State President Lazarus Chakwera is expected to feature in the Tauka Athletics Club 24 Hours Non-stop Fit to Run Malawi fundraiser today morning.
Forty-plus athletes are expected to arrive in Lilongwe later today from Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre in a move that is aimed at raising about K300 million meant for the club’s operations.
Tauka Athletics Club intends to build an athletes’ high-performance centre in Blantyre and also buy a bus for easy transportation of physically challenged athletes.
Chakwera is expected to join the final one-kilometre (km) stretch of the race from the Interchange to Lilongwe Area 18, according to Tauka Athletics Club officials.
Speaking during the start of the 312km race at Kamuzu Stadium Wednesday, Tauka Athletics Club Head of Operations Mzee Makawa said his club believes that they can emulate the feats of countries such as Kenya and Ethiopia by developing top athletes through private clubs.
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“We have decided to hold this event to raise money so that we can have our own high-performance training centre in a country, have never qualified for the Olympics. Time has come for us to, if well supported, produce athletes who can qualify and effectively compete at the international level. This is the more reason we are having this event,” Makawa said.
Meanwhile, Tauka Athletics Club head coach Moses Mkondowe has said proceeds of the event would help athletes who are physically challenged to attain modern training equipment to further improve their game.
“Since Southern Bottlers Malawi Limited pulled out their sponsorship some years back, we have struggled to incorporate our colleagues who are physically challenged, and even those who are visually impaired, to take part in the games.
“We would like to assure the corporate world, and all other individuals who will assist us, of transparency and accountability as the money will be channelled into the club’s account,” Kondowe said.
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Meanwhile, one of the athletes, 48-year-old Jackson Sadik, has said he is ready to run and help Tauka raise funds for the cause.
“I am ready and eager to run. I have been training a lot while preparing for this event,” he said.
Every athlete is expected to cover a distance of 10km
Those who will join the President at the Interchange in Lilongwe today will pay a participation fee of K200, 000 each while those participating in the 20km race will pay K20,000.
People who are participating in the 10km race are paying K10,000 each while those participating in the 5km race are paying K5,000. Members of the corporate world are paying K500,000 per stretch.
