With World Athletics Elite Label road race status for the third consecutive year and incorporating the Athletics South Africa (ASA) Championships, over a thousand runners are expected to line-up at Pollok Beach, Summerstrand.

Race director, Mike Mbambani, confirmed that his team is ready to deliver the 9th edition of this successful race which has grown significantly since its launch in 2014.

"This is the biggest half marathon in the country and it's the richest in the country in terms of prize money. “At stake is not only the SA title but also valuable World Athletics Ranking points and R80,000 for first place. “The total prize pot is R553,000, with the added bonus of R152,100 in ASA Championship prize money.

“We anticipate more than 15 elite international and foreign athletes in the race from different countries like Lesotho, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Ethiopia and Britain, as well as many top local and national athletes competing on South African soil.” added Mbambani.

Athletics South Africa resident James Moloi says the decision to make the NMB Half Marathon a national championship event is an easy one because of the high quality of the race. “We must applaud the organisers of the Nelson Mandela Bay Half Marathon which incorporates the ASA Half Marathon Championships for being one of the best organised races of the 21.1km distance not only in the country but in the world.”

The event, organised by Eastern Province Athletics in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality, saw a thrilling finish in 2022 when Nedbank Running Club Lesotho's Namakoe Nkhasi won in a personal best time of 1hr, 1min 1sec, narrowly beating hometown favourite Melikhaya Frans by seconds. Frans smashed his lifetime best by more than a minute as he set a new EP record and at the same time won his first national title in 1:01:03. Nkhasi and Frans will be on the starting line again next weekend, with hot competition from Kenya's Kipkemoi Kiprono and Ethiopia's Dinkalem Ayele who are looking to improve their personal bests. Desmond Zibi, of Ikhamva Athletics Club, will have the EP 55-59 age group record of 1:12:30 in his sights, which he narrowly missed in 2022.

Top local athletes, Melikhaya Frans and Nedbank Running Club's Thabang Mosiako, both are looking forward to competing with the best next weekend.

“I can’t wait for the NMB Half Marathon, I’m healthy, and although I am still recovering from the Boston Marathon, I will be ready for the marathon on home soil and deliver on race day,” said Melikhaya Frans.  Ikhamva Team-mate, Thabang Mosiako, has set his sights high for the Half Marathon. “I’ve been training hard and my preparations are going well, I am healthy and positive enough to run well and do my best next weekend,” said Mosiako.

With a number of national records having been set at the race since it was first run back in 2014, The Nelson Mandela Bay Half Marathon has built a reputation as one of the fastest 21km courses on the African continent. Last year alone, four national records fell as Lesotho's Namakoe Nkhasi (1:01:01) and Neheng Khathala (1:09:57) bettered the Mountain Kingdom's men's and women's records respectively, while Daniel Paulus (1:01:10) and Helalia Johannes (1:07:49) did the same for Namibia.

This time around Khathala, who took third place (32.13) at the recent Absa Run your City Cape Town 10km, believes that she can improve on her best 2022 NMB Half Marathon clocking which would mean yet another national record. "This year I’m hoping to run under 69. It’s my greatest desire - If I can see myself running under 69 I’ll be very, very happy. I really want to achieve that."

Another rising star athlete from Lesotho, Tsepo Ramashamole, who finished 3rd in the 2022 Soweto marathon, views this race as a huge opportunity for athletes to prove how strong they are.

“This race is the biggest half marathon in Africa, an opportunity for athletes to test themselves against the best. “It has changed my mindset, I see this race as my opportunity to prove myself to my team, my coach, and my family. “I am ready to compete with the best world class athletes and I am looking forward to making the top ten. “I will be very happy if I can do my personal best and finish in under 62 minutes”, added Tsepo.

The 2022 women's race was dominated by Ethiopia's Ftaw Zeray, who led from gun to tape to claim the victory in 1:06:57. Although Zeray will not be competing this year, top Ethiopian confirmed competitors are Genet Habela Abdiffkadir, who is looking forward to improving her personal best time of 1.12.57 from when she last competed in 2018, and Chaltu Bedo, who boasts a personal best half marathon time of 1.11.50.

One to watch for a top five finish is Zimbabwean athlete, Rutendo Nyahora, who boasts a Half Marathon personal best time of 74.29.

British triathlete, now based in South Africa, Emma Pallant Browne, winner of the Two Oceans Half Marathon, her first attempt at this distance, is looking forward to the flat fast 21km route.

“I am going to see how fast I can run time-wise, I’m looking forward to being part of a competitive race, giving everything I’ve got and seeing where that places me. “I’m in good shape, I’ve recently returned from triathlons in Europe, which went well, but I want leg speed from this race. “I want to push all the way to the finish line and run as fast as I can!”, said Emma.

Athletes can enter online at www.webtickets.co.za or at major sporting goods stores. The closing date for all online and manual entries is Monday, 28 May.

The first 400 athletes, excluding provincial teams, to collect their race numbers will receive a special Nike T-shirt, and all finishers will receive a medal.

Collection of race numbers as well as late entries, will be available at registration at Oyster Catcher venue, Southern Sun The Marine Hotel, Summerstrand, from Thursday, 1 June, from 12h00 to 18h00 and from 12h00 to 20h00 on Friday, 2 June. No collection of race numbers will be allowed on the morning of the event.