Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 63, October 2014 | Page 46

Ma race report

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Mandela Day
Marathon, Half Marathon
& 10km, KwaZulu-Natal, 31 August

It seemed a most appropriate way
to celebrate the legacy of Madiba
as more than 10,000 endurance
athletes, up from last year’s
4,500 entrants, turned out for
the running and mountain biking
events held on the site of his
capture in August 1962.
– BY LAUREN VAN DER VYVER

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ough, hilly and hot – that was the verdict
from runners who took on the gruelling Mandela
Day Marathon route from Manaye Hall in Imbali
to the Nelson Mandela Capture Site in Howick,
but the challenging conditions and course didn’t
stop the elites from pushing for fast times in one
of the fastest-growing marathons in South Africa.

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Maxed Elite’s Thobane Chagwe,
better known for shorter distance
events and cross-country exploits,

set a new course record in his

debut marathon, clocking 2:27:12,

and the local hero was rewarded

handsomely for his efforts, taking

home the R50,000 first place prize,

a R40,000 incentive for a course

record, as well as R10,000 for

being the first South African and a
further R5,000 as the first Kwazulu-Natal athlete
home! He was followed in by Sefako Phahlane in
2:28:39, with Kenya’s Emmanuel Kiplimo Birgen
taking the final podium spot in 2:29:21.

DOUBLE RECORD
In the women’s marathon, which offered the
same prize purse, Nedbank’s Irvette Van Zyl was
supposed to just go for a long training run as
preparation for the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon,
but also cashed in as she blitzed the second half
of the race to finish in 2:47:15, taking nearly 19
minutes off the course record and becoming the
first woman to break three hours in this event.
This was all the more impressive given that she
won the Spar Ladies Challenge 10km in Pretoria
with a course record 33:32 the day before, then
hopped straight onto a flight to Pietermaritzburg.
Ethiopian Chelita Bogale Asefa also dipped
under three hours, finishing in 2:57, while her
countrywoman Sisay Parsed rounded off the
podium in 3:03:51.

ISSUE 63 OCTOBER 2014 / www.modernathlete.co.za

In the half marathon, Gladwin Mzazi (1:04:42)
and Uganda’s Karen Chekwemoi (1:16:33) took
line honours, while Stephen Mokoka clinched the
10km in 30:38 with in-form Lebogang Phalula,
who also ran the Spar Ladies race in Pretoria the
day before (finishing third), winning the women’s
race in 33:47.

FOR MADIBA
In keeping with Madiba’s vision of a triumph of
the human spirit, the Mandela Day Marathon is
partnered by the Nelson Mandela Foundation
and supported by the Mandela family, because
this is not simply a running or bike race, it is a
celebration of the life and legacy of one of the
world’s greatest leaders.

Images: Finishline Photos

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