Posted: October 7, 2005

Athletics: New Sponsor For SA Road Running

From David Monti

© 2005 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

By Riel Hauman

Road running in South Africa is set to take a new, prosperous direction next year with the announcement today that the banking group Nedbank has committed itself to a five-year sponsorship deal with Athletics South Africa (ASA). The sponsorship will focus on a Nedbank City Marathon Series and a Nedbank Short Distance Series.

"This new sponsorship will elevate the sport of road running to new heights that we all, as South Africans, can be proud of," Leonard Chuene, President of ASA, said when announcing the deal at a media conference in Johannesburg. "A significant element of the sponsorship is to create South Africa’s premier and most thrilling road running series. We anticipate attracting a maximum number of participants from all over South Africa in 2006, and as the Nedbank Series grows in 2007 and beyond, we hope to reach participants from Africa and abroad. With this significant sponsorship, we will also broaden the participation in the series by creating an appeal that will reach wider than just the traditional runner and involve whole families, women, youth and disabled participants. The face of road running is set to change."

Apart from the marathon and short distance series, the sponsorship will also focus on schools in order to stimulate mass participation among young athletes. An added attraction will be the inclusion of disabled athletes where the race routes permit.

ASA said it would stage three Nedbank City Marathons in 2006: in Johannesburg, Soweto and Port Elizabeth, with the Port Elizabeth event incorporating the SA Marathon Championships. In 2007, the City of Cape Town has been earmarked for inclusion on the race calendar and one further city will be included in 2008, bringing the annual series of city marathons to five.

Each marathon event will incorporate a 5 km schools challenge and a 10 km road race. In addition to the Nedbank Marathon Series, ASA will also stage a premier half marathon and 10 km race each year within the Nedbank Short Distance Series, which will incorporate the SA championships at those distances. (The 2006 SA Marathon will be held in Port Elizabeth on February 5, the half marathon on August 6 and the 10 km on September 17.)

All the marathons will be broadcast live on television.

"South African road running was placed in the spotlight when Josiah Thugwane won the Olympic gold in the marathon event in 1996," said Greg Garden, Nedbank Group Marketing Divisional Director. "Since then our country has perhaps not lived up to its potential in this arena. Through this sponsorship we believe that Nedbank will make a meaningful contribution to road running not only by developing future champions but also unleashing South Africa’s undeniable potential in this sporting code."