Kemoreng Jeffrey Moabankwe will return to defend his Aurum Klerksdorp Marathon title on Sunday when he lines up for the 42,2km race at Wesvalia High School.
Last year the Klerksdorp local thrilled his home-town fans when he blitzed around the course in 2:24 to win by a massive 11 minutes from Gordon Lestedi, with Thabiso Bontsi claiming the final step of the podium.
The women’s marathon winner, Leilani Scheffer, has not pre-entered but may still turn up on the day to join Moabankwe on the start line and defend her title.
The 2019 men’s and women’s half marathon races were won by Joel Mmone and Rone Reyneke respectively.
The Aurum Klerksdorp Marathon starts and finishes at Wesvalia High School and provides runners with 5km, 10km, 21.1km and 42.2km options, but the marathon distance is expected to attract the most interest and will probably enjoy the biggest entry.
The flat two-lap route is regarded as a good opportunity for North West residents to fulfill their Comrades and Two Oceans qualifying requirements.
The Two Oceans takes place on April 11 and the final cut-off date for qualifying for the popular Cape Town event is March 9 and nobody hoping to take part needs to complete a standard marathon in under five hours.
With almost a month to go until that closing date, the Klerksdorp Marathon is well timed as a qualifier for Two Oceans because it provides runners with an opportunity to attempt their qualifier and then still have enough time to recover and try again if they have a problem.
The Comrades Marathon takes place on June 14 and entrants have until May 4 to run a standard marathon in under 4:50.
The marathon and half-distance events start at 5.30am with the 10km and 5km runners setting off at 6.30am. The late entry fee for the 42,2km is R200 and R160 for the half distance, R100 for the 10km and R30 for the 5km. There is a R40 charge for temporary licences for unlicensed athletes.
Late entries will be taken on Saturday from 4pm until 6pm and from 4.30am on Sunday morning at Wesvalia High School.
The event is timed by FinishTime.