The sun rises on Mpumalanga’s ‘million-rand marathon’

Dawn has officially broken on the Mpumalanga Marathon, with hundreds of runners taking on tough routes in the Province of the Rising Sun on Saturday.

Prior to the race, the Mpumalanga Marathon was dubbed the ‘million-rand marathon’ as it was due to become the first one in South Africa to offer R1m in prize money to its winner. Moreover, it not only offered that to the men’s winner, but the women’s winner, too, as Athletics Mpumalanga regulations require that the men’s and women’s prize money be equal.

A further R1m was then allocated as prize money to the top 10 men and women, along with the respective top three in each category, bringing the total prize purse to a mouth-watering R3m.

This attracted runners from all over South Africa and the continent as they had their eyes set on this mammoth prize.

The race started off bright and early. The starters set things off at 06:00 for all three of the distances. The full marathon (42.2km) started at Dayizenza Plaza, while the other two (21.1km and 10km) started and finished at Riverside Mall.

It had previously been touted by some as the ‘easiest way to win a million’, however, the participants of the 42.2km quickly discovered this was not entirely accurate. The route they tackled from Dayizenza Plaza to Riverside Mall was tough from the get-go, and it soon became evident that those runners who were more adept at mountainous or hilly terrain would be the ones who would excel.

One such runner was the eventual winner of the marathon, Jobo Khatoane, who hails from Lesotho. Initially part of the leading group, Khatoane emerged from the masses to take the lead very early on. By the time they reached the water point at 9km, Khatoane had his hands on the lead and never relinquished his grip.

He stormed to victory in the 42.2km, ultimately finishing in a time of 02:18:04, two minutes ahead of the second-placed Lucky Mohale who finished in 02:20:45, with Samuel Kalalei (02:20:53) third. Lovers Hlatshwayo was the best-placed local, finishing 19th in a time of 02:39:51.
In the women’s race, Kenyan athlete Tadu Nare was dominant from the get-go.

From the starting line, she had her eyes on the prize and refused to let anyone come close to taking it from her. Finishing in 02:37:20, Nare was 17th overall and seven minutes ahead of the next best woman. Shelmith Muriuki was the second woman to finish, completing her marathon in 02:44:47. Malineo Mahloko finished as the third woman, crossing the finish line at 02:50:09.

The spokesperson for the Mpumalanga Marathon, Sipho Zitha, said all the prize money will be paid once clearance has been received from the South African Institute for Drug-free Sport for each winner. “We have submitted all the documents to necessitate the clearances for each participant who won monetary prizes at the marathon,” Zitha said.

You can find the list of category winners here.