SA's richest race celebrates 10
12 July 2004
The 2004 Blue IQ Joburg City Challenge, taking place on Sunday 18 July, celebrates Nelson Mandela's 86th birthday, 10 years of democracy in South Africa, and the role that Johannesburg played in the transformation of the country.
The "Festival of Running" will draw top local and foreign athletes, as well as the city's fun-running crowds for a day of partying in Newtown.
Last year's event celebrated the opening of the Nelson Mandela Bridge in Newtown, Johannesburg. Gauteng Finance and Economic Affairs MEC Jabu Moleketi says Mandela is still very much in the spotlight for the 2004 race.
"This is an ongoing tribute to one of South Africa's living icons", Moleketi said. "Nelson Mandela is an inspiration to the City, and it is fitting to continue to recognise his contribution to our struggle through the race."
Blue IQ has put up over R750 000 for South Africa's richest race. That includes R175 000 each to the winners of the men's and women's half-marathons, up by R25 000 over 2003, and R5 000 each to the men's and women's winners of the street mile, which will be contested by invited athletes.
The "Festival of Running" also includes a 10-kilometre race, with prize money of R20 000, R10 000 and R5 000 on offer to the high school with the most, second-most and third-most finishers respectively.
All entrants will receive commemorative "10 Years of Freedom" t-shirts, and "10 Years of Freedom" medals will be awarded to all finishers.
Last year's inaugural Blue IQ Joburg City Challenge drew a field of 15 000 runners, including the cream of South Africa's half-marathon and marathon athletes. Victory, however, went to foreign visitors. Moroccan Jaouad Gharib won the men's race - a prelude to his victory in the Marathon World
Championships in Paris shortly afterwards - while Russia's Gacina Alexandrova captured the women's title.
All race events start and finish at Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown, which will be a hive of activity on the day, with various artists soothing tired bodies with cool rhythms, and theatre and other forms of live entertainment enhancing the vibe.
Moleketi says the City Challenge goes hand in hand with Blue IQ's efforts to reinvigorate Newtown as a centre for arts, culture and history. "Through this race the government is encouraging all our people to come back to the city and become part of all the exciting developments under way", he said.
Blue IQ, the economic infrastructure development initiative of the Gauteng provincial government, has already invested over R600-million in the regeneration of Johannesburg's inner city.
The proceeds from the Blue IQ races will, like last year, be donated to Hope Worldwide, which will channel the money to the
Soweto-based Siyawela Community Childcare programme, that provides counselling and support for HIV/Aids infected and affected children.
To avoid the chaos caused last year by a huge number of people registering on the day of the race, all participants will be pre-registered for this year's races, with 14 July the cut-off date.
Participants can register online at EnterOnline or SA-Active.com. Entry forms can be downloaded from the Blue IQ Joburg City Challenge website.
SouthAfrica.info reporter
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