The Old Mutual Soweto Marathon was an awesome, vibey and entertainment-filled day. Here’s what the runners had to say about their race-day experience. – By Lwando Njamela

This year, 26,000 runners descended on the iconic FNB Stadium to take part in the 2017 Soweto Marathon. Social media was buzzing post-run with plenty of snapshots of people whose goals were achieved, their opinions on the race, congratulatory messages and many sore, tired legs.

RELATED: 15 Awesome Instagrams From The Soweto Marathon!

The marathon was a great catalyst for making new friends…

#SOWETOMARATHON2017 Ran with this guy from Start to Finish (53892) strong man … And i kept on telling him to hold on while m holdoling on to Gerald Pavel. We ran we sang and boom?? #makenewfriends?? #runasone

A post shared by Nkuli Ndlovu (@nkuli0811) on Nov 5, 2017 at 11:15pm PST

There was plenty of excitement as she finally crossed the finish line…

So proud of my younger sister @hunza_ribza_modise #sowetomarathon2017 #21km ?

A post shared by Ouma Tema ?? (@oumatema) on Nov 5, 2017 at 2:12am PST

To some it was all about first experiences…

First marathon in the bag. Time 05:06:13. We can only do better from here. Next year again #sowetomaratho #sowetomarathon2017 #omsowetomarathon #omsowetomarathon2017 #trsrunningclub It was the toughest thing ever ????

A post shared by Linda (@gimba_thefatone) on Nov 6, 2017 at 2:00am PST

Determination and perseverance was key to crossing the finishing line…

No Difficulty can Break the Spine of DETERMINATION!! My 2017 race calendar has come to an end with today being the last official race ? running the 21.1km at The Soweto Marathon today! To all the #sowetomarathon2017 runners – a very well done. It was HOT and the route was not an easy one. Onward and Upward in achieving your own personal goals. Never give up! . . . . #sowetomarathon #runner #run #fitness #tashruns #happyplace #fitness #training #healthylifestyle #thankfulalways #tashruns

A post shared by Popsy Chic Blog (@_popsychicblog) on Nov 5, 2017 at 7:46am PST

And the T-shirts debacle…

Fam race is over.Can we discuss TShirts out of 17marks?Nah Fam.I’d rather hav da same ya last yr every yr.#OMSowetoMarathon #SowetoMarathon pic.twitter.com/xf5KNWo41w

— Nompumelelo Mali ❤❤ (@Nompi_Maharaj) November 5, 2017

Done my first 42.2 at Soweto Marathon but the T-shirt was not on point and I didn’t get my magnetic pins for the license #SowetoMarathon

— Vongani Nghalas (@Nghalas) November 5, 2017

This year’s running T-shirt was a flop, quality, cut & size wise. Please @SowetoMarathon attend to this next year. #SowetoMarathon

— Sithenjwa T Mzili (@SithenjwaT) November 5, 2017

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