Joseph Panga, an athlete from the Tanzania People’s Defense Forces emerged the overall winner of the 21 kilometers main event of the maiden Tanfoam Marathon.
More than 1000 athletes participated in the sporting event, but majority of the top winners were from the armed forces, including TPDF, the National Service and the Police.
Panga of TPDF used 1 hour and 2 minutes topping the male category of the Marathon, while the first runner, Mathayo Sombi also from the TPDF used 1 hour 2 minutes and 10 seconds.
It is also regarded to be the highest paying Marathon in the country, when it comes to cash prizes because Panga pocketed 5 million/- for his winning while Sombi was paid 2 million/-.
As for the women category it was Hamida Nassoro from Police Tanzania, who completed the 21 kilometers cross-country race in 1 hour, 9 minutes and 31 seconds, she also earned 5 million/-.
The first runner-up in the women category was Neema Festo from the Tanzania People’s Defense Forces (TPDF) who spent 1 hour, 12 minutes and 47 seconds, pocketing 2 million/-
The maiden Tanfoam Marathon which got flagged off in Arusha also attracted the participation of an international athlete, Failuna Abdi who finished third in the women category, using 1 hour, 13 minutes and 27 seconds and pocketed 1 million/- cash prize.
Tanfoam Tanzania Limited, the foam mattress producing entity based in Arusha organized and bankrolled the Marathon.
The Director of Tanfoam Limited, Riaz Somji, a veteran sports person himself who plays golf, lauded all the participants, especially those that travelled from other regions to come to race in Arusha.
The Guest of Honor at the Marathon was Boniface Tamba, the acting director of Sports development at the Ministry of Culture and Sports who said all organizers of racing events must adhere to regulations, guiding laws and take into consideration the health of participants.
The Chairperson of the Marathon’s organizing committee, Glorious Temu said the inaugural race included participants from various groups, including social runners, private companies, parastatals, government institutions and schools.
On his part, the Arusha Member of Parliament, Mrisho Gambo lauded the race organizer for the successful maiden Tanfoam Cross-country racing, pointing out that even the ongoing construction of the AFCON Stadium in Arusha includes racing tracks for athletics events.
But, apart from the main 21 kilometers racing event, the race also featured 10 kilometers distance racing with the top winners ranging from the first to the tenth winning cash prizes and foam mattresses.
There was also a 5 kilometers fun race in which all the top ten winners managed to cash some money.