MEDIA RELEASE 25 October 2006 SOWETO MARATHON RETURNS HOME TO NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS AFTER FIFTEEN YEARS Sunday 5 November 2006 marks the 15th anniversary of the Nedbank Soweto Marathon. For the first time in feisty, competitive 42 km marathon will run in its entirety within Soweto, starting 06:00 at Elkah Stadium near Moroka and ending at the same venue. The City Johannesburg (COJ) is proud to participate and support this historical event. Through the provision of various logistical services, the city has invested over R500 000. These services are: The Environmental Health Department, which ensures compliance to food handling in terms of the city's Health Regulations The council waste management company, Pikitup which cleans the route before and after the marathon The Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department and the Johannesburg Roads Agency who will be respectively responsible for safety and traffic control The Emergency Management Services and Disaster Management unit, which will be on sight to deal with all emergency and other related situations. The event has become synonymous with top athletes such as Elana Meyer, Bruce Fordyce and the first resident to win the race in 1998 and 1999, Joshua Peterson. He finished the race in 02:18:18, narrowly missing Zithulele Sinqe's course record of 02:18:03, set in 1995. The race is not only limited to professional long distance road runners but also offers those running and local residents an opportunity to tour Soweto on foot. It runs alongside the historic Vilakazi Street, home to two Nobel Prize winners – Former President Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu: the Tsietsi Mshinini Memorial Park at Central Western Jabavu and other rich heritage centres in Soweto. All this is in a bid to turn the township, established as labour dormitory township mostly for the city's black migrant workers in the early 20th century, into vibrant, self –contained shopping, entertainment and residential hub. Investors have recently come around to identify Soweto as a place with great potential to become profitable for both the mushrooming commercial and retail developments. "Runners and spectators will see a different Soweto from the one they experienced last year," says Councillor Amos Masondo, Executive Mayor of Johannesburg. At the end of 2006, the city completed a R485,2-million project of tarring of all roads in the area and earlier this year, the Mayor launched an ambitious project to "green Soweto" through the planting of 300 000 trees over a period of five years. "It is events such as the Nedbank Soweto Marathon that contribute to building Johannesburg into a World Class Sporting City," says Mayor Masondo. Ends Issued by: Nthatisi Modingoane Media Liaison Officer CITY OF JOHANNESBURG Tel: (011) 407 7354 Fax: 403 3494 Cell: 082 467 9228 E-mail: nthatisem@joburg.org.za