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Ricky Zililo, Sports Reporter
THE inaugural Masiyephambili Marathon got off to a bad start at Luveve Stadium in Bulawayo yesterday with a four-hour delay to the start of proceedings as athletes and organisers wrangled over prize-money distribution. Dubbed “Our city, our marathon” the event is part of festivities to celebrate Bulawayo’s 70 years as a city and it attracted the country’s best athletes.
The starting gun went off at 10am for the 42,2km race instead of 6am and Zimbabwe National Army’s Andrew Chimbidzikai won the tightly contested competition in a time of two hours 15 minutes 32 seconds, taking home a cool $1 500.
A group of seasoned athletes who included Olympians Wirimai Juwawo, Athletes Commission of Zimbabwe chairperson Cuthbert Nyasango, celebrated long distance female runners Samukeliso Moyo and Tabitha Tsatsa were demanding to know the prize schedule for all categories before the start of the event in an unprecedented move.
Their fears were that the organisers being new players on the scene would disappear after the race.
“There is a race that we participated in Harare last year and up to today, no athlete has received his or her prize-money. We are not holding these people at ransom but we want to know what they are going to give us. This is where we earn our living and we cannot run without knowing how much we are going to get.
“There are a lot of conflicting statements with others saying only the top three will be paid while others are saying it’s the top five. These people should have included the prize schedule on the registration forms like what happens at other races,” said Nyasango.
The vocal group did not participate but their absence was hardly felt.
Gilbert Mutandiro of Harare was the first runner-up, six seconds behind Chimbidzikai while pre-race favourite Nkosiyazi Sibanda of Blanket Mine in Matabeleland South was third in two hours 16 minutes 26 seconds.
Sibanda led the pack for the better part of the race and looked set to come first only for Chimbidzikai to turn on the heat with a kilometre left.
“It was a tight race and was fast paced with Nkosiyazi (Sibanda) giving us a torrid time. I knew that for me to win the race I had to keep up with him and because the course was flat, I still had energy in me, that’s why I beat Nkosiyazi with just a kilometre left. It was a gamble on my part to let him go but it paid dividends and I am happy,” said Chimbidzikai.
The ZNA athlete was the first runner-up in the Matopos 33 Miller Ultra-Marathon that was held in April.
He ran that race in three hours 21 minutes 34 seconds.
In September, Chimbidzikai came a distant 11th at the inaugural Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Half Marathon.
Speaking after yesterday’s event, a disappointed Sibanda blamed the delay in starting the race for his third place.
“I had planned to run the race at 6am and only to start four hours later. I really had no energy and had to take a cautious approach but otherwise it was a good race,” Sibanda said.
In the women’s category, only Lizzie Chokore participated in the 42,2km event and crossed the finishing line in two hours 56 minutes 05 seconds.
Meanwhile, 2013 ZITF Four Minute Mile winner Simbarashe Chidakwa came first in the 21km event clocking one hour 05 minutes 50 seconds with Phathisa Ngwabi of Hwange Colliery Company Athletics Club crossing the line four seconds later while Elijah Mabhunu was third in one hour 05 minutes 56 seconds.
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