Northerns Marathon confirmed to be bigger and better next year

The Benoni Northerns Marathon, sponsored by Kwikscaff, will take place on March 5 and promises to be even bigger.

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Not only is the race a spectacle for the locals, but also one of the three racing events putting the city on the map.

The event proved again this year why it’s still the marathon of choice for many runners wishing to qualify for the Comrades Marathon.

According to statistics released by The Running Mann, the 42.2km was the third-best marathon of choice used by runners to qualify for the ultimate human race, with approximately 895 of the 1 924 finishers using their times to qualify for the down run.

With a total of 4 308 runners (2 827 marathon, 960 half-marathon and 512 10km) participating in the event this year, the BNAC is hopeful the crowd will be even bigger next year.

The 42.2km double lapper records in both the men’s and women’s categories will be up for grabs next year.

The men’s record, held by Botswana’s Ndabili Bashingile (02:21:14), has stood for eleven years. This year’s winner, Willem Maphanga, was eight minutes and 36 seconds shy of breaking it.

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In the women’s race, Boksburg road running sensation Cobie Smith (02:58:26) fell two minutes and 10 seconds short of breaking Frith van der Merwe’s 02:56:16 record that has stood for almost 20 years. Van der Merwe achieved this feat in 2003.

The race will be divided into 42.2km, 21.1km, 10km and 5km distances.

From next year, the 5km will be recognised as an official Athletics South Africa distance and at the BNAC marathon, the 5km results will be timed electronically.

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