Running for the money in the Kumba Marakele Marathon
25 February, 2014
Anglo American’s Kumba Iron Ore business has partnered with the South African National Parks (SANParks) to bring a unique marathon challenge to the public and the professional running community. The marathon is held in the Marakele National Park in Limpopo which is one of the national parks in South Africa. Taking place on Saturday, 1 March 2014 for the 5th consecutive year, The Kumba Marakele Marathon has gone from strength to strength, becoming so popular that Kumba has decided to increase the prize money to R50,000 this year.
The race is distinct from other marathons owing to the fact that runners will get the opportunity to run inside a national park with many of the park’s animals being spotted by contestants in previous years. The Thabazimbi Marathon Club and the SANParks Honorary Rangers are hosting the marathon, which is also an official qualifying event for the Comrades Ultra-marathon.
Divhani Maremba, Regional Communications Manager at SANParks, notes that the marathon is held in the park to focus attention on the importance of conservation.
“Our vision as South African National Parks is ‘Connecting to Society” and we grab whatever opportunity that will get us closer to attaining that. This marathon, together with other activities that are held in our various parks throughout the year is another way of ensuring that we connect to the people by affording them the opportunity to run on the wild side” said Maremba.“We are excited to once again partner with Kumba on this initiative and we can only hope that this year will be better than the previous years.” Concluded Maremba
More than just a runners’ challenge, The Kumba Marakele Marathon aims to be a fun day out, bringing together families from across the country in order to promote healthy lifestyles, conservation and tourism. Apart from the full marathon, which is 42.2 km, runners can also take part in a half marathon which is 21.1 km, a 10 km race and a 5 km fun run for the whole family, which is very popular among children and casual supporters. Participants will be limited to 300 runners per race.
Norman Mbazima, chief executive of Kumba, says that the company is proud to be supporting an initiative that not only promotes the Marakele National Park but also brings economic activity to the communities in the area.
“Kumba is committed to community upliftment and supporting initiatives that make a real and lasting difference. We continue to support conservation and stimulate tourism in the Thabazimbi community, which provides much needed jobs and economic development to many of the people in these communities. The Kumba Marakele Marathon fits these objectives perfectly.”