The Sunday News
Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
THE Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, Raj Modi, has committed to make the Liquor Hub Fun Run an international event ahead of the seventh edition of the race on Sunday.
The race, which has been the mainstay of the local athletics calendar, will this year start and end at the Liquor Hub on Fife Street between 4th and 5th avenues and is being sponsored to the tune of R50 000.
In his address to the media yesterday, Modi, a seasoned benefactor of Bulawayo athletics, confirmed his will to find resources to make the event meet international standards, as required by World Athletics.
“This is more than a commitment, it is a reality that will come into being, making this an international event in the future,” said Deputy Minister Modi.
Winners of the Liquor Hub race for both men and women will pocket R3 500 each, an amount that has attracted some of the best road runners in the country in the past. Moses Tarakinyu, Jonathan Chinyoka, Trust Chidomaya, Isaac Mpofu, Kelvin Pangiso and Nkosiyazi Sibanda are some of the top athletes who have taken part in the 10km race in the years gone by.
The top three in the junior men and women’s categories will get R1 250, R800 and R600 respectively.
The top two in both male and female wheelchair sections will walk away with R1 500 and R1 000.
Athletics clubs, schools and companies are invited for the race, whose proceeds from registration fees are donated to charities in the Matabeleland region.
Physical registration is now in progress at Liquor Hub Wholesale Centre with enrolment fees set at US$5 or ZWL$4 000 for seniors, US$3 or ZWL$2 500 for juniors and US$2 or ZWL$1 500 for the charity walk. As of yesterday, more than 30 runners had registered. — Follow on Twitter @innocentskizoe
