NMB Half Marathon back with bigger prize pot All systems go for mind-blowing 10th edition, says race director

• Published date: 08 May 2024
• Publication title: Herald, The (Port Elizabeth, South Africa)

The race, which incorporates the ASA Half Marathon Championship, will take place on June 1 at Pollok Beach in Summerstrand

Race director Michael Mbambani said the local organising committee had been working around the clock and was ready to host a mind-blowing 10th edition of the popular event.

He said the NMB Half Marathon was the richest marathon in the country in terms of prize money, with this year’s increasing to R559,000, with a bonus of the ASA Championship prize money.

“We are all happy and excited to have reached this milestone,” Mbambani said.

“It seems like it was yesterday when we started it and after every race you look back and see where you can improve.

“You see where can you rectify.

“We are on the right track in terms of implementing a 10-year celebration, a project where athletes will make lots of money.

“We are looking forward to it. We just want healthy competition among the athletes.

“The first-prize money for the race was sitting on R80,000 previously, and now we have increased it to R100,000 for the first prize and second prize R50,000.

“We used to pay the top five provincial athletes and now we are paying the top five athletes (overall), and Nike came full force in terms of apparel, which is a very big plus for the race.”

Gqeberha road runner Thabang Mosiako, who won the Two Oceans Half Marathon in April, will be out to defend his NMB Half Marathon.

Mosiako won the race in a personal best time of one hour and 29 seconds, setting a course record and an EP record.

In the women’s race, Kenyan athlete Betty Chepkemoi crossed the finish line first in a time...