Deloitte Challenge Marathon held under hot conditions in Durban

Global professional services firm Deloitte has held the 2019 edition of its Deloitte Challenge Marathon in South Africa, and the event attracted a number of participants from across the country and the world. More than 9,000 athletes participated in the event, which was held in extremely challenging conditions. 

The high temperatures made this the “hottest” Deloitte Challenge Marathon in the event’s history, which spans half a decade. The event took place in Durban, and was presented by The Dolphin Coast Striders, with the prize money for the whole event amounting to R100,000.

Participants hailed from all across South Africa as well as from a number of other countries, and displayed their skills in a number of different athletic segments, including running and cycling. Nevertheless, the event wasn’t without its hiccups, and a number of participants suffered under the sever conditions.

Not only was the medical staff called upon a number of times to treat runners, but there was reportedly a shortage of water supply along the race route, which caused a number of dehydration-related incidents. The route ran along the M4 highway in Durban to finish at the amphitheatre on the Durban Promenade.

Commenting on the water shortage, Chairman of the Dolphin Striders ­– who themselves had 24 participants in the event –  Paul Swinson said, “We initially followed the normal ratios of water per runner applied to most races, however after seeing the weather forecast additional water was ordered on the Friday prior to the race and additional water supplied on race day.”

“Although there are a number of factors that contributed to the shortage of water, these factors do not make up for the fact that many entrants had to endure long distances without official water supply,” he added. A number of people were forced to withdraw from the race midway as a result.

The winners at the event included Siyabonga Nkonde, who won the Standard Marathon event, as well as Janie Grundling, who won the women’s event. Ryan Harris was the winner of the Deloitte Cycle Challenge, which was also part of the overall sporting events. Deloitte has maintained its running event, despite KPMG withdrawing its sporting segments due to necessities for budget cuts.