Entries have opened for the annual race to be held on 30 November.
Following much controversy behind the scenes, the Soweto Marathon will go ahead as planned at the end of November, organisers have confirmed.
One of South Africa’s most popular road running events, the race through the historic township has often faced problems due to infighting among stakeholders and squabbles around broadcast rights.
And the bubbling behind the scenes almost reached boiling point this year, with reports emerging that it might be cancelled.
While members of the Soweto Marathon Trust (SMT) had been suspended by Athletics South Africa, they continued to insist they were actively involved in the race.
Other members of the SMT said they had then approached the clubs (the beneficiaries of the SMT) with the concern that they did not have access to the bank account, which was allegedly under control of suspended members, in order to make and receive payments.
A non-profit company (NPC) was then formed, with approval from the clubs in Soweto, as a conduit to ensure sponsors could deposit funding and service providers could be paid.
“The Soweto Marathon NPC is carrying the race on behalf of the Soweto athletics clubs and has confirmed that all is on track with the race organising team, race office, partners and sponsors remaining committed as per the hugely successful 2024 Soweto Marathon,” the NPC said in a statement on Thursday.
New race date
While the race was initially scheduled to be held on its usual date – the first Sunday in November – the organisers opted to postpone it by a few weeks in order to ensure it did not clash with the G20 Summit in Joburg.
Instead, the race would be held on 30 November, starting and finishing in Nasrec.
Entries for the 10km, 21km and 42km races had opened and would be accepted on the Soweto Marathon website.
A large prize purse was also announced, with the men’s and women’s 42km winners taking home R250,000 each.
