Record numbers expected in this year’s Mandela marathon

06 May 2015 - 12:27 By RDM News Wire

As one of the co-organisers of the annual Mandela Day Marathon‚ the KwaZulu-Natal department of cooperative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) is anticipating a record number of competitors in the 2015 race. The race is scheduled to take place on August 30 and will also see a significant increase in the prize monies awarded to winners in individual categories. “The Mandela Day Marathon is now classified as the marathon with the most potential for growth in Africa. This race could grow to 30 000 participants in the next five years and become one of the world’s grand slam marathons‚ in the league of the New York Marathon‚” said provincial MEC for Cogta Nomusa Dube-Ncube at the media launch of the 2015 race at the Mandela Capture Site on Tuesday. The 2015 Mandela Day Marathon will kick off on August 30 under the banner “Keep Running His Legacy”.It will seek to encourage more and more people from all over the world to come to the Umgungundlovu District where its related events and the marathon’s status as a tourist attraction are expected to give a major boost to the local economy. “The race has enjoyed exponential growth in numbers since its inception in 2012. In 2014‚ the event saw a growth of 77%‚ with more than 10 000 participants compared to 5 500 in 2013.“Likewise in 2014‚ the event enjoyed the support of runners from 24 different countries compared to the 16 countries represented in 2013. In 2015‚ we are targeting not fewer than 13 000 participants‚” said Dube-Ncube. The event is part of the 2030 vision of KwaZulu-Natal as a peaceful and prosperous province where sports and tourism encourage social cohesion and drive the local economy.“There will also be more corporate sponsorships sourced for the 2015 event with a target of R5million to 10million compared to the R2‚3-million sourced in 2014. The total prize money will grow from R1million in 2014 to R1‚3-million in 2015‚” said Dube-Ncube.“The marathon and the other road running events will take the biggest portion of the prize money with a total of R1-million. The overall male and female winners of the marathon will walk away with R100 000 each.” – The Times..

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