Story by Lawrence Trusida
Ten thousand United States dollars has been set aside for this year’s edition of Mr. Pace half Marathon sponsored by Post Insurance.
The Marathon is the brainchild of former long-distance runner Collin Makaza who was affectionately known as Mr. Pace during his Heyday.
Close to 500 runners are expected to compete in this year’s edition set to be held on the 13th of May at the National Sports Stadium’s B Arena.
“We would like to thank the sponsors; Nicoz Diamond, Zimpost, and Gruma for coming on board because in this day and age, it is a bit hard to get serious sponsors but this sponsorship changes everything and shows that the corporate world is starting to appreciate athletics,” said Makaza who is also the Chairperson of Mr. Pace Academy.
The annual half marathon has been going on for over five years, but ZimPost joined the bandwagon last year as a part sponsor, but they were impressed by what they saw pushing them to increase their sponsorship this year.
Zim Post Acting Postmaster General Maxwell Chitendi said, “After successfully hosting the 10km last year, we saw it prudent to have another race.”
He went on, “We are happy to be launching the Zimpost Mr. Pace half-Marathon, which will be held early next month. Sports promote a healthy lifestyle and healthy living and we as Zimpost have decided to make sure we support that through initiatives like this race.”
The main race will be the 21km half marathon which is expected to bring out all the best local athletes and those preparing for Olympics qualifiers, while a 10km, as well as a recreational 5km race, will be held on the sidelines.
ZimPost will also work together with Global Risk and Nicoz Diamond Insurance to sponsor the half marathon.
