Times Of Swaziland: ZITHANDE GEARED UP FOR SA MARATHON

ZITHANDE GEARED UP FOR SA MARATHON
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Ashmond Nzima on 23/02/2024 08:47:00


MBABANE – Ambitious athletics club Zithande’s runners will join hundreds of
athletes from across the region in tomorrow’s exciting Assegaai three-in-one
marathon.
Zithande Athletics Club Coach Nsizwa Thwala confirmed that they would leave this
afternoon for their first international race of 2024 in Piet Retief, South
Africa.  This is a scenic marathon offering beautiful views and great Comrades
preparation. The route follows rolling hills down towards the Assegaai River
(for 42.2km athletes) on the road to Eswatini before turning back to Piet
Retief/Mkhondo. Other events will be 21.1km and 10km long.
Practice
All three distances start and end at the Piet Retief Rugby Club and are out and
back routes. “This race will give us the practice that we need for racing
season. We have trained hard for it. We train harder than the challenge that we
are preparing for. It is also a Comrades and Two Oceans 56km qualifier. Some of
our runners will use it for comrades seeding,” said Thwala. Thwala said he was
going there with a full team of mixed runners.  “Some of them will be running
their first international race, but I have confidence in them as they have shown
maturity in their running,” highlighted Thwala. Overall and category winners
will ascend to the podium to claim cash prizes. Outstanding runners can get up
to E1 500.