Luanda: At least 2,500 national and foreign athletes are set to compete in the fourth edition of the International Peace Half Marathon 2025. The race will commence at 8 a.m. on Friday, covering a distance of 21 km from the Diamante Hotel to the Dr. Ant³nio Agostinho Neto Mausoleum.
According to Angola Press News Agency, the event is part of the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of national independence on November 11. It will feature Olympic and Paralympic athletes vying for prizes ranging from 50,000 to 5.7 million kwanzas. The organization has structured the prize distribution from first to twentieth place to recognize and reward the athletes.
Last year's marathon saw Somali runner Abdulahi Mohamed and Bahraini Violah Motosio setting a new event record. Mohamed completed the race in 1:02:58, surpassing the previous record of 1:03:17 set by Kenya's Kibet Chebuyo in 2022. Angola's Interclube runner Daniel Emdio was the fastest Angolan with a time of 1:05:13, while Lºcia Capingala was the top Angolan female participant.
Six countries, along with newcomers China and India, will participate in the marathon, marking the occasion of Angola's Peace Day on the 4th. The international lineup includes runners from Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Bahrain, China, and India, with a total of thirty foreign athletes.
The marathon course starts at Hotel Diamante and follows Rua das Kipakas, Largo 4 de Fevereiro, and Murtala Mohamed. The return path follows Avenida Murtala Mohamed and Avenida Agostinho Neto, concluding at Pra§a da Repºblica and the Mausoleum of Dr. Ant³nio Agostinho Neto.