70th Jackie Gibson Marathon

The running of the 70th Jackie Gibson Marathon and third Allan Ferguson Half-Marathon, hosted by the Johannesburg Harriers Athletic Club, will take place on Sunday, March 22 from the Klipriviersberg Recreation Centre in Peggy Vera Road, Kibler Park.

The Jackie Gibson is run each year in memory of H.A Gibson, known as “Jackie”.

For a time, after the Second World War, Jackie held the South African Marathon record and then the Transvaal record in a time of 02:30m. On January 15, 1944, and as an observer navigator, Jackie met his untimely death on a coastal reconnaissance flight near Durban.

The Jackie Gibson has seen many well known runners over the years. The first Jackie Gibson Marathon was run on Sunday, August 18, 1946, and was won by Wally Hayward in a time of 02:43:52. He went on to win the race one more time in 1954 in an even better time of 02:39:32. Jackie Mekler also won the race in 1958 in a time of 02:42:33. Allan Ferguson also took the finish line in a winning time of 02:55:36 in 1954.

The 42.2km race will start at 06:00, and the 21.1km race will start at 06:30.

For the second year, the Johannesburg Harriers Athletics Club will also host a 5km Fun Run/Walk, starting at 06:45.