Zimuto, Murove shine at CBZ Marathon

ZIMBABWE Prisons and Correctional services athlete Patience Murove and Black Rhinos’ Tendai Zimuto were the toast of the day at Old Georgians Sports Club yesterday, emerging victorious in the women’s and men’s 42km races of the prestigious CBZ Marathon.

More than 1700 athletes, among them professional and amateur runners participated in this year’s edition of the CBZ Marathon which was hosted by Harare Athletic Club who have staged the event since its inception in 2019.

Over 1700 athletes participated in the CBZ Marathon at Old Georgians Sports Club in Harare yesterday.

HAC chairperson Walter Chimuka was delighted with the turnout at the event and lauded the high level of competitiveness in the main races.

“We are absolutely delighted that the event went very well and the turnout was great as we had top level competitors, recreational runners as well as wheelchair athletes,” said Harare Athletic Club chairman Walter Chimuka.

“The level of competition was high among the professional runners while the recreational runners made the day even more exciting with their efforts across the board, from the 5km and 10km races to the longer events.” CBZ Group Chief Executive Officer Blessing Mudavanhu was happy with the massive turnout for the event and indicated the local financial services giant would be looking to increase the numbers next year.

“We had more than 1700 participants for this year’s race and I am told that the race was oversubscribed within an hour and we are hoping that next year we scale it up to about 5 000 runners.

“This event is important not just in terms of its role in promoting a sporting culture, but in that it also serves as a qualifier for the Comrades and Two Oceans marathons thereby giving our professional athletes a chance to be exposed to bigger marathons and ultra-marathons out there,” said Mudavanhu.

In the women’s 42km race, 34-year old Murove, who also won last year’s Victoria Falla Marathon, finished well clear of her rivals, coming home in 2 hours, 59:45 minutes. In a race that was dominated by experienced runners, Monica Kativu was second in 3:17:26, with 27-year old Rudo Mhonderwa third in 3:19:43. In the men’s 42km race, Tendai Zimuto clocked 2:18:32 to emerge the winner ahead of Lino Muchena (2:23:08).

For Muchena, yesterday’s second place finish was his second successive podium finish in the CBZ Marathon having finished third in last year’s edition of the same competition. Meanwhile, Olivia Chitate of ZRP won the women’s 21km race in 1:24:10 just over a minute clear of second-placed Emilia Mukungatu (1:25:37). Chiedza Chokore was third in 1:31:36.

Black Rhinos runner Moses Tarakinyu won the men’s 21km race in 1:03:08 ahead of Blessing Waison of Cadence (1:03:25) and Irvines’ Misheck Sithole (1:04:51). In the wheelchair category, Stella Jongwe of Richwood dominated the women’s 21km race, finishing in 1:25:07, seven minutes ahead of second-placed Thandiwe Ndlovu (1:32:27).

Magret Bangajena was placed third in 2:09:30. Munyaradzi Katiyo won the men’s 21km wheelchair race in 1:06:58 ahead of Effort Moyo (1:09:16) and Samson Muroyiwa (1:10:59). The CBZ Marathon also serves as a qualifier for the prestigious Comrades Marathon and Two Oceans Marathon in South Africa with runners required to run a standard 42.2km marathon within five hours in order to be eligible to compete in the two ultra-marathon races.

The Two Oceans Marathon, which features the Ultra Marathon run over 56km as well as a half marathon race, is scheduled for 15- 16 April in South Africa’s Western Cape, while the Comrades Marathon, which is among the world’s most grueling long distance races, is set for 11 June with competitors set to run the 90km stretch between the starting point City Hall in Pietermaritzburg and the finishing point in Durban.