Nedbank Running Club
A host of top long-distance athletes from across the globe will be converging on Nelson Mandela Bay on Sunday the 6th of March for the 2nd edition of the Nedbank Runified Breaking Barriers 50 km ultramarathon.
The elite runners will be chasing the opportunity to win their share of R1.225 million, which is also one of the largest ultramarathon purses in South Africa.
Starting on Marine Drive, the event will host top national and international athletes from as far afield as Russia, Australia, Kenya and Ethiopia who will complete the flat and fast 10 km loop five times in their quest to break the existing 50km World Athletics (WA) world records.
This year, elite runners are competing for the R130 000 first prize as well as the R150 000 prize if a new World Record is set.
Prizes will also be awarded to the top 10 male and female runners while South Africa's top 5 male and female athletes will also be competing for their share of a separate pool of R200 000.
Last year, the ultramarathon firmly put running in Nelson Mandela Bay on the map when two world records were broken in both the male and female divisions.
Nedbank Running Club's Irvette Van Zyl crossed the finish line at 3:04:23 to be the first South African female to break the Women's (only) 50 km WA World Record.
The men's title, which had been held by Thompson Magawana for over 30 years, was broken by Nedbank Running Club Ethiopia's Ketema Negasa at 2:42:06.
In addition to the event being awarded World Athletics Elite Label status, James Moloi, the President of Athletics South Africa, has confirmed that Nedbank Runified Breaking Barriers 2022 will serve as a qualifying race for the IAU 100km World Championships in August in Germany.
