Econet Vic Falls Marathon relay athletes praised

NINE Zimbabwe ultra-marathon runners embarked on a relay to Victoria Falls as part of the Econet 25th Anniversary Celebrations Marathon which takes place on Sunday.

The nine runners, some of whom have taken part in the prestigious Comrades Marathon event, are Mehluli Sibanda, David Gondongwe, Talent Ncube, Delight Murukayi, Federlis Bhebhe, Liam Savari, Rudo Sibanda, Andrew Mhere and Stanley Sibanda.

The team of runners is also composed of Econet employees mainly from the Southern Region.

This team will amplify the hype of the main attraction which is the Econet Victoria Falls Marathon by stopping at towns on their way and promoting the event.

There will be stopovers in Lupane, Halfway House, Hwange and ultimately Victoria Falls as they interact with the communities.

Speaking at the athletes send-off dinner that was held at a local hotel last night, Fungai Tanara, of Geronimo Advertising said:

“This year once again Geronimo Advertising on behalf of Econet Wireless is conducting another relay with the Hello 25 Celebrations being top of mind! Last year the same relay was run from Bulawayo to Victoria Falls taking 5G to the Smoke that Thunders! Eight runners ran the relay. We are happy to be working with nine elite runners. The relay will have stops where we will have activations. We are asking for people from Matabeleland to come join us as Econet turns 25 years. The Econet Victoria Falls Marathon is going to be live streamed from Harare to Victoria Falls.”

The athletes’ manager Kira Mparutsa said they were happy that the runners saw it prudent to support the whole idea of having the Econet Victoria Falls Marathon.

“We got a very positive response from quite a number of athletes who wanted to take part in this relay event. It’s fascinating and this is the second time that we are having the relay. Last year we had eight runners in the relay,” said Mparutsa.

The Econet Victoria Falls Marathon has become one of the biggest road races on the calendar. It’s fully flavoured with international athletes drawn from several countries giving locals who would ordinarily not afford travelling outside the country to get international exposure.

_@FungaiMuderere