May 13, 2004
By Ndaba Dlamini
THE 2004 Blue IQ Joburg City Challenge, set to coincide with Nelson Mandela's birthday on Sunday, 18 July, promises to be yet another humdinger for local and international athletes with a host of events lined up for the day.
Runners on the Nelson Mandela bridge
Known as the festival of running, the country's richest race - with more than R750 000 up for grabs - will this year emphasise the role played by the City of Johannesburg during South Africa's 10 years of democracy, a Blue IQ statement said.
"The Blue IQ Joburg City Challenge is an ongoing tribute to Mandela, who is an inspiration to the City and it is fitting to continue to recognise his contribution to our struggle through the race - especially 10 years after our freedom," said former Gauteng MEC for Finance and Economic Affairs, Jabu Moleketi.
The race consists of a 21km half-marathon, a 10-kilometre distance as well as a street mile for invited guests. All race events will start and finish at Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown, where various artists will soothe tired bodies with cool rhythms. Theatre shows and other forms of live entertainment will enhance the vibe.
The first man and woman to finish the half-marathon will each receive R175 000, the high school with the most finishers in the 10-kilometre race will be awarded R20 000 and an amount of R10 000 each going to the winning male and female athletes participating in the street mile.
Commemorative "10 Years of Freedom" medals and T-shirts will be awarded to all finishers and entrants respectively.
Blue IQ, the Gauteng Provincial Government's economic infrastructure development initiative has invested over R600-million towards the regeneration of Johannesburg's inner city, including the Newtown and Constitution Hill projects.
"The City Challenge complements Blue IQ's efforts to revive Newtown into a vibrant centre for the arts, culture and history as well as a business centre free of crime," said Moleketi. "Through this race the government is encouraging all our people to come back to the city and become part of the developments."
To avoid the chaos caused by a huge number of people registering on the day of the race, Blue IQ CEO Pradeep Mararaj said: "All the participants will be pre-registered and the cut-off date is Wednesday, 14 July."
Participants can register online at www.enteronline.co.za or www.saactive.com. Entry forms can be downloaded from www.blueiq.co.za. For more information, contact Nithasha or Bashira on 011 712 9600.
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