Eco-friendly marathon - 3,000 runner target can be met |18 February 2015

Some 2,600 people have registered for this coming Sunday’s Eco-friendly marathon and those who still want to take part can do so by today the latest but they have to pay a 50% penalty on top of the original registration fees.

The organisers, who are targeting 3,000 runners for Sunday’s race, have said they are happy with the number of people who have registered for the event which will start at Beau Vallon at 7am.

The registration deadline was February 15 and race director Giovanna Rousseau revealed to Sports Nation that some 2,600 individuals have registered for the event.

Ms Rousseau also stated that the majority of the athletes who have registered are foreigners although a definitive figure is not yet known.
Other than the full marathon (42 kilometres), the runners have registered for the half-marathon (21 kilometres), 5km and 10km.

The marathon and half marathon will begin at 7am and all athletes must be at the start line by 6.30am the latest. The start of the 5km and 10km races is at 7.45am and all competitors have to be ready at the start line at 7.30am.

With a big turnout, the competitors will be hoping for some great weather to provide the ideal condition for a good race on Sunday.

For the first time since its launch in 2008, the eco-friendly marathon will see the introduction of an electronic mat to clock in the time of the runners as they complete the race.

With tags attached at the back of each runner’s number sticker, the chip timing system will mean that results will be produced and audited quickly and effectively for all the races.

The organisers have said if this system becomes a permanent fixture, it will help cut back on human resources and paper costs in the long run.

Organisers of the annual event will also curb on the use of plastic cups this year with those taking part getting small, conveniently sized 5ml bottles.

The organisers have also added that two measurers arrived in the country yesterday and will start measuring the routes before writing their report.
This is because the Association of International Marathons & Distance Races (AIMS) had written to the organising committee informing them that their certificate which certifies the marathon’s routes for five years has expired.

Each athlete will be receiving a souvenir T-shirt upon completing the eco-friendly marathon, a durable one of premium quality, in fact the best since the marathon’s humble beginnings back in 2008. The Adidas branded orange T-shirts will absorb and dry out sweat quickly, a plus considering the hot Seychelles climate.  As for the officials, theirs will be blue.

Seychellois Simon Labiche and Swedish Anneli Sodergårds are the men’s and women’s defending champions.
Last year, former soldier Labiche clocked 3 hours 03 minutes 15 seconds (3h03:15) – a slow time compared to his previous winning times of 2h41:25 (in 2008), 2h37:38 (in 2009), 2h44:09 (in 2010), 2h46:3 (2011) and 3h02:02 (2013) in the 42km energy-sapping race – for his sixth win.

“I’m happy I’ve finished the race and to get a sixth victory in seven years,” Labiche told Sports Nation after last year’s race.

Italian comic actor Roberto Giordano was second in a time of 3h22:47 and he described the marathon as a “hard race”, while Korean Jeong Seok Geun finished third in 3h29:38.

Other than Labiche, Seychellois James Barra is the other winner of the Eco-friendly Seychelles marathon and he triumphed in 2012 in a time of 3h06:49 in the absence of the former.

On the women’s side, Swedish Anneli Sodergårds who was taking part for the first time last year, triumphed in a time of 3h48:30.
“It’s a tough race. The course is very hilly,” said Sodergårds.

“I thought it was a flat course like the one in Jamaica when I ran a marathon there 10 years ago. The only other problem is the traffic and I had to be careful not to fall over at times. Otherwise, it was well organised with checkpoints at different intervals,” said Sodergårds.

She succeeded African Monica Vorster who clocked 3h33:44 in 2013 to retain her title won for the first time in 2012 under her maiden name Neuling. The South African’s time in 2012 was 3h36:41.

Vorster was the second South African to win the race after Joanne Elizabeth Jones won the inaugural race in 2008 in 4h09:45. Seychellois Simone Jaffa has won the race for three consecutive years – 2009 (3h30:19), 2010 (3h37:31) and 2011 (3h39:10).

Second in last year’s race was Frenchwoman Olivia Peytour in 3h54:37, followed in third and fourth places by Swedish runner Emma Hogberg and Johanna Melin who clocked identical times of 4h37:59. Seychellois Maggy Harray was fifth in 5h23:15.