In 2012, the race was adopted by Diacore Botswana and participation has grown from 2,000 athletes to over 10,000. Diacore Marathon race manager, Tshepiso Baipidi told Mmegi Sport that celebrating 10 years is no small feat. “We normally have a theme for every edition. This time around, we are not focusing on the theme and we are not partnering with anyone.
The focus is celebrating 10 years of our existence. It is going to be a big celebration. Our focus is on the runners' experience both on the route and on-site,” she said. Baipidi said they always try to have entertainment for the runners along the route. She said as the organisers they always make sure to raise the bar every year. She said planning for the marathon does not get easier as they have to set a certain standard because they have to reach international standards. “We might be based here but we compare ourselves to other international races.
Our race is unique, we cater for everyone, not just elite runners, beginners are included. When we started this race we had about 2,000 runners but now everybody wants to be part of the race. Everyone is like I did 10km last year so this time around my target is 21km,” she said. Baipidi said the biggest race is 10km and the challenge is managing the numbers. “Gaborone is small, so we close the roads from morning until 1pm because our numbers are big. That is our biggest challenge that we are trying to address.
Last year, we had over 11,400 runners. COVID-19 worked for us in a way because the previous year we received 8,100 people,” she said. Baipidi explained that for planning purposes, they close registration three months before the race because they want to plan well and accommodate the numbers they have. She noted that some complained about closing early, but the main reason is to make sure that everything is on point. The 10th-anniversary marathon was initially scheduled for June 4 but it has been postponed to July.
Registration closed in January. “We came across unforeseen circumstances and we ended up moving the date to July 9. Registration closes this Sunday (March 12). We did not take this decision lightly. We considered our runners, obviously our sponsors as well. We even offered refunds, but a few people have asked for refunds. We will keep it open until month-end,” she said. Baipidi said they might extend the registration window but it will depend on the numbers they will have. Baipidi said there will be no changes to the route, citing that she was aware that people want a new route but as organisers, they are comfortable with the current one.
“The way our city has been designed makes it difficult for us to think of changing the route. For us, that route works best hence the reason we are keeping it. We are trying to push more excitement for the runners, especially for the 42km runners. It gets lonely so we will try to engage people along the route to keep pushing the runners,” she said. In races like the London marathon, mass participation event starts the race at around 9am and the last runners at 11am. The men's elite race sets off just before the mass starts at 9:40am. But Baipidi said the hot conditions in Gaborone force them to start the race a bit early. “We do not want the elite runners running in the heat.
It might be winter but it can get hot. Before the runners complete the race, people are already in the streets cheering them on,” she said. Baipidi explained that it is a bit difficult to have activations because they require a lot of resources, especially from the police, medical personnel and other stakeholders. She said on the actual day they use a lot of resources.
“Last year we had over 1,000 runners during our activation. Our activations are not about pushing registration but to hype up the event,” Baipidi said. Baipidi said they have extended invitations to international elite runners. Meanwhile, Baipidi said P1.3 million that was raised from the last marathon was allocated to different charity organisations. She said one project was to install water tanks in Ramotswa and renovate the Lesetlheng Clinic.
