Rainhold Hilifa and Ottilie Aimwata conquer 2023 Husab Marathon
Over the weekend, the annual Swakop Uranium’s Husab Marathon took place and made a grand return to the Namibia running calendar.
The event was held at the Husab Access road near Arandis, featuring an out-and-back route onto the B2 road.
Despite the early start and cold weather, over 600 participants showed up, and free transportation was provided from Walvis Bay, Swakopmund, and Arandis as early as 4:30 AM.
The event was graced by the presence of His Excellency Zhao Weiping, the Chinese Ambassador, Hon. Neville Andre, the Governor of the Erongo region, and Mr. Qiu Bin, the CEO of Swakop Uranium. They all started off the 10km and 5km races in a spectacular fashion.
Rainhold Hilifa in a time of 02:27:08, and Ottilie Aimwata in a time of 03:08:38 bagged the overall Grand Prize of $22 000 each for the 42km race with the fastest times overall.
Other prize winners were from the Grand Master, Master, Veteran & Junior categories who all received cash prizes. Disabled participants and Swakop Uranium employees also took part and will receive their cash prizes in separate dedicated ceremonies. The total prize money amounted to $ 170,000.
For the final results follow: https://results.finishtime.co.za/results.aspx?CId=35&RId=4271
Annually, the event serves as both a Sports day and a Community Fun Day where families enjoy a day close to the beautiful Namib Naukluft National Park. The route is arguably the most challenging of any race in Namibia, as it is filled with undulating hills and steep inclines through the desert.
Food was on sale and free entertainment was available to all participants including a Kungfu performance from school children from Okahandja. Jumping castles and a free kiddie race for children below the age of 6 were what made the event unique and appealed to both the young and old.
Sponsorships were received from several partners to the Husab Mine which contributed to the event’s overall success. The Swakop Uranium Sports Committee and the Office of the Governor will select several schools and organisations to be recipients of the remaining proceeds.
This initiative falls in line with the Company’s mandate to ensure that it is ploughing back much-needed support to the needy.
