History was made over the weekend when Jeremia Shaliaxwe ran his first 42km marathon race during the Rössing Virtual Marathon and clocked a remarkable time of 02:19:59 to emerge victorious in the men’s category, while veteran runner Alina Armas-Namupala, for the sixth time, won the ladies open category with her time of 02:51:01.
Both athletes will receive a prize of N$10 000 and a development bonus of N$20 000. A total of over N$90 000 will be awarded to winners in various categories.
“I am extremely excited to record my first marathon event as a winner, as this was not an easy run at all. I ran in Windhoek with a lot of hills – the weather was not so friendly and had a lot of vehicles on the road but I kept motivating myself, especially when my teammate fell out and I had to run all by myself,” said a joyful Shaliaxwe.
Armas-Namupala had this to say: “I trained for this event since December last year and looked forward to a physical event. I am happy that despite the Covid-19 pandemic and all the challenges, the organisers still made sure there is an event for us to participate in. It was not an easy race at all, but discipline throughout was key. The roads were extremely busy but I also had a team that guided me throughout.”
Armas-Namupala congratulated all the runners, saying: “We are all winners from this race and I want to encourage you to never give up because next year, you might be the one to scoop the prize”
The 30th edition of the marathon was for the first time held virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic and attracted over 300 participants.
Rössing Uranium’s corporate communications manager Daylight Ekandjo congratulated all the winners, noting that they knew from the onset that this was not going to be an easy run for the athletes who are used to running in Swakopmund in much cooler weather conditions and on the coastal road terrain with no hills.
“We are indeed proud of you for being brave and completing your races, despite the challenges faced. We take note of the challenges experienced by some of the runners, but we are so proud that for 30 years, Rössing has been promoting healthy lifestyles and wellbeing in our nation – more so during this trying period we are facing as a country. We are hopeful that 2022 will allow us to host a physical event again,” she said.