Confusion As Runners �Lost� In Mayor�s Race
Naledi Lemogang | Monday September 18, 2017 15:32
Some runners complained that the few marshals along the route contributed to the mix-up. The runners say they were given wrong directions by some police officers manning the routes. In the women’s 10km run, Rudo Mnoderwa, Gaone Bathoeng and Mema Tiango complained that they ended up running 11km, after they were sent in the wrong direction. They said they were about to give up due to the confusion along the routes. “There were not enough marshals along the routes to direct us. We asked assistance from the police officers, unfortunately most of them did not know the proper routes hence they confused us. We ended up running an extra kilometre than we were supposed to,” Tiango said.
The same confusion happened in the 42km for both the men and women’s races. In the men’s side, Ntoko Kelepile lost the route due to poor directions. Others were confused along the way but managed to get back on track, while on the women’s side, there was no runner-up due to the route confusion. Zimbabwean runner, Tabitha Tsatsa was disqualified after the organisers felt she had used the wrong route. Tsatsa said she was given wrong directions by police officers manning the route.
“There were few marshals along the route who were also a distance from each other. They appeared unaware of the route as they gave me wrong directions, and now I have been disqualified due to their error. The race was disorganised and I have not been working hard to get disqualified due to the organiser’s fault,” Tsatsa said. The winner of the 42km Onneile Dintwe urged organisers to improve their service especially for women as they ran 40km without guide bikers. She said she was not satisfied with services they got along the route. “I am lucky because my managers were running behind me, therefore they were the ones who assisted me to follow the right route. I am not satisfied with the overall setup of the competition because we were not guided in the first 40km. The bikers only accompanied me for the last two kilometres,” she said.
Gaborone mayor, Kagiso Thutlwe said he is disappointed in the marshals along the routes, which calls for an improvement next year. “This was our first initiative of the annual Gaborone Mayor’s marathon,” Thutlwe said. “Therefore, we hope to improve over time.” He said despite that they are happy with the turn out of runners.
Meanwhile, Dintwe pocketed P50,000 for winning the race, the same amount that Dikgakgamatso Modisagape received for coming out tops in the men’s section.