Money is the name of the game!
LONG distance sensation Lebogang Phalula is looking forward to making money again following the return of road races.
The outspoken Phalula said road races are public enemy number one – because of mass participation in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
The 38-year-old athlete said she lost out on income due to the shortage of races in road running and things became hard for her and fellow runners in the long distance events.
Phalula, her twin sister Lebo, and Rene Kalmer, could not hide their excitement at the launch of the Race to Equality half-marathon at the Marks Park Sports Club, Emmarentia in Joburg at the weekend.
Multi Olympic gold medalist Caster Semenya is the race ambassador, while the athlete she coaches, Glenrose Xaba, confirmed her availability to run the half-marathon.
Athletics SA partnered with the Motsepe Foundation to launch the annual race consisting of 21,1km, 10km and 5km fun run.
The race takes place at the same venue on 12 March as Motsepe Foundation co-founder and CEO, Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe, promised it would become an annual run with increased prize money from next year.
A whopping R150 000 will be shared by the men and women across the half-marathon and 10km categories.
The first man and woman to cross the finishing line walks home with R21k in the half-marathon, second-place finishers get R15k with third-place finishers settling for R12,5k.
The winners of the 10km race will each get R10k, followed by R7,5k for second-place finishers and R5k going for third place.
Phalula, the first black woman to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in the marathon, heaped praise on the Motsepe Foundation for their prize money as she targets first place on the podium.
“I’m in good shape and looking forward to the race,” said Phalula.
“We did not get a chance to run and make money in two years due to Covid-19,” Phalula told SunSport.
Registrations are open. Log on to www.peaktiming.co.za until 4 March. It costs R180 for 21,1km, R120 for 10km, and R80 for R80 for the 5km fun run.
