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Ellina Mhlanga Senior Sports Reporter

OLIVIA Chitate and Wellington Varevi on Sunday made their presence felt at the Mr Pace Challenge when they claimed the top spots in the 1 Mile race which was the main event of the day at the National Sports Stadium B Arena.

The track and field meet was hosted by Mr Pace Athletics Club.

For some of the middle and long-distance runners, it presented a platform to assess the progress they have made with their speed work.

Chitate of ZRP was the first to cross the finish line in the women’s section in 5 minutes 03.65 seconds ahead of Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services’ Patience Garauzive-Murowe, who was second in 5 minutes 10.23 seconds.

On third place was Maryjoy Mudyiravanji from Bindura University of Science Education in 5 minutes 15.92 seconds.

Varevi won the men’s race in 4 minutes 15.91 seconds.

It was a close contest between Varevi and Nyasha Mutsetse, who settled for second position in 4 minutes 16.91 seconds.

Nomore Wiriki came third in 4 minutes 17.37 seconds.

Varevi said he still has a long way to go.

“The race was okay as it was my first time competing this year. Since we are starting it’s a bit difficult but we will get there.

“So far I still need to work on my speed, I am still lacking in that area. Since I am coming from a long break I need to work on my muscles, so I was working more on endurance and I have not started working on speed work,” said Varevi.

Garauzive-Murowe, who has been focusing on 10km and half-marathon, was pleased with the outcome.

“The competition was a bit tough for me because I am yet to get into full gear in terms of training. So I wasn’t expecting this results.

“For some of us, we can now go for those 10km races with confidence now and I want to thank Mr Pace Club for this competition,” said Garauzive-Murowe.

The meet attracted athletes from different clubs and schools, including Successful Strides, Yadah, Taflow ZPCS, Black Rhinos, Real Stars, Powerhouse Sodbury, ZRP and BUSE, among others.

The junior men was won by Passmore Kangarabwe while Loice Mudenha claimed the top spot in the junior women.