Breaking Barriers Set to
THE RUN
Showcase the Best of the Best
On 23 May , around 100 elite athletes will start the Nedbank Runified : Breaking Barriers 50km in Gqeberha , with the aim to break the 50km IAU World Record times for men and women , while also giving road running a boost in these COVID-hit times , and helping to promote business in South Africa at the same time !
Image : David Tarpey
The global COVID-19 pandemic of the past year and the strict lockdown implemented in South Africa brought a halt to all forms of organised running events across the country . Athletes were initially unable to even train , and even when lockdown restrictions were eased , races were not allowed . That changed just recently , with limited elite-only races being reintroduced to the calendar , and the results have been fantastic , with many athletes emerging form lockdown rested and hungry to race . As a result , personal bests have been the order of the day for many athletes so far this year .
So it is fitting that the Nedbank Runified : Breaking Barriers 50km has set a target for runners to go after the IAU World Record times for 50km . Both the men ’ s and women ’ s records feature prominently in the rich history of South African running , given our great love of ultra running here in South Africa , and it would be most fitting if the long-standing men ’ s record , set by Thompson Magawana way back in 1988 during the Two Oceans Marathon were to be replaced by another record run on South African soil . Similarly , a new women ’ s record would return this IAU World Record to South African soil , after Frith van Der Merwe ’ s mark that had stood since the 1989 Two Oceans was only recently bettered in Europe and the USA in 2019 and 2020 .
And a new IAU World Record is definitely on the cards … A host of international athletes from both Europe and the rest of Africa will be joining the best of the best South African runners , including no less than seven former Comrades champions , and with a large prize purse on offer , the record charge will be on right from the start .
The time that the men will be aiming for is Magawana ’ s scintillating 2:43:38 , which he set en route to his still-standing Two Oceans Marathon course record back in 1988 . “ The fact that Thompson ran that time over 30 years ago on a route that included climbing Chapmans Peak and Constantia Nek is phenomenal ,” says Nedbank Running Club national team manager Nick Bester , who is also race director of the new event . “ We have a very good field assembled for this race and the course is flat and fast , so I am confident that we can see something special on race day .”
The current official ratified IAU World Record for women over 50km belongs to Britain ’ s Alyson Dixon , who broke South African Van der Merwe ’ s record in 2019 , clocking 3:07:20 when taking the IAU World 50km title in Brasov , Romania . However , American Des Linden recently lowered that record to 2:59:54 , although this time is still to be ratified , pending all requirements needed to be in place from IAU .
“ Everything that is needed to be crossed off in terms of IAU ’ s requirements has been done for our event , so that if a record is set , there won ’ t be any issues ,” says Bester . “ I am also happy to say that our event has been awarded an IAU Bronze Label . We are proud to say that we have achieved this in our first year .” ( This label means that the event is recognised by the world governing body as being amongst the best ultra events in the world .)
The event will be broadcast live on TV by SABC Sport , and will also be livestreamed via the Internet , meaning that the whole South African running community can share in the excitement of what is shaping up to be a great race . And after a year-long lockdown that has deprived this community of all its favourite races , an attempt to set a IAU World Record right here on SA soil will definitely have the ultra-loving SA running community glued to their screens !
There ’ s More to Come !
After a successful 2020 which saw the Nedbank Runified series captivate the country and become the biggest mass participation virtual series on the continent , the bigger and better Nedbank Runified 2.0 series will launch in June 2021 .
In 2020 Nedbank created the virtual Nedbank Runified Series , which challenged runners across the country to unify through running remotely . Runified became Africa ’ s biggest-ever virtual mass participation platform , with the Nedbank Running Club becoming the largest virtual running club in Africa , so Nedbank is excited to announce Nedbank Runified 2.0 . Dates of upcoming events and challenges will be announced soon , but runners are invited to switch to top gear in their training and get ready for another awesome running experience .
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