Record prize money for Navachab Half Marathon 

A record amount of prize money will be on offer when the Navachab Half Marathon takes place for the tenth year at Karibib on 21 September.

At a press conference yesterday, race organiser Bethold Karumendu said the 21km winners’ prizes had been doubled from last year.

“There’s a big surprise waiting for the athletes — this year the men and women’s open category winners will each receive N$20 000, which is a 100% increase from last year. There will also be cash prizes for the 10km run, while the cash prizes in total will amount to close to half a million dollars,” he said.

Karumendu said he was elated to reach the 10-year milestone for the event and thanked the sponsors who had contributed to its success.

“I’m over the moon to have reached this historical moment and I’d like to thank all our sponsors — the ministry of sport, our main sponsor Navachab Gold Mine, FNB, Karibib Town Council, Coca Cola, Nammed, Vivo Energy, Agra Karibib, and Engen Service Station, they all have water points along the road and have contributed in some way or other,” he said.

“When the race started in 2014, we only had about 200 athletes but it has grown steadily to 800 last year, and now we are aiming to crack the 1 000 mark,” he added.

QKR Namibia Navachab Gold Mine’s McLyn Kasale said the idea was to focus on the youth.

“This is a unique race in Namibia because it focusses on the youth. The idea is to cultivate sport among the youth and that’s why this partnership with the ministry of youth is important for us, because we are expecting young athletes from all over Namibia to compete,” he said.

“We are sponsoring an amount of N$700 000, of which the prize money alone will amount to N$350 000. Last year we offered N$10 000 for the winners, but this year we have doubled that amount,” Kasale said.

“The prizes are very good and the idea is to attract as many athletes as possible, even elite athletes from our neighbouring countries. It’s also an opportunity for Karibib to showcase what they have in the city, so we are excited because it will bring an economic boom to the city,” he said.

Nammed Medical Aid Fund’s Sarah Shiningayamwe said they were honoured to be part of the event.

“We have been part of the event for the past four years and we have also been part of the Karibib community with different initiatives where we look at the QKR wellness day and the marathon itself. For us as a medical aid fund, we pride ourselves in being a partner in health for communities in Namibia,” she said.

“Last year, I participated in the 10km run for the first time and now I’m going to do the 21km run, so I’m very excited about that — it’s just about promoting a lifestyle of being healthy through exercise. We are really happy to be part of the event and we are looking forward to it becoming bigger and better,” she added.

Kasale said members of the public will soon be able to register.

“The public is advised to be on the lookout for the entry forms, it will be in most of the mainstream newspapers, or it will be circulating on most whatsapp groups. It’s very easy to register and there are two entry fees — N$100 for adults and N$50 for students under the age of 18,” he said.