Nelson Mandela Bay - 21.1 km Half Marathon

Following the easing of the COVID-19 regulations, NMBM Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture Portfolio Head, Cllr Helga van Staaden said the commencement of more athletics activities was a major boost for the sports stars who were negatively affected by the pandemic which put a halt to most sports activities.

“We are very happy to see the preparations for this race currently underway and to see our City buzzing with sport activity again. This always means an economic boost for various industries and it is needed more now following the effects of the ongoing pandemic. People have been longing to partake in such an event, the athletes especially, as this is their way of living. They have families to feed,” said Cllr van Staaden.

She however emphasised that together with all relevant stakeholders, the City would ensure that all COVID-19 regulations will be adhered to during the race.

“The number of those who will be taking part has been limited, but generally with athletics the runners keep a distance between each other anyways. So we are confident that they are ready and we wish them well,” she added.

EPA sponsorship liaison officer Michael Mbambani said the Half Marathon race was of the world elite status.

“We have athletes from different counties including Kenya, Ethopia, France, Zimbabwe and Namibia, they will be landing this afternoon in Port Elizabeth. We have 138 athletes coming from different provinces including from KwaZulu-Natal, North West and Gauteng. We have limited our number of participants to 250 people so that we can be compliant with the COVID-19 regulations.”

“The race will be live on television, no spectators will be allowed, they must watch on television and the race will be streamed live on the EPA’s Facebook page. We are very excited as we could not hold the race last year in July due to COVID-19. The race has grown and we have great support from the Municipality,” Mbambani said.

Due to the race, NMBM residents are advised of road closures that will be implemented from the Driftsands Drive and Beach Road intersection in Summerstrand to Noordhoek from 1am on Saturday, 1 May 2021 until 12pm on the same day.

Summerstrand residents will be able to access Beach Road from 2nd Avenue and only proceed towards Town.

The City will also close off the braai area in Summerstrand on Friday, 30 April 2021 afternoon and re-open at 12pm on Saturday to allow for a smooth race. The City apologises for the inconvenience.

Issued by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Communication Office.

 

Note that this is a non-spectator event!