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Ellina Mhlanga
Senior Sports Reporter
ATHLETES from across the country are set to converge at Old Georgians Sports Club tomorrow for this year’s edition of the CBZ Marathon.
The race is organised by Harare Athletics Club and at least 1 000 participants are expected to take part in tomorrow’s event.
The event could not take place last year due to Covid-19.
The main event is the 42.2km race. There is also a half-marathon on offer as well as 10km fun run and 5km fun run.
Correctional Stars Athletics Club coach, Collen Makaza, said a number of their athletes were going to compete including Jonathan Chinyoka, who won the marathon in 2020.
However, this time around, Chinyoka is competing in the half-marathon.
Caroline Mhandu, Kelvin Pangiso and Nomore Wiriki are also set to take part in tomorrow’s event.
Makaza said he was looking forward to some good performances from the athletes.
“We always dominate HAC organised races. We are fit to tackle any race right now. It’s also an opportunity to gauge how prepared we are for our international competitions penciled for April and May in South Africa.
“We want to see their finishing times and also to put them in competition mode for upcoming events.
“We have Two Oceans 21km on April 16 in Cape Town, South Africa, and the South African Championships in Durban on May 8,” said Makaza.
Chinyoka, who is hoping to compete in Two Oceans Ultra-marathon on April 17, said his build-up has been going well and tomorrow presents him with a platform to measure his progress in a competitive environment.
“I am running the 21km race. I want to test my speed to see where I am because my next race is getting closer now. I am happy with the progress so far, I don’t have any problems and all is going well.
“I am looking forward to running 1 hour 4 minutes, that’s my target on Sunday,” said Chinyoka.
Registration is already closed after reaching the targeted number of participants.
CBZ group executive marketing and corporate affairs, Matilda Nyathi, said they are looking forward to an exciting event.
“The 2022 CBZ marathon was open to 1 000 athletes to participate and we have managed to meet the 1 000 athletes target.
“The last CBZ marathon, which was our second edition, was successfully held in 2020. The break in 2021 was as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown restrictions.
“We have a more exciting and competitive competition that will include handicapped runners.
“Winners’ prizes will be given to the top three overall women and top three overall men in the 5km, 10km, half-marathon, wheelchair and marathon.
“The highest prize is reserved for the marathon, followed by the half-marathon and the subsequent 10km and 5km races,” said Nyathi.
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