Saturday, 13 June 2026 by Sanele Jele

 

MBABANE – The Times of Eswatini has extended its gratitude to the running community for the overwhelming success of the inaugural Times Half Marathon.The event achieved a significant milestone for a debut race, attracting over 2 000 participants—an impressive turnout, given that many established races in the region often struggle to draw 500 runners.During a ceremony to honour the top participating groups, the Eswatini Water Services Corporation (EWSC) was awarded a E1 000 prize for registering the largest team, with 89 staff members taking part. Ayanda Ntuli accepted the replica cheque and cash prize on behalf of the corporation.The B3 Group was honoured as the ‘Best Dressed Group’, also receiving E1 000, which was presented at their offices. Additionally, Eswatini Sugar took home the award for ‘Best Water Point’, with Karabo Moti accepting the E1 000 prize on behalf of the company.The race, held last month at the OlympAfrica Centre, was attended by several notable figures, including Deputy Prime Minister Thuli Dladla and Athletics Eswatini (AE) President Zakhele Dlamini among others.Reflecting on the success of the event, Times of Eswatini Managing Editor Thobeka Manyathela said: “We are deeply honoured that such a large number of teams joined us to support our inaugural marathon. The corporate groups brought incredible energy and creativity, which made the judging process a real challenge for our team. They all put in a tremendous amount of effort, so congratulations to our winners. We look forward to seeing even more creative outfits next year.”

Times of Eswatini Managing Editor Thobeka Manyathela presents a replica cheque to EWSC representative Ayanda Ntuli, honouring the corporation as the largest participating group at the inaugural Times Half Marathon. (Pic: Sanele Jele)