All set for Blantyre half marathon in Malawi
The long awaited Blantyre Half Marathon is all set for Sunday as Malawi’s competition starved athletes get the rare chance to contest.
The Blantyre Half Marathon has been organized by Athletics Association of Malawi (AAM) with full funding from Malawi National Council of Sports to keep the athletes in shape as the association grapples to secure substantial sponsorship from the corporate world.
The 21 km race will start at Kamuzu Upper Stadium, to Limbe Annexe Round About through Admarc Welfare to Kanjedza Round About, Kwacha Round up to MBC Television to Kudya to Stella Maris, to CI to Delamera-Blantyre Central District to Highway back to Kamuzu Upper Stadium finishing line.
AAM General Secretary Frank Chitembeya said the association would spice up the event with veterans to compete among themselves besides the main event.
Chitembeya also disclosed that mouthwatering prizes had been lined for the athletes with the champion taking home K100,000, runners-up K50,000 and K25,000 for bronze medalists.
He said all the three categories men’s, women’s and veterans would get equal prizes.
The competition would also offer a window for the association to select athletes to represent the country at the world Olympic Day to be held in Mozambique on June 23.
“We are all geared for this Half Marathon to be held in Blantyre on Sunday. This is important because it would offer some of the athletes to participate at an international Half Marathon competition in Mozambique,” he said.
AAM has been making news for all the bad reasons after the current executive committee led by Godfrey Phiri took office under controversial circumstances four years ago.
In an election year the committee failed to harness the traditional sponsorship as their virtually lost all the sponsorship ad failed to secure any significant one apart from Kuchawe Sunbird Hotel Mountain Race.
The administration also made notorious record by becoming the first ever AAM committee to lose annual US$10,000 grant for failing to reconcile their accounts books to the world athletics governing body International Athletics Association Federation (IAAF).
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