Africa-Press – Botswana. The third edition of the University of Botswana (UB) Marathon which took place on Sunday, has been described as a success by the organisers after it attracted over 1 300 athletes, both local and international.
It has been described as a springboard for the development of road racers. In an interview, marathon organiser Justice Dipeba said they were overwhelmed by the number of runners.
“We were also very impressed by their cooperation, especially that it is so difficult to have so many runners in our roads, which have limited shoulders,” he stated.
He said looking at the number of participants, the desire would have been for the roads to be closed to traffic altogether and not partially as was the case.
Dipeba said despite all that, the runners appreciated the race, and that it was also their hope as organisers that it would live up to the purpose of its establishment, which was raising funds for young citizens’ scholarships at UB.
“We initially focused on Masters and PhD scholarships, but we have since lowered it to first degrees,” he said.
Dipeba also said he was happy that the growth was not only in number, but also the technical know-how on managing and running the race.
He said as a qualifier for more prestigious marathons like the Two Oceans and Comrades as well as being certified by the World Athletics, it was their hope that the marathon would soon attract notable international athletes.
The men’s 42.2km category winner, Zimbabwean Lyno Muchena,said the race was not easy as most athletes competed rather than just participate.
“Although we started a bit slow, the fact that we crossed the 24km mark as a pack of eight guys shows that the level of competition was tough. These guys did their best and I am just thankful for the win,” he said.
With foreigners often dominating local marathons, Muchena advised that what was needed was a change of strategy.
“Locals need to put a lot of speed endurance, especially picking the pace in the last few kilometres; that’s where they need to work on,” he said.
The winner of the women’s category, Rholex Kogo, from Kenya also reiterated Dipeba’s concern on sharing the route with vehicles.
“I hope next time the route would be completely closed from traffic and that was the only challenge we had,” she said.
She said she was hoping to come back next year to defend her title.
Meanwhile, Dikgakgamatso Modisagape, who got first position by a local in the 42.2km category and position four overall, said he was happy despite having only a week of preparations.
“With longer preparations, I am confident that I will do much better,” he said.
He also said locals needed to do more to match the performance of foreign nationals.
“We also need to participate more outside the country. This would go a long way in preparing us, but we are often frustrated by shortage of funds.” he said.
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