Inaugural AFB Makhado Marathon exceeds all expectations

Date: 09 February 2024 By: Andries van Zyl

The inaugural AFB Makhado Marathon, held on Saturday 3 February, surpassed all expectations as a qualifying event for the Comrades Marathon. Organised by the Soutpansberg Athletics Club, the race attracted more than 350 entries.

"From the organising team's perspective, it was a tremendous success, exceeding our expectations. We are immensely grateful to everyone who participated and to all the supporters who attended on the day," said Keagan Truter on behalf of the organising team.

Truter highlighted that the primary goal of the race was to re-establish Louis Trichardt on the running map. "We have achieved this aim. We hope the event signals to our residents that the Soutpansberg Athletics Club is thriving once more, and we welcome anyone interested in joining," Truter added.

According to the club, this past weekend's races were a first for many participants, and they plan to build on this success with future Comrades-qualifying events and, hopefully, some smaller “fun runs” throughout the year.

The club extended special thanks to all the companies that set up water points on the day, as well as to the event sponsors. These included Thompson Motors, Limpopo Diary, NHC, NTK, Coca-Cola, the Zoutpansberger/Limpopo Mirror, Talisman Hire, Caltex garage, Letaba Networks, Palm Motors, Elegant Fuel, Caterpack, Leach Printers, Villa Grande Lodge, ZCP, Vitality Health, Albasini Nursery, Maclands Estates, and Northgate Lodge. "Finally, we would like to express our gratitude to the Air Force Base Makhado for allowing us to use their facilities and for the assistance provided on the day," said Casper MacDonald, also on behalf of the club.

As for the day's winners, Timothy Munzhelele won the 42km marathon in a remarkable time of 02:36:05, with Ludwick Mamabolo finishing second in 02:43:47, and Shadrack Hlungwani third in 03:00:56. The first female across the finish line was Joyce Netshitenzhe in 03:29:42, followed by Mokhatsi Mafafo in 03:55:33 and Angeligue Liversage third in 04:11:41..

The overall winner of the 21km race was Given Makgoba in 01:08:15, with Emmaneul Ramohale in second at 01:10:00 and Sekwati Chipu third in 01:10:35. In the women's 21km race, Elizabeth Hutamo was first in 01:28:54, Mpho Maredi second in 01:50:55, and Jane Mudau third in 01:53:27.

Ronney Mabotja won the 10km race in 00:33:52, Mashudu Setsie was second in 00:35:25, and Mahlori Maluleke third in 00:37:02. The first woman home in the 10km race was Sedzamo Muluta in 00:46:02, followed by Itumeleng Legodi in 00:50:13 and Muzi Mboweni in 00:50:52.

A total of 125 athletes entered the 42km Comrades-qualifier race, 123 participated in the 21km race, and 68 in the 10km race.

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Andries van Zyl

Andries joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in April 1993 as a darkroom assistant. Within a couple of months he moved over to the production side of the newspaper and eventually doubled as a reporter. In 1995 he left the newspaper group and travelled overseas for a couple of months. In 1996, Andries rejoined the Zoutpansberger as a reporter. In August 2002, he was appointed as News Editor of the Zoutpansberger, a position he holds until today.

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