Health walks to promote Blantyre 42.195km race

Malawi National Council of Sports (MNCS) has introduced 14-kilometre (km) health walks every Friday in Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu cities.

MNCS Public Relations and Communications Officer Edgar Ntulumbwa said they wanted to encourage people from all walks of life to engage in physical exercise.

He said they also wanted to raise awareness on issues related to the upcoming 6th edition of the Blantyre 42.195km race, which is scheduled for September 7 2024.

“These health walks, which will be starting from 2pm, are free-of-charge and open to everyone. So, we encourage everyone to participate [in them]. Beyond regulating sports in the country, we also have a duty to promote widespread participation [of people] in sports and physical activities. These walks are part of that effort.

“They also serve to familiarise Blantyre citizens and the nation with the marathon route,” Ntulumbwa said.

He said the walks were designed to promote the Blantyre 42.195km race with the goal of continuing to organise them after the competition.

“The walks will trace the marathon route, beginning at the main gate of Kamuzu Stadium and passing through key landmarks including the ShopRite roundabout, Independence Arc, Kenyatta Drive and Kwacha Round-about, before looping through Kamba, Kapeni, Kuhes [Kamuzu University of Health Sciences] and several other notable locations, and finally returning to the stadium,” Ntulumbwa said.

He said similar health walks are planned for Lilongwe, starting from Kamuzu Institute for Sports, and also in Mzuzu.

The winner of this year’s Blantyre 42.195km race will take home K1.5 million while the runner-up and the third-placed runners will receive K1 million and K750,000, respectively, in both the men’s and the ladies’ categories.

This year’s race will be held under the theme ‘Pace Up’.

The aim is to inspire participation in sports and physical activities across all ages, gender and abilities.

In addition to the marathon, MNCS has introduced 10km and 5km races to cater for non-professional runners who wish to join the event.