Standard Bank’s Be More Race back

The Standard Bank Be More Race is back with stakes raised and some major changes and surprises compared to the 2017 event.

According to Standard Bank chief executive officer William le Roux, the race, to be held on June 9, will take a slightly different route around Lilongwe City and focuses on promoting group exercises as opposed to highlighting individual brilliance.

“To reinforce a group race culture, we will conduct regional races in the major cities of Blantyre, Lilongwe, Zomba and Mzuzu that will act as building blocks to the main race on June 9. During all these sub-races, we are encouraging customers, families, bank employees, fitness enthusiasts, both professional and non-pro athletes to come and join our Be More Race”club and be part of an exciting journey towards healthier living,” he said during the launch of the 2018 edition at the Bingu International Convention Centre (Bicc) in Lilongwe on Friday.

Whereas last year the race took participants from the city to the natural setting of Kumbali Lodge on the outskirts of Lilongwe, this year it is more of  an entirely city experience.

Le Roux said the race will start from the bank’s head office at City Centre and stretch out to Area 18, Mtandire, areas 49, 9, 6, 47 and 10 before heading back towards City Centre and finish at Bicc covering a distance of 21.2 kilometres (km).

Like the 2017 race, the distances have been split into three key legs of 5km, 15km and 21.2km for both men and women and also children above the age of 12. A registration fee will apply for marathoners as well as professional athletes.

For the 21.2km, marathoners will each pay K17 000 and K10 000 for the 15km race whereas for the 5km stretch it has been pegged at K6 000.

Prize money for winners range from K1.5 million for the winner in the 21.2 km both for the men’s and women categories, K1 million for the 15km stretch and K550 000 for the 5 km race.

The CEO said the approach to promote group fitness has been supported by a research which indicates that people were more likely to achieve better results from group fitness routines as opposed to working out solo.

“The  race is a multi-faceted and dynamic event that will become a rallying platform for achieving health, social cohesion and financial inclusion.  Be More Race is probably the only event combining sport, health and financial inclusion on one platform as it brings together people from diverse backgrounds and interests to achieve their respective goals through one race,” he said. n