29 Aug 2022

Botswana Defence Force (BDF) Athletics Club has been commended for initiating the annual BDF half marathon.

BDF Commander, Leutenant General Placid Segokgo said this in an interview on the side-lines of the half marathon on Sunday.

He hailed the club for its ability to hold the annual meet.

He said the physical exercise was a deliverable at the BDF, adding soldiers were expected to be healthy, hence the marathon being important to both the soldiers and the community.

Segokgo said exercising was also one of the important elements of keeping healthy especially for people with non-communicable diseases.

“The marathon was well attended and besides that people had an opportunity to exercise. The marathon was another way of taking BDF to the people,” he said.

Local Organising Committee (LOC) chairperson, Alfred Phineas, said he was happy that the marathon went well, considering the number of people who turned up.

He said despite the marathon’s absence for the past two years due to COVID-19 pandemic,  this year’s edition was successful.

Phineas said this year’s number of participants surpassed their last editions, having registered over 1 000 athletes including some from South Africa and Kenya.

He said the quality of the competition was an indication that their club was growing in leaps and bounds.

Phineas said their intention was to see athletes clocking good times that would enable them to qualify for major events.

“Nonetheless we continue to learn every day and the expectation is to grow with each edition. I want to thank all stakeholders for the support they always give us,” he said.

He expressed gratitude towards the sponsors who continued to stand by them despite coming from a challenging COVID 19 era.

“We really appreciate the little they give us, remember their businesses were also hit by the pandemic,” he said. ENDS