Yet another edition of the Tronox Marathon has been completed, with the event hosted by the Umhlathuze Athletics Club (The Crocs) drawing hundreds of roadrunners to the Addison Park in Empangeni, on Sunday 29 May.
This annual event draws athletes from across the region and provinces to take part in the event which is a Comrades Marathon qualifier. A difficult route which encompases 8 km of gravel on the farms of Empangeni provides runners with a tough test and an ideal prep for Cormrades.
Siyabonga Mafuleka from the Orcas Academy Club in Durban jetted to the finish line with the fastest time of 02:33:15 in the 42,2km run, a mere two minutes ahead of Eric Ngubane (Nedbank Athletic Club) whose time was 02:35:08. In third place (02:46:24) was local runner Nathi Zungu from NRB Harriers.
In the ladies 21 Km run, Sandra Mansvelder’s (Team Vitality) all the way from Gauteng cruised in at a time of 01:29:24 narrowly beating NRB Harriers’ Silindile Biyela, who crossed the line one minute after at 01:30:04. It was even closer for third placed Silindile Chili (Orcas Academy), whose time was 01:30:28.
More than 800 road runners made their way to Addison Park to take part in the 42,2Km, 21,1Km, 10Km races and the 5Km Fun Run.
Speaking after the event, Nitsa Kanarachos (or somebody who will speak on behalf of the Crocs) from the Umhlathuze Athletics Club said we are thankful to Tronox for their continued sponsorship of the event and for the support we receive from local athletic clubs and the Empangeni community.
by Mluleki Mdletshe
