22 Jan 2023

Preparations are in full swing for the inaugural edition of Peleng Marathon, scheduled for March 25.

Event organiser, Tshepo Bathai, said this in an interview after the first activation event in Lobatse meant to make the community aware of the coming marathon and to familiarise people with the route.

He said even though the route passed through several parts of the town such as Woodhall, Pitikwe, Jacaranda, Thema, Motswedi, Tsopeng, Deteneng, Delta and Boswelatlou, its centre of attraction would be the stretch through Peleng township with its unique landscape.

“We came up with the idea to stage Peleng Marathon because Peleng is a very unique township in the history of Botswana. The community of Peleng is very excited about this marathon because the route passes next to their houses and they will have the opportunity to experience it first hand,” said Bathai.

He added that the event was intended to promote Lobatse as a sport and tourism destination.

“We also want to use the event to attract people to come to Lobatse and also see some historic places such as the Samora Machel Museum, which is in Peleng. We have extended invitation to the international community to come and we hope this event will also bring economic opportunities,” he said.

The marathon, which fell under the Lobatse Sports Fest events, also acted as a charitable activity, he said.

Bathai further said they would use it to raise funds for the vulnerable, people with disability, education and sports development.

“There is a lot of hidden sport talent here in Lobatse,” he added.

He said participation in the marathon was open to all.

However, he said professional runners would be using it to work on their times, qualifications and battle for prize money.

Bathai said the event would have 5km fun run, 10km road race, 21.1km half marathon and 42.2km marathon as well as a fun run for children.

He pointed out that they had secured some sponsorships in kind, but were still searching for a title sponsor.

There would be prize money for positions one to 10 in the full marathon, half marathon and road race categories.

He said winner of the full marathon would get P20 000, half marathon P10 000 and road race P5 000.

He said registration was ongoing for participation in the event.

The fees are as follows; P300 for 42.2km, P250 for 21.1km, P200 for 10km and P150 for 5km. ENDS