Vic Falls border post on 12-hour  shutdown  during marathon

falls marathon

Leonard Ncube in Victoria Falls

THE Victoria Falls Border Post will be closed for 12 hours between tonight and tomorrow morning to pave way for the 2017 Econet Victoria Falls Marathon.

Organisers expect over 2 000 athletes to participate in the 11th edition of the annual fete where 1 300 entries had been made yesterday.

The resort town was a hive of activity as scores of athletes arrived and went through registration at a local hotel where they were being given race numbers while registration will continue today.

All athletes are expected to sleep over in Victoria Falls ahead of the races which start at 6AM tomorrow and those using the Victoria Falls border are expected to have crossed before end of the day.

“Please be advised that the Zimbabwe/Zambian border will be temporarily closed from 22H00 on the 17th June until 08H30 on the 18th June for the Victoria Falls Marathon. Please note it will only be open for the normal flow of pedestrian and vehicle traffic after 08H30. All guests participating in the marathon will need to stay in Zimbabwe on the night of the 17th June,” said the organisers on the website.

One of the organisers Brent Williamson said the annual event provides an opportunity for the tourism sector as athletes will take time to sample various tour activities.

He said they were expecting veteran runners who have dominated the event over the years to feature although he could not confirm who among some of them had registered yesterday.

He said there is a sizeable number of Tanzanians who had registered and ready to challenge Zimbabwean dominance.

Prize money has not changed, with those who will come first getting $900 for the full marathon, $500 for half marathon and $30 vouchers for fun run.

There will also be a category for the wheelchair bound runners who will get certificates.

Entry fees are pegged at $10 for locals and $20 for foreigners. The fun run registration is $3 and minimum age for the event is 10 years.

Only those above the age of 21 are eligible for the full marathon, while the minimum age for the half marathon is 18 years.

All races will start at the car park opposite the Post Office then cross over the Victoria Falls Bridge briefly into Zambia and back into the Zambezi National Park and end at Victoria Falls Primary School.

Econet and its various brands remain the major sponsors and Wild Frontiers, which has interests in tourism locally and in Botswana and Zambia, are the event organisers.

The marathon was devised in conjunction with the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe (Naaz) and is an Association of International Marathon and Distance Races registered event.

It is also one of the major marketing events for the country’s tourism sector as runners sample rafting, canoeing, boat cruising, game viewing, elephant back safari and bungee jumping activities while in the resort town.

@ncubeleon

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