Press Release - The Greatest Race on Earth - 1/18/07

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                                         Contact: Cynthia Walley 
                                                  Beachhead Media &     
                                                  Investor Relations
                                                  083 778 2742/011 214 2409
                                                  
                                                  Botshelo Kheletsane 	 
                                                  Beachhead Media &     
                                                  Investor Relations
                                                  082 842 5395/011 214 2404  
                                                                         
Champion Athlete continues the SA Challenge in the World's Richest Race

Accomplished marathon athlete, Louisa Leballo, the sixth woman home in last 
year's Two Oceans Marathon, is to run the third leg of the world's most 
lucrative athletics race in Mumbai this Sunday (January 21).

The Standard Chartered Greatest Race on Earth, a tough four-leg relay 
marathon being contested in four countries over a five month period, 
carries a total prize purse of $1, 5 million.

Pretoria-based Leballo is in the South African team competing in the 
Women's Team Challenge category with cash prizes amounting to $200 000. The 
winners are calculated on the cumulative times of the four participating 
athletes. The team is also eligible for consideration in the Performance 
Awards category with cash prizes of $55 000.

Billed as "the historic race"  due to the architecture and other landmarks 
that are a testimony to the Indian city's rich past, the Mumbai marathon 
will almost certainly be contested in hot and humid conditions following a 
flattish course on some of the city's major highways and roads that will be 
closed to traffic for the event.

Leballo has followed a comprehensive training programme in preparation for 
the Race, featuring a high mileage component in November and more recently 
an emphasis on speedwork.  In the week leading up to the Mumbai leg of the 
Greatest Race she has reduced her training programme by 60 percent, as is 
the norm prior to a major marathon.

Her coach for the Mumbai leg of the Greatest Race has been Nick Bester, 
himself a former Comrades Marathon winner. He expects his charge to do 
well:

"Louisa is well prepared and has the ability to run the marathon in 2 hours 
42 minutes, or better," said Bester. 

"While the road closures make seconding a tad difficult, the Mumbai 
marathon is a well-organised race. Also, while we have prepared for the 
heat factor there is the possibility it may not be quite as hot as 
anticipated." he added.

Fellow champion athlete, Farwa Mentoor, ran the first leg of the Greatest 
Race in Nairobi in October last year, finishing in ninth position, and  
Riana van Niekerk the second leg in Singapore on December 3 in a time of 
2:55:45.  As a result of a faulty microchip in van Niekerk's running shoe 
neither her participation in the Race or her official time was recorded by 
the microchip. There is however photographic and other evidence to 
substantiate her run. Due to this technical glitch the official placing of 
the South African team after the completion of the first two legs of the 
four-leg marathon is still to be confirmed by the Race organisers.

The fourth and final leg of Standard Chartered's Greatest Race on Earth 
will be contested by Gloria Baebo in Hong Kong on March 4.

Standard Chartered Bank, the creator and sponsor of the Race, is one of the 
world's most international banks. The Bank has more than 50 000 employees 
in 56 countries including South Africa.

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