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Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
BULAWAYO Athletic Club (BAC) will be a hive of activity today with athletes registering for tomorrow’s PPC Matopos 33-Miler Ultra-Marathon.
Registration for the road race closes at 5:30PM and Bulawayo Athletics Board (Bab) chairman Manuel Mpofu said they expected an improved turnout for this year’s edition.
Last year the competition, the biggest event on the Bab calendar, attracted 590 athletes.
For the 2017 edition, organisers have added the 10km run to this year’s event and scrapped the relays.
By introducing the 10km race, organisers have made it easier for school going athletes to participate in the competition, meaning their hopes of attracting a bigger turnout might come to fruition.
Besides the main 33-miler (55km) and the 10km races, athletes can register for the half-marathon (21km) and the 5km Fun Run.
Registration fees are $10 for the ultra-marathon and half-marathon and $5 for the 10km and 5km Fun Run.
“So far we’ve about 200 athletes that have registered for the competition. We’re expecting people to register on the last day tomorrow (today). Some of the top athletes from Harare, Midlands and other parts of the country have confirmed that they will be here tomorrow and are looking forward to the race,” said Mpofu.
The PPC 33-Miler is an International Association of Athletics Federations-certified race which is a qualifying event for international races that include South Africa’s Comrades Marathon.
Among the top athletes expected tomorrow are defending men’s and women’s champions Peter Tumbare and Monica Kativhu, Lizzy Chokore, Constance Nyasango, Kevin Pangiso, Olympian Wirimai Zhuwawo and Patience Murove.
Seasoned Bulawayo-based runners that have registered for the race include Samukeliso Moyo, Dumo Mkhwananzi, Phathisa Ngwabi, Tabitha Tsatsa, Ngonidzashe Ncube and Jonathan Chinyoka.
The $1 000 prize money for the athlete that crosses the finish line first could be enough to change Kativhu’s mind and go for the title. Last year’s winners’ prize money was $850.
Runners-up will each pocket $750 for the open category, while the veterans, masters and grandmasters’ winners will receive $400 each for the full marathon.
For the half marathon, winners in the men’s and women’s sections will receive $500 each, with the wheelchair category prizes pegged at $400 for the winners in each section.
Meanwhile, PPC have organised transport to pick up athletes from the Large City Hall Car Park to starting points.
Pick up time for the 33-miler, which starts at 5:30AM at Matopos National Park is 4:30AM, with the bus carrying 21km racers leaving the City Hall at 5:30AM, while participants for the 10km race which starts opposite the Tshabalala Game Sanctuary is 6:30AM. The 5k Fun Run will start and finish at BAC.
@ZililoR
Online Reporter