Newsletter

Brought to you by: www.nedbankrunningclub.co.za

27 October 2017

National Personalities and Stories

SOUTH AFRICAN HOPEFULS IN DUBLIN MARATHON

Two elite athletes from the Nedbank Running Club are hoping to make South Africa proud when they line up at this weekend’s SSE Airtricity Dublin Marathon.

Tebogo Mathiba and Mthandazo Qhina, both athletes from the Nedbank Running Club’s Green Dream Team, have definitely got the pedigrees to compete against the best at Sunday’s marathon.

Tebogo Philemon Mathiba

Mthandazo Qhina

Qhina is a regular top ten finisher at the Two Oceans Marathon, finishing in 2nd place in 2013. He has a marathon best of 2:17. Mathiba on the other hand might not have marathon experience on his side as the Dublin Marathon will be his debut marathon, but he sure has speed on his side. With a half marathon best of 1:02 and a 10km best of 29:38, Mathiba will definitely not be left behind. He is coached by Pio Mpolokeng, former Dublin Marathon winner and currently development coach for the Nedbank Running Club. Mpolokeng has had great success with his athletes in recent months.

“I am very excited. This will be my first international race and I feel fit and strong. My training has been going well and I am in good shape,” says Mathiba. He has been considering moving up to the marathon distance for a while now, but first wanted to work on his speed in the shorter distances. He feels the Dublin marathon is the perfect race as a debut marathon.

Strong field
The South African athletes will be lining up against the likes of Asefa Bekele from Ethiopia who is back for the third time having finished in 3rd place last year and second place in 2015 in times of 2:15:01 and 2:14:21 respectively. Another competitor to look out for is Bernard Rotich from Kenya who won the Belfast City Marathon in May this year in a time of 2:16:04.

The Dublin Marathon had a record 19 500 runners from 60 countries in 2016 and has become Europe’s 4th largest marathon. Known for its relatively flat course, it is a very attractive course for runners ranging from novices to elites.

For more stories from Run24 Click here

2017 Old Mutual Soweto Marathon

Nedbank Running Club Soweto will be hosting the Nedbank hospitality site at the Old Mutual Soweto Marathon and all Nedbank Running Club members are welcome.

The very popular and exciting Old Mutual Soweto Marathon will be run on Sunday the 5th of November 2017

The Nedbank Running Club athletes will be treated with food and drinks that will be provided by the Nedbank Running Club Soweto. there will also be a FutureLife Smoothie corner

Just look out for the Nedbank Running Club Gazebo’s and feather flags.

Come and meet top NEDBANK GREEN DREAM TEAM athletes at the tent.

Happy Running!

Number Collection

All entrants have to collect their race packs before the race at the following venue:

Venue: FNB Stadium, Nasrec, Johannesburg
Dates and Times:
Thursday, 2nd November 10:00 – 19:00
Friday, 3rd November 10:00 – 19:00
Saturday, 4th November 08:30 – 16:00

All runners to take your ChampionChip and ID/Passport to the race registration to check your race chip and details.

You will also neet to take a copy of your confirmation of entry with you when collecting your entry.

For more Info on the Old Mutual Soweto Marathon please click here

2017 Old Mutual Two Oceans

OMTOM Ultra & Half Marathon Entries & Application Open On 1 Nov '17 With New Payment System

Runners wanting to be a part of the 2018 Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon (OMTOM) should diarise Wednesday, 1 November 2017 now, as the event’s Ultra Marathon entries and Half Marathon ballot applications will open from 10am – and it’s bound to be a busy morning.

Ultra Marathon entries closed in a record 32 days last year, and are expected to reach the 11 000 entry limit even quicker this time around. However, Blue and Yellow Number Holders (loyal participants who have completed nine or more OMTOM Ultra Marathons) have a guaranteed entry pool of 1 500 entries.

Half Marathon hopefuls will have a bit more time on their side. Runners who have completed more than nine OMTOMs will be able to enter immediately, while the rest of the field will have a 10-day window to submit their Half Marathon ballot application via the OMTOM website.

