture by Reg Caldecott

    Rene Kalmer    

Picture by Reg Caldecott

SPAR GRAND PRIX 2012
OPEN CATEGORY
POS, ATHLETE, CLUB, TOT PTS
1 Rene Kalmer Ned CGA,110
2 Irvette van Blerk Ned CGA, 74
3 Christine Kalmer Ned CGA, 71
4 Zintle Xiniwe Mr. Price WP, 68
5 Nolene Conrad UJ/Ned CGA, 60
6 Poppy Mlambo Bidvest CGA, 58
7 Portia Ngwenya Transnet, 56
8 Nandipha Dywili Bidvest CGA, 42
9 Diane Lebo Phalula Mr. Price CGA, 41
10 Mpho Mabuza Gallopers, 40

Not sure of the results for these (Nedbank RC) ladies in the picture below.

RUNNERS OF NEDBANK ON TOP AT NIKE'S WE RUN JOZI 10KM.

Nike's WE RUN Jozi 10km race celebrates thousands of South African's who joined the global running community. Credit to Sharon Piehl [Sharon.Piehl@fleishman.co.za]

A capacity field lined up for the Johannesburg leg of Nike's 2012 WE RUN series on Sunday, October 7th.  Everyday athletes, donning the official black / volt trim race-day tee, crammed Katherine Street in Sandton waiting for the Mayor of Johannesburg, Councilor Parks Tau to push the start button, so they could claim their own piece of greatness.

20,000 South African runners have claimed their piece of Nike's WE RUN Jozi, and imprinted their footprint on the global Nike WE RUN race series, hitting 34 cities, 17 countries, and connecting 400,000 runners.

The energy was electric as the crowd stared down Katherine Street in the affluent suburb of Sandton on the iconic route that would take them straight into the heart of Alexandra, one of South Africa's poorest townships.

Sharing the streets that connected these two communities were some of South Africa's favourite celebrities and Nike athletes who kept the runners entertained along the route. In what was a first in digitally ground breaking innovation, Nike only officially revealed the entire race route once all 20,000 registered runners had signed up, as each runner helped reveal a segment of this route through their registration?

Amongst the capacity crowd of runners, the professionals steamed ahead to claim the glory by crossing the finish line first. Xolisa Tyali of the Nedbank Running Club in Soweto crossed the finish line first in the men's category with a time of 29:57"7, while Rutendo Nyahora of the Nedbank Running Club in Tshwane took the women's category in 35:24.00.All top 3 positions in the men’s race was from the Nedbank Running club with David Manja second and Joel Mmone third(Nedbank Running Club Klerksdorp.Irvette Van Blerk from the Nedbank Running Club in Soweto was runner up in the woman’s race with a time of 36 minutes and 01 seconds.

All 20 000 runners who crossed the finish line, received a medal, and recognition for being the first runners to finish on a highway in South Africa.  The M1 Highway was the perfect setting for this finish as runners streamed in under two hours.

The field comprised of almost 80 percent of novice runners who remarked that this race is so unique and offered an experience which has socially connected, motivated and inspired a new era of running.

Anwar Jappie echoes these sentiments: "Sport is the only platform which does not distinguish between culture and borders, and running being the most basic form of athletic expression has the power to bring communities together.  The Nike WE RUN series aims to inspire and motivate the everyday athlete, making it possible to run in your own backyard."

Nike celebrated the runner’s achievements by hosting a cool down session at Innesfree Park, while entertained by a star-studded line up of entertainment including DJ Mo Flava, hip-hop artist J.R; Siyabonga 'Scoop' Ngwekazi; comedian Mpho Popps; as well as one of the most exciting House groups to come out of South Africa - Mi CASA.

Irvette van Blerk, Nick Bester, Michelle Baransky, Patrick Baransky, Bruce Fordyce, Kevin Mcullum

Rutendo Nyahora & Irvette van Blerk

David Manja, Xolisa Tyali, Joel Mmone

Nedbank RC Johannesburg runner, David Ashworth tops at Brussels Marathon 7 October.

David Ashworth, a Nedbank Running Club Johannesburg member was 4th in 2:31 in the Brussels marathon on 7 October!
We are expecting very exciting running from David in the near future.

David Ashworth after the race 

Nedbank Green Dream Team athlete, Rene Kalmer 16th in World half marathon championships.

Stephen Mokoka and René Kalmer were the best South Africans in the World Half-marathon Championships held in Kavarna, Bulgaria, this weekend. The two SA champions finished eighth in 62:06 and sixteenth in 73:16. The SA teams placed sixth (women) and seventh (men). The world titles went in emphatic fashion to Zersenay Tadese (ERI) in 60:19 and by a mere one second to Meseret Hailu (ETH) in 68:55.

The inform Xolisa Tyali (Nedbank RC Soweto) added another victory to his tally with his first place at the Gun Run in Cape Town.
He was backed by Nedbank Running Club team mates Sityhilo Diko and Mathandazo Qhina in Cape Town.

21km – Men
Open
1st Xolisa Tyali 1:04:06   
4th Sityhilo Diko 1:07:44
5th Mathandazo Qhina 1:07:46

Sityhilo Diko & Mthandazo Qhina

Nedbank Running Club Cape Town athlete ready to start the Gun Run

Nedbank Running Club KZN News
Jeremiah Ngwenya 10km Memorial Run

On Sunday 13 October we had the Jeremiah Ngwenya 10km Memorial Run held at Edgewood College campus, in honor of one of KZN’s great runners who disappeared on the morning of a race almost 2 years ago while waiting for a lift to the start of the PDAC 25km race, never to be seen again. No one actually knows what ever happened to him!

Results - Men
2nd (35–39) Jonathan Edwards 34:14
2nd (40–49) Nicholas Madu 36:22

Ladies
1st Cary-Ann Smith 38:31
5th Fikile Mbuthuma 42:10
3rd (35–39) Linda Cele 55:00
1st (40-49) Hleziphi Ncayiyana 45:03

Ladies Team prize winners:  Fikile, Hleziphi & Cary

Meiringspoort 21.1km 13 October 2012

Open Men
1 Lloyd Bosman 1.04.55
2 Sandile Ngunuza 1.08.11
3 Gershwill Jacobs 1.09.53
Open Ladies
2 Melissa van As 1.23.51
35 - 39 Men
4 Michael Magson 1.23.33
40 - 49 Men
2 Anton Chevalier 1.19.57
50 - 59 Men
1 Sydney Landsberg 1.18.20
2 Hermanus Jonkerman 1.22.46
 70 + Men
1 Charles Skeen 2.03.25
35 - 39 Ladies
1 Helga Mathee 1.27.16
3 Davera Magson 1.29.23
40 - 49 Ladies
2 Alison Jordaan 1.29.56
50 - 59 Ladies
1 Annatjie Botes 1.32.14
2 Marie Wolmarans 1.37.34
60 - 69 Ladies
2 Toekie Steenkamp 1.50.41
70 + Ladies
1 Willemien Smuts 1.54.57
Junior Ladies
2 Samantha Johnson 2.27.54

Gershwill Jacobs, Lloyd Bosman, Sandile Ngunuza 

Chamberlain Capital Classic 10/21km 13 October 2012

10km - Men
Open
3rd Charles Soza 31:51
21km - Men
Open
2nd Shadrack Hoff 68:03
40 - 49
1st Elias Mabane 71:48
Open Women
1st Jennifer Koech 85:29