Milestone race for Legogote Villagers

Runners from all over the Lowveld were up early on Saturday morning to run the 30th Mozma’s Race. This was a milestone event for the Legogote Villagers, as the 21km race was the very first hosted by the club when it was established.

Close to 300 athletes assembled behind the starting line, with 100 participating in the 21km and 130 in the 10km. The 5km was also very popular and the number of participants had doubled compared to last year.

A few people walked it with their dogs or while pushing strollers, while some ran it accompanied by their children.

There was a lot of excitement when the record for the men’s event was broken by Tebogo Pulusa of the Dwarsriver Marathon Club with 1:08:56.

Ntuthuko Maseko of Nedbank LVCC came second with 1:10:36 and Bheki Nkosi of Born to Win was third in 1:18:14. The first woman to cross the finish line was Nontukoso Dlamini of Nedbank LVCC with 1:31:35, second was Allison Hay of Nelspruit Marathon Club in 1:40:36 and Elsa de Beer, also of the same club, third with 1:43:28.

In the 10km event, William Mothosane of Nedbank LVCC came in first with 34:07, Thabo Ndlobu of Run/Walk for Life was second in 35:12 and Frans Phehli of Dwarsrivier MC was third with 36:38.

Among the females, Sibongile Mlombo of Legogote Villagers proved to be the fastest with a time of 52:27. Shannon Whittal was second with 53:32 and Charlien Lourens third in 56:03.

Runners each received a medal for their participation and stood a chance to win caps, T-shirts and other prizes in a lucky draw. To chase away the early morning, chill spectators and athletes sipped on coffee and ate pancakes and hotdogs.

Villagers say it plans to make next year’s race even bigger and more successful thanks to a new sponsorship from Mozma’s Cleaning.

For information on the next race or to join the Legogote Villagers visit www.legogotevillagers.co.za