Media and Stakeholder Briefing on the Mandela Marathon held at Mvezo Komkhulu (The Great Place) on Monday 10th April 2023
Greetings all protocol observed
We wish to thank all of you present for taking the time to be here on this historic occasion at this historic place and to witness a historic moment.
I am reminded of that famous quote from ‘Long Walk to Freedom’ where uTatomkhulu President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela says and I quote: “I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.”
The Mandela Marathon is a timely reminder of that epic journey and brings us back to Mvezo Komkhulu (The Great Place) where the journey began on the 18th July 1918 when he was born to Nkosi Mphakanyiswa Gadla and Nosekeni Nongaphi Mandela. His father was chief counselor to the AbaThembu regent Jongintaba Mtirara who became his guardian after his father’s demise and was raised in his household from the age of 9 to 16 years of age.
Here we are back at Mvezo on the banks of the great Mbashe River. Where he tended cattle as a young boy and strolled these hills. In his own words he described that “Mvezo was a place apart, a tiny precinct removed from the world of great events, where life was lived much as it had been for hundreds of years.’
We welcome you to this remote and deep rural area, a place of great beauty, an abiding legacy and a timely reminder that there are yet many more hills to climb. The Mandela Marathon is one such hill, a beacon of hope, a citadel of memories, a milestone on our journey to freedom, hope and a world of new possibilities.
Mvezo gave birth to the first democratically elected black President of South Africa and the founding father of our nation. The world stood in awe as he stood triumphantly taking the oath and bringing to an end more than three centuries of colonialism and nearly six decades of Apartheid.
On that day in history the 10th May 1994 he delivered his inaugural speech and reminded us in these words and I quote: “We have, at last, achieved our political emancipation. We pledge ourselves to liberate all our people from the continuing bondage of poverty, deprivation, suffering, gender and other discrimination.”
The Mandela Marathon is the initiative of the Royal House of Mandela to commemorate the historic significance of May 10th 1994 in the long struggle of the people of South Africa accomplishing democracy. The Marathon is a first of its kind in Mvezo, known the world over as the birth place of President Nelson Mandela.
On May 10th 1994, with the abolishment of Apartheid, South Africa ushered in a new dawn. Nelson Mandela was elected as the first black President of a democratic South Africa. His presidential inauguration took place the at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa.
To date, the legacy of the “founding father of democracy” remains the most documented symbol of freedom and equality across the world. Madiba’s was the embodiment of unity, reconciliation, authentic and astute leadership.
Today, sport has emerged as an important component of socio-economic development of any country and a great tool in the ability to enhance social cohesion. In launching and hosting the Mandela Marathon as a calendar marathon in the Province of the Eastern Cape, we are upholding his legacy, and his love and devotion to sport as powerful tool of personal development and nation building.
Whilst paying homage to the life and times of Madiba, the event objectives is to utilize running sport as a tool to narrate the important episodes of Madiba’s life by retracing the history of his birthplace, childhood and family life.
It seeks to provide exposure and promoting the culture of running amongst running athletes and sporting enthusiast in the King
Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality and ultimately the entire Province of the Eastern Cape, popularly known as the Home of Legends.
The Mandela Marathon aims at encouraging a thriving economic activity through sport with the objective of boosting Mvezo’s image and positioning it as an attractive safe destination for tourism and business.
It aims to stimulate interest among the stakeholders, as well as potential role players, with the aim of soliciting financial and material support for staging a project of this magnitude and showcasing the benefits thereof through other extended meaningful social legacy programmes such as promoting access to education.
We aim to position the Mandela Marathon as a strong anchor brand that can sell the KSD region internationally as a destination of choice for competitive running sport and leisure within Oliver Tambo District municipality with tangible economic spinoffs.
The Mandela Marathon aims to promote the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and wellness amongst society whilst offering to health and fitness subsidiaries and various financial institutions, a solid value proposition to limitless marketing and exposure to a plethora of LSM income groups.
The Mandela Marathon is a powerful symbol of his legacy and a timely reminder of the role that sport played in our struggle and our long journey to transform our nation. On the 25th May 2000, he reminded us that: “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than government in breaking down racial barriers. It laughs in the face of all kinds of discrimination.” (close quote)
From his early years, Mandela has always been a staunch sport enthusiast. He regarded sport as a unifier of society. During his Presidency, Madiba contributed immensely towards policy change in the South African sporting community especially in the reconfiguration of the quota system within domestic sport. He further invested most of his efforts advocating for the reinstatement of South Africa’s national professional teams into the world sporting arena.
This legacy is in large responsible for South Africa hosting the Rugby World Cup, Cricket World Cup as well the iconic FIFA World Cup in 2010.
