South Africa: Hundreds of athletes, young and old, braved the cold weather on Saturday morning when they took part in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s sponsored Colchester Development Run, which seeks to develop athletes and promote a running culture within families.
The race, which covers distances of 5 km and 10 km, is a partnership between the City and the Eastern Province Athletics (EPA) and has been successfully running for five years now, bringing sporting activity and excitement to the Colchester area.
NMBM Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture Portfolio Head, Cllr Bassie Kamana, said that the hosting of the race on Saturday was an investment by the City aimed at developing professional athletes and bridging the gap between young and old runners to inspire a new generation of runners.
“We are proud to be partners with EPA and are committed to supporting the race, as it develops our children and makes a connection between generations so that the wisdom of the senior citizens is transferred to the young ones, leading to proper development. Today’s race is a transgenerational race.
As a City, we commit to supporting this race, as we believe that a child in sports is a child out of court.”
“This race promotes the active lifestyle we always want our residents to adopt. Fitness is key to proper thinking,” Cllr Kamana said.
Thabang Mosiako was the overall winner in the 10nkm race, walking away with a cool prize of R4000.
Eastern Province Athletics‘ Mike Mbambani said that the race was aimed at taking the sport to the people, promoting a healthy lifestyle and bringing stiff competition amongst the athletes.
“There are a lot of financial benefits associated with the race. Colchester is part of Nelson Mandela Bay, and we must not forget that, so it is important to bring such events here.”
He added that more races would take place, including a 10 km race at King’s Beach in August to commemorate Women’s Day.
