Wilhelmina Iimene
Road running enthusiasts can look forward to pound the pavement again with the introduction of the Moon Valley Marathon set for 19 March 2022 in Swakopmund.
Sponsored by grocery chain Spar and hospitality and tourist services provider Gondwana Collection Namibia, together with the Namibia Sports Commission, the event is expected to draw 600 runners in the full marathon over 42km, half marathon (21km) and 10km fun race.
Speaking at the launch in Windhoek yesterday, Erongo regional sports officer, Berthold Karumendu introduced Gondwana Collection Namibia as the newest sponsor and partner contributing to sports development in Namibia.
Spar has been involved in local sports activities for several years. Its retail operational manager, Francois Lotter said at the event Namibians have been through tough times during Covid-19, both on personal and business levels, and that it became difficult to do business.
He said their partnership with Gondwana Collection Namibia is to give back to the community and to the individual participants.
“We have a lot of similarities, we both cater for our clients across Namibia, and so we decided to put our hands together and give back to the community,” said Lotter.
On her part, Gondwana direct sales manager, Steny Watermeyer said: “The idea behind the race is to create an event that is fun, sustainably managed and most importantly, live, that the sporting community can look forward to”.
The full and half marathon races will start at 06h00 from the tennis courts at the Mole and will run along the Moon Valley landscape, while the 10km fun run will begin at 10h00.
The Moon Valley is situated about 32km east of Swakopmund in the Namib Naukluft Park. This tourist attraction, described as “otherworldly” is a vista across eroded hills and valleys carved by the Swakop River.
Registrations will be done online and already opened yesterday. It closes on 14 March 2022 at 17h00.
Registration fees for the full and half marathon is N$250 while it is N$150 for the 10km fun run.
More details about the race and registration are available on the Moon Valley Marathon on the Gondwana Collection Namibia website. - imenewilly@gmail.com