Today, sport is at the centre of the fight against racism and draws great inspiration from the words of our global icon: ” I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
Throughout his life, Madiba spoke out against any acts of injustice and human suffering. He challenged world leaders to always seek peaceful means when confronted with difficult and uncommon issues of human rights and inequality. The world over Madiba is recognized as an iconic symbol for the oppressed.
In launching the Mandela Marathon at Mvezo, we invite participants to reconnect with the legacy of Mandela and be inspired by the same spirit that led a young herder of cattle to become President of a country and a global icon of peace, justice, human rights and dignity for all.
We are confident that the legacy of President Mandela will draw great interest from all over the world and will draw big crowds and posses the ability to sustain and retain a loyal support base which is a key ingredient when hosting a marathon.
Our experience with the Mandela Day Marathon at the Howick Capture site in KZN over the past decade will provide us a blueprint for Mvezo in order to deliver an even more enhanced event of international standards.
The main hosts of the Mandela Marathon are Mvezo Komkhulu-the Great Place and the KING SABATA DALINDYEBO MUNICIPALITY. Although this is the first time a marathon of this magnitude is held in Mvezo, a curtain raiser was held in 2018 in order to test the response of nearby ahletics clubs in the KSD Municipality.
The 10km marathon was well receive and the survey rate provided us with the necessary confidence to invest our time in
developing strategies and gaining knowledge of best practises to adopt moving forward. The event was able to draw the participation of just over 400 runners.
Mvezo village posses an ideal landscape which offers a thrilling, adventure filled terrain centric to runners, hikers and mountain bikers enthusiasts.The marathon offers more than just a running experience. The route is designed to present participants with a lifetime opportunity to connect with the soul of Madiba’s legacy.
The complete route will start at the backdrop of the historic heritage site of the birthplace of President Mandela (Mvezo village) and ultimately connect with his final resting place (Qunu village) where him and his family were forcefully relocated by the apartheid government.
The Mandela Marathon offers an excellent calendar event for every marathon enthusiast. Its main objective is to instill a unique sporting culture of non-racialism, unity and peace amongst sporting people as well the public in general and expose the diversity of South African sporting people.
It aims to create a double tier event with unique characteristics in furthering the aims of the legacy of Nelson Mandela within society by providing multidimensional opportunities to corporates as well as public sector with high-value, interactive experience for attendees and heightening brand engagement.
We aim to create an environment where corporate sponsors and associated partners get highly involved and are provided an opportunity to yield maximum benefits in relation to their investment and participation.
The Mandela Marathon OFFERS VALUE FOR MONEY IN ALL ASPECTS OF THE MARATHON END-TO-END EXPERIENCE
This will be an event program that will be staged over a weekend with primary activities taking place on both the Saturday and the Sunday.
Although the running and walking activities will be the main driver of the program, other activities that are linked to the healthy lifestyle initiatives will be incorporated.
• This not only allows for more activities to be included, but will ensure that more people can be involved and be touched by the brand.
• This is to be the primary event driver with the aim of being as inclusive as possible
• Multi distance event with one finish area and various start areas and routes
Distances to be:
* 42.2km
* 10km
Participants can elect to either run or walk these distances.
Due to the historic significance of May 09th The Mandela Marathon will be hosted as an annual calendar as a remembrance of the achievement of the liberation of South Africa.
The marathon is ideally positioned within the cooled temperature period of South Africa’s all-round warm weather. The month of May is a convenient season for running as it is the welcoming of winter events in the Athletics South Africa (ASA) calendar. Mandela Marathon is a perfect setting for the advocacy of what Madiba stood for. The event will be a platform to which all attendees will add their voice to a global movement for peace.
The Mandela Marathon will pursue the Marathon qualification criterion status inline with ASA regulations in order to lure into our event, competitive quality athletes and build a world-class marathon for the social benefit and economic gains of our region.
The Marathon aims to develop strategies towards the status of AIMS and IAAF. All protocols including the routes for all events associated with the Marathon will meet all protocols and highest safety prescripts. The marathon maintains a high level drug free event and every precaution is put in place in making sure that every participant of the 42.2km goes through a vigorous drug test which are conducted in accordance with the ASA governance rules and regulations.
As we prepare to host the inaugural Mandela Marathon here in Mvezo on the 13th May 2023, we invoke that powerful and inspiring call to greatness and success: “It always seems impossible until it’s done!”
I thank you!!
Our next meeting will be 18th April 2023 at 12:00 Venue: Mvezo Komkhulu.
Nkosi Zwelivelile
Royal House of Mandela
Mvezo Komkhulu
P.O. Box 126
Viedgesville 5102
Eastern Cape Province
South Africa