- Running Club Draw: Once ballot applications close, running clubs will have the opportunity to verify their members before the Running Club Draw takes place on 20 November. Runners who are successful in the Club Draw will have until 25 November to pay for their entry. Running Club members whose names were not drawn during the Club Draw will automatically be added to the General Draw.

- General Draw: The General Draw will take place on 27 November 2017, and successful applicants will have until 2 December 2017 to pay for their entry.

Anyone missing their payment deadline will forfeit their entry.

While the Half Marathon total entry limit is set at 16 000, over 25 000 Half Marathon applications were received in 2016.

New Payment Platform

An exciting advancement in the entry process for the 2018 event, is that OMTOM has now partnered with Webtickets to facilitate entry payments for all entries via their site, meaning that entrants can pay via any credit card, debit card or with cash at any Pick n Pay or Boxer Store. The development also eliminates the hassle of EFT payments.

“Having Webtickets on board as our payment portal extends our payment options and make the entry system more accessible to a wider demographic of runners,” explains Carol Vosloo, General Manager of the Two Oceans Marathon NPC.

“The move to an external and more robust payment platform also gives us access to the latest electronic transaction technologies, which results in more convenient payment options – including an in-store cash payment option available to our runners.”

Entrants are required to have a Webtickets profile in order to facilitate payment, and all prospective participants must either update their existing OR create a new Webtickets profile.

“The good news is that almost half of our current runner base already have a Webtickets profile,” adds Ms Vosloo.

Runners who cannot or don't want to pay online will be able to complete their payment at any Pick n Pay or Boxer Store nationwide.

The Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon events take place on Friday, 30 March and Saturday, 31 March 2018.

Totalsports

Click on the image for more information

Tail-end Charlie

A TEAM ON A MISSION

As always another weekend of great running from the Green Dream Team, but the weekend definitely belonged to one specific athlete who was not only crowned the champion of the 2017 Old Mutual Wild Series Golden Gate Challenge, but also broke his own race record!

Eric Ngubane, the defending champion in the men’s race, ran like a man on a mission for three days, taking almost seven minutes off his 2016 winning time (and event record) to complete the race in an overall time of 6:23:23.

Another man on a mission was definitely Derocious Makhobalo who claimed podium positions at two races in one weekend. Makhobalo won the Burger & Co 15km in Boksburg in a time of 48:37, only one day after he came second (70:02) at the CSIR Half Marathon in Pretoria.

Teammate Pele Tshikundamalema flew the Great Grandmaster flag high when he claimed victory at the Burger & Co 15km in a time of 79:15. And that only a day after he claimed another win at the CSIR Half Marathon in a time of 1:51:34.

The ever-present Ntombesintu Mfunzi did it for the Nedbank women when she broke the tape at the White Cane 10km in Port Elizabeth in a time of 37:53.

RESULTS

2017 OLD MUTUAL WILD SERIES GOLDEN GATE CHALLENGE, 20 – 22 OCTOBER

Men
Open
1. Eric Ngubane (NRC/KZN) (New Record)
Day 1: 02:24:50 (27km)
Day 2: 02:30:09 (29km)
Day 3: 01:28:26 (17km)
Total 06:23:23

OMMIEDRAAI 10 KM, KENILWORTH, 22 OCTOBER

Men
Grandmasters
2. Robbie Lindsay (NRC) 39:54

Women
Open
1. Fortunate Chidzivo (NRC/ZIM) 37:57

Veterans
1. Busisiwe Matiwane (NRC) 42:39
2. Ursula Frans (NRC) 43:08

Masters
1. Obertina Kanyongo (NRC/ZIM) 42:09
2. Olga Howard (NRC) 43:27

Grandmasters
2. Charmaine Cupido (NRC) 48:44

BURGER & CO 15 KM, BOKSBURG, 22 OCTOBER

Men
Open
1. Derocious Makhobalo (NRC) 48:37