07 May 2024

From its humble beginnings in 2010, Diacore Gaborone Marathon has come a long way and grown in leaps and bounds.

This is according to one of its co-founders, Thola Magang post marathon interview in Gaborone on Sunday.

He said much of the growth was owed to the coming on board of Diacore, a company that trades in the diamond sector. 

He said Diacore managed to take the marathon concepts to greater heights.

“When they came in, they took the marathon to heights that we even didn’t think were possible, and we are happy that we now have a marathon of international standards that attracts participants from across the world. 

It’s a marathon that we can all be proud of,” he said.

Magang said even more pleasing was the fact that the marathon, through Diacore, was giving back to charitable organisations such as Lady Khama Charitable Organisation and Mochudi Resource Centre for the Blind, which he said was commendable.

“Diacore wanted something that they could use to give back to the country that they are doing business in, and they found the right partner in PGM Foundation, who are the founders of this marathon,” he said.

Magang indicated that they were so far happy with what the partnership had done for the marathon, particularly annual increase in participants.

“This year we registered about 10 000 participants across all the events, with the 10km category still the favourite among runners,” he said.

He said the marathon was also one way of promoting fitness. On the safety of the marathon, Magang said it was a partnership between various stakeholders such as the police and city council.

The question on safety arose after the female winner of the 42km category, Sheila Saina arrived limping at the finish line after being allegedly hit by a car while running.

Silver medalist in the same category, Lesedinyana Tumelo also raised concerns on the issue of safety post-race interview.

“Drivers are not cooperating,  and that is the main challenge we face while running. We wish this could be addressed sooner rather than later,” she said. ENDS