By Judith Nyuke
The fourth annual Post Insurance Mr. Pace Half Marathon, held last Saturday at Alex Sports Club in Harare, saw veteran athletes Moses Tarakinyu and Fortunate Chidzivo emerge as the champions.
In the men’s 21km race, Moses Tarakinyu won with a time of 59 minutes and 36 seconds, while Fortunate Chidzivo successfully defended her women’s 21km title, finishing in 1 hour and 10 minutes, ahead of Caroline Mhandu in second and Mirriam Sibanda in third.
Highlighting its growing reach, this year’s competition included international participation, as Kenyan athlete Isaac Langat secured third place in the elite men’s 21 km race.
Last year’s champion, Wayne Kabondo, secured second place, while Golden Mhonderwa of Bowera Sporting Club and Owen Slowly from ZRP finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
The fourth edition of the Post Insurance Mr. Pace half marathon drew around 500 participants across its 10km, 5km, and wheelchair races.
The event received a significant boost from sponsors Nicoz Diamond, Global Risk Underwriting Managers (Gruma), and Zimpost’s Post Insurance, who collectively contributed US$20,000.
Tarakinyu expressed satisfaction with his performance, particularly pleased to have bested a strong field to win the US$700 top prize.
“I am happy to have won this race, it was a really competitive race but I was well prepared,” he said.
Maxwell Chitendeni, Zimpost’s Postmaster General, described the half marathon as a gesture of community engagement.
“We are here to celebrate a spirit of healthy lifestyle, but most importantly, to give back to the community in which we operate. This year’s theme talks about promoting physical mental health, wellness and socialisation’ and this resonates deeply with all of us,” he said.
Muvengwa Marumahoko, managing director of Gruma, expressed his delight at the event’s growth over the past four years.
“It’s our fourth year and we have exceeded the numbers that we were targeting as we hit 500 participants. We are also thrilled with just how competitive the races turned out to be as we had top elite athletes giving it all for the top prize,” he said.
David Nyabadza, Nicoz Diamond’s managing director, commended the impressive turnout and highlighted the importance of involving youth in such initiatives.
“We are very happy about the turnout as we have got much more people than we had last year. This is a very important event for us especially at a time when we have got youths who are idle and hooked on all sorts of substances. So, our belief is that we can lead in providing a platform for them to use their time more productively and also to nurture the talent that is there,” Nyabadza said.
