More than 20 000 athletes line up for Soweto Marathon
30 October 2015
South African marathon runners will attempt to end the dominance of the local athletics world by Ethiopians and Kenyans and, to a certain extent Lesotho nationals, when the City of Johannesburg hosts the increasingly popular Soweto Marathon in partnership with Old Mutual on Sunday November 1.
But they will face an uphill battle as the defending champions – Ethiopians Sintanyehu Legese Yinesu (men’s race) and Meseret Mengistu Biru (women’s category) – have both vowed to return to successfully defend their titles.
Their athletics club, Nedbank Running Club, has confirmed their participation. What’s more, it has also promised to bring out more runners for the marathon. Last year Yinesu (29) finished the race in 2 hours 17 minutes, while Biru (27) made it in 2 hours 36 minutes. They were not the only foreigners who dominated last year’s marathon. In the men’s race, Lesotho nationals Tebogo Sello and Motlokoa Nkhabutlane took second and third positions respectively.
In 2012, the 42.2km race was won by Kenyan Shadrack Kemboi.
Leaders of both the City of Johannesburg and the Gauteng Provincial Government are expected to take part in this year’s marathon, which starts at 5.30am at the Nasrec Expo Centre.
The organisers have announced that the routes for all the three events – the 42.2km, the 21.1km and the 10km races – will run through the heart of Soweto to reveal the township’s rich history to the more than 20 000 athletes expected to take part. The route will take athletes closer to several significant heritage sites, including Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, the biggest hospital in the Southern Hemisphere; Walter Sisulu Square, the site where the Freedom Charter was adopted in 1955; Regina Mundi Church, famous venue for June 16 memorial events; Hector Pieterson Memorial, where memoirs of the history of June 16 1976 Soweto student uprising are kept; and Vilakazi Street, the only street in the world that boasts two Nobel Peace laurettes –the late former president Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Other heritage sites on the route include Sisulu’s house, former PAC president Zephania Mothopeng’s house; Sir Harry Opperheimer Tower; Morris Isaacson High School; Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s house; Orlando Stadium and Orlando High School.
The famous township was established in the early 1950s by the apartheid government to serve as a reservoir for cheap migrant labour. Initially consisting of matchbox houses, the township today boasts palatial homes that compare favourably with houses in wealthy northern suburbs.
Johannesburg Executive Mayor Tau supports the marathon as it speaks to the City’s Healthy Lifestyle Programme, which encourages Johannesburg citizens to engage in physical activities such as running, walking and cycling to improve their health and enhance the city’s life expectancy.