Chronicle Editor
Nkosilathi Sibanda, [email protected]
ORGANISERS of the Binga Kasambabezi Half Marathon have revealed they have sourced monetary prices for winners, in what is seen as a huge motivation for athletes that will take part.
The race is set for tomorrow morning in the tourism resort of Binga. Running for the sixth year, the Binga Kasambabezi Half Marathon will this time be graced by a number of long distance runners from Botswana and Zambia.
Runners will participate in the 10 and 21km races.
Wheelchair racers will also compete.
The race’s organising secretary Tinashe Mudetwe announced the prizes for all the categories.
“We are proud to inform athletes and all stakeholders that we have sourced the money for the prizes. In the 21km race, the first prize is US$350, the second is US$300 while the third is US$250,” said Mudetwe.
He said in the half marathon contest, they will award prizes to the top 10 athletes only.
In the 10km race, Mudetwe said they settled to pay US$120 for the first prize.
The silver prize will go with US$100. For the third prize, there is US$80. For the wheelchair racers, the first to hit the finishing line will get US$120, the second prize is US$100, with the third being US$80.
Banking and financial services concern, AFC Holdings will provide prizes for the 10 and 21km races. A local business leader Susan Kapotwe and Super Income Investments owner will sponsor the 10km wheelchair race.
Mudetwe said many athletes have registered and they were expecting more than 1 000 to take part.
“Over 1 000 runners are expected to compete. We will be having athletes from across the country and those from Botswana and Zambia.
Organisers have said the race will be held under the theme ‘Running for our wildlife conservation.’
“As a sport event being held at the heart of wildlife and other nature conservancies, including on the sidelines of the Zambezi River, we thought it wise to use the race to call out to communities to value wildlife and to live in harmony with nature. Sport has the capacity to relay this information fast. We want to campaign for that,” said Mudetwe.
The race is being used to promote Binga as a prime tourism destination. — @NkosieLegend
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