Fast-paced running to victory in NMC Fast Race 3-in-1

Hundreds of runners lined the R37 on Saturday March 25 to compete for the coveted titles up for grabs in the annual NMC Fast Race 3-in-1, hosted by the Nelspruit Marathon Club.

This race has been part of the Lowveld runner community since the early 80s, and has since attracted the attention of those wanting to compete in a 10km run or their first 21.1km, or to try and qualify for the Comrades Marathon by running the 42.2km.

The race’s popularity is thought to be due to the fact that runners enjoy a long downhill run all the way to the finish line at the Mbombela Stadium, making it a fairly easy Comrades qualifier. The name of the race also originated from exactly this, alluding to the fast pace at which the participants can run the route.

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Covid-19 brought about a decline in the race’s entries, but before this, more than 3 000 runners from all over travelled to the city for it.

The race is slowly picking up pace again, with about 220 entrants to the 10km race, 248 for the 21.1km and a hefty 538 for the 42.2km.

“The 37th edition was a major success,” the club said, but added that there were various obstacles they needed to overcome, however, including traffic, the runners’ safety, and their transport to the different starts. “Due to the start at 05:30 and the fact that it was raining on the morning of the race, the challenge was to direct traffic around and sometimes through the runners waiting on the road. Getting all runners to the different starts by bus became a big challenge that morning.” Although bus transport was available, many runners preferred to make use of their own transport, which exacerbated the challenge of congestion on the road.

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These and other factors like the rain led to the races starting a few minutes later than planned, but by the time the rain had stopped, the day turned out to have perfect weather in which to run.

Eliud Kipsang, an internationally acclaimed marathon runner, and one of the Uniwisp Running Club’s top runners, was expected to clinch the title in the 42.2km race, and was well on his way – that is, up until about 4km to go.

Folavio Sehohle, brother of the well-known Zanele, Stella and Thembi Sehohle of Bella’s Athletics Club, picked up his pace and in the end, passed Kipsang to finish in a time of 02:26:11. Kipsang, who is presently preparing for the world championships, and had been following a very strict training programme, used the race as a training run and was satisfied with his time of 02:27:52.

The first woman to cross the line was Marelise Retief of Impala, who ran the race in 02:55:32.

In the half-marathon races, Abednico Mashaba and Rosaline Isaiah walked away with the victories in the men’s and women’s categories.

Sbonginkosi Maseko and the Zanele Sehohle were victorious for their team (Bella’s Athletics Club) in the 10km.