Athletes create awareness

The metro, in association with the Soul City Sports Club, held yet another exciting World Aids Day Half-marathon at the Katlehong Sports Complex on Sunday.

The event comprised 21.1km, 10km and 5km road races.

The race is a commemoration of World Aids Day, December 1.

Athletes, from different parts of the country, came out in numbers to run while creating awareness.

“The race is aimed at encouraging participants and communities at large to unite in the fight against HIV and Aids, by showing support for people living with the virus and those who are affected,” said metro spokesman Themba Gadebe.

“The race also commemorated the lives lost due to HIV-related sicknesses.

“The metro is one of the cities with the highest rate of HIV infection in the country.”

Gadebe said another objective is to create awareness of the dangers of unprotected sex and having multiple partners.

Among the clubs represented were Germiston Callies and Katlehong Athletics.

Motsamai Monareng, from Germiston Callies, said he was happy to have entered and completed the race, especially since it was for a good cause.

“It was a good race and I had fun running while creating awareness,” he said.

Monareng’s 2014 season was shortened by an injury he suffered last year.

“This race was my third this year, as I was healing from a December injury and only started running again in November, but I can feel that I have healed,” he added.

The Callies athlete ran the 21.1km road race and finished it in one hour, 36 minutes and 50 seconds.

The metro mobile clinic and various NGOs in the field of HIV and Aids were present at the race venue, distributing educational information and providing, among other things, counselling and testing services.

Children also took part in the 5km fun run and one could see the excitement in their eyes as they headed for the finish line.

Friends and family members accompanied the athletes and waited at the finish line, reminding participants of the reasons for the race and encouraging them not to give up.

The cheers seemingly helped as more and more athletes, in all the different road races, sprinted for the finish line.

Due to the fact that the referee had to finalise and sign off all the results, the GCN couldn’t get the final results before going to print.