Postmasburg — A strong field of athletes is expected to make the journey to the small mining town of Postmasburg in the Northern Cape this weekend to fight for nearly R300 000 worth of prizes at the Great Kolomela Iron Road Race on Saturday (Nov 16).
The generous sponsorship from Anglo American’s Kumba Iron Ore, which operates the nearby Sishen and Kolomela iron ore mines, means the race organisers are able to offer some attractive incentives for athletes chase glory over the 21km, 10km and 5km races.
The small Northern Cape town just east of Upington is certainly not renowned as an athletic destination, but this event could figuratively put the town on the map if a sprinkling of elite athletes make the journey north to pick up an early Christmas bonus.
Both the winning male and female athletes in the half-marathon distance will add R20 000 to their bank balances while second and third in both categories are worth R10 000 and R5 000 respectively.
The 10km and 5km winners will earn R10 000 and R5 000 respectively, while all age categories from junior up to the 80-plus class will all received cash prizes for first to third in both men and women in all three races. There is also prizemoney for race walkers
All the Great Kolomela Iron Road Races start and finish at the Postmasburg Showgrounds from 6am.
Race registration on the afternoon of Saturday November 15 at the showgrounds and before the start on race day. Entry fees are R110 for the 21km, R90 for the 10km and R30 for the 5km. The R40 fee for a temporary ASA licence will apply for those who do not have licence. 5km runners must be five years or older, 10km runners must be 14 years or older, and 21 km runners must be 16 years or older.
Online entry and race details are available at http://bit.ly/kolomela.
FinishTime will time the event.