23 Jun 2025

Despite the wintry Saturday morning, a good number of adults, children and young people gathered at both Serowe and Palapye assembly points, participating in the 5-kilometre and 10-kilometre activation runs, all in readiness for the Sir Seretse Khama Day marathon (SSKDM) set for July 1.

Amos Masugae, a technical expert from SSKDM, said in an interview that the marathon, featuring 5km, 10km, 21km and 42.2km events, was expected to attract many participants from both local and international backgrounds. He said the 42.2km race would begin at Morupule in Palapye to Serowe Sports Complex while the remaining races would take place in Serowe.

This year, he said submissions had been received from locations as distant as Japan and other SADC countries. He also said they aimed to be inclusive of every demographic, even accommodating entries from pensioners who wished to take part. 

He said the marathon aimed to honour Sir Seretse Khama and his values, highlighting his famous enthusiasm for sport and his ideals of unity and nation building. He highlighted that it was through sport that individuals from diverse backgrounds came together for shared objectives of healthy competition, improvement of cultural and social life and economic advancement.

Palapye District AIDS Coordinator, Thuso Ernest said this year’s marathon promised to bring more positive outputs, citing that all preparations leading to the main event were seamlessly carried out with due diligence. He noted that the event offered both large and small enterprises the chance to earn revenue and enhance the economies of Serowe and Palapye. Furthermore, he said that the availability of emergency medical services throughout all races provided a safe environment for all participants.

Moreover, he said there would be police stationed at different posts throughout the races to ensure that participants were safe from motorists and common criminals. He urged people to register for the marathon to show solidarity in driving the nation toward attaining good health through physical exercise, adding that, ‘a healthy nation is a wealthy nation’.  ENDS