20 Jan 2022

Sports View Runners Club will host a cross country race in Moshupa on Saturday.

In an interview, the club’s chairperson, Glody Dube, said cross country competitions had not been held for a long time.

He explained that they chose to host the event in Moshupa because it was where an athletics stadium would be constructed.

“This is our first event in Moshupa, but more will follow because we are going to build our athletics village in the area,” he said.

Dube explained that the race would give athletes an opportunity to be noticed by Botswana Athletics Association and to stand a chance to represent the country in international competitions.

The race routes, he said, were selected taking into consideration the dimensions of world athletics.

“All our routes should be up to world athletics standards,” he said, adding that there were a lot of logistics involved in preparing the routes.

He said they chose 2pm as the starting time because most cross country competitions took place in the afternoon.

“In the past most of our athletes failed to complete races because they could not perform under high temperatures,” he said.

Dube also urged Batswana of all ages to participate in the Saturday event, saying athletics had many benefits apart from money such as assisting with good health.

“Many diseases can be stopped or avoided by taking part in athletics,” he said.

He highlighted that the village leadership had been invited so that they could appreciate athletics and learn more about the sport.

“Parents should also come in large numbers so that they could support their children,” he said.

A press release from the club says the competition will be categorised into men and women.

It says there will be a 10 kilometre race for the senior, 8km for juniors as well as 6km for the youth in both categories.

It further states that registration will be done at the venue on the day of the competition, and that all competitors will be required to pay a registration fee of P20. ENDS