Big rush as marathon mania grips Kimberley

Look … here's the thing; it’s very simple - no one is going to come from outside Kimberley to outshine our city’s runners.

Since entries opened for the Diamond & Dorings Kimberley Big Hole Marathon on October 1, roads in and around Kimberley have been bustling with local runners clocking up kilometres, so that come November 22, they can get more mileage out of their legs.

So impressive has been the rush, that not even a week after entries opened, organisers announced that by October 7, they had reached the 500 entry milestone.

No time to lose

Yes, that’s correct, if you’re still mulling over whether you are going to enter, you’d better mull quickly. There is no guarantee that there will still be places on the marathon’s starting line for very long.

Judging by the determined looks on the training athletes, it would be advisable to get into training mode sooner rather than later.

Just a refresher for those who may have missed it:

The Northern Cape’s first marathon of its kind will take place on November 22 and is expected to attract around 2 000 - 3 000 runners. 

With four race distances on offer – 5 kilometre (km), 10 km, 21 km and the full 42 km – the event is designed to welcome both elite athletes and community runners.

Race director Thato Sethlolo outlined the technical aspects, including a prize purse of R1.2 million. The 42 km winners will each earn R200 000, the 21 km winners R50 000, while R5 000 is up for grabs in the 5 km event.