Deidre Chikukwa, who participated in the 5km race while 7 months pregnant
BY MUNYARADZI BLESSING DOMA
A 7-months pregnant woman defied expectations, when she participated in the Cimas iGo Half Marathon Harare Edition, which was held last Sunday at the First Capital Bank Sports Club.
The half marathon, organised by Cimas Health Group through its Wellness Division, iGo, featured three race categories, 21km, 10km and 5km.
Deidre Chikukwa, surprised many when she joined other professionals and wellness fanatics at the highly subscribed event.
Speaking to this reporter after completing the 5km race, Chikukwa said her doctor had encouraged her to take part.
“So I decided to run this race, (and) I always run marathons but this is my first marathon pregnant.
“So my doctor encouraged me to run, to get the labour moving when I go into delivery, so that’s why I decided to do this.
“I’m seven months pregnant and the doctor said it’s all good, I can take a power walk.
Deidre Chikukwa
“I did the 5 kilometres and I finished in 50 minutes,” said Chikukwa.
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The Cimas iGo Half Marathon was held under the theme: “Champions of Empathy Inspiring Healthier Communities.”
In an interview at the half marathon, Cimas Health Group Chief Executive Officer, Vuli Ndlovu said their institution is there to inspire healthier communities.
“We are saying we need to manage NCDs, but more importantly we focus on prevention and screening for non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart ailments.
“So Cimas half marathon more importantly it’s about raising awareness about men’s health, but it’s also about raising awareness about all issues, particularly the cancers, the NCDs, getting members of the public to be participants in that.
“Because wellness is about all the dimensions of wellness, in particular physical wellness, how we eat, how we manage our lives, and emotionally.
“So we look at all those things, and today it’s about raising that awareness, making sure that we can encourage early screening for diseases,” said Ndlovu.
Ndlovu added that it was the third year that they were organizing the half marathon, which has grown over the years.
“You will recall that last week we did one in Bulawayo which was sold out and today the support in Harare is also being overwhelming and this encourages us.
“It says that engagement is there, we are talking, we are raising that awareness and all of us are showing an interest and we think that is a good way to start.
“But when it comes to health, I talked about us inspiring healthier communities, we want to encourage access to health care; we want to encourage wellness obviously.
“But we want to encourage as many people to be covered, to be financially prepared for when these things arise,” added Ndlovu.
Clever Taderera
Another participant, Clever Taderera, said he was excited to be part of his service provider half marathon, which is important in promoting wellness.
“This is an important event because it’s all about keeping fit, all about wellness.
“Sometimes we take these things for granted, you know sometimes we are always occupied with work, but to have such kind of events, to come and refresh and to do some activities is good.
“I think it is very important for our wellness and wellbeing and I also want to emphasize that this race has coincided with men’s month so, it is very critical that as a man, I also found time to participate in this event.
“The race was quite fun, I participated in the 10km race in good time, so this was quite an achievement for me,” said Taderera.
Yvette Chahwanda
Yvette Chahwanda said she had participated in the half marathon for “fun and wellness, keeping fit and probably lose a few kilos.”
