PHOTOS: Dozens lace up for HACT’s remembrance run
In memory of the Comrades Marathon Association's founding chairman, Mick Win, local runners gathered for a 25km to pay tribute.
MORE than 100 local runners took part in a run in memory of the founding Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) chairman, Mick Winn.
Organised by Beloved Long Runs KZN and official Comrades charity, the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust (HACT), the runners set-off from the HACT centre at 5.30am on Saturday and made their way along the Comrades route to the Comrades Wall of Honour.
There, they laid flowers under the plaque of the man affectionately known as Mr Comrades, who recently passed away aged 90.
“As the local Upper Highway running community, we felt it was important to pay tribute to this great man who did so much to advance road running in South Africa over the past 50 years,” explained Beloved Long Run KZN’s founder and organiser, Dean Wight. “Together, with local Comrades charity, HACT, and the generous support of Kloof Florist, we came up with the idea of holding this special event.”
Mick Winn was associated with the Comrades Marathon for more than 50 years. During his lifetime, he completed 12 Comrades Marathons between 1964 and 1975 and holds Green Number 138.
In 1981, Mick was the founding chairman of the CMA and, under his leadership, the annual ultra-marathon became the first major sporting event in South Africa to open to men and women of all races.
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Among his many other pioneering achievements, Mick was also responsible for the CMA charity portfolio from 1995 to 2006 and introduced the concept of Amabeadibeadi, which became universally recognised as the CMA’s own official multi-charity initiative.
HACT, a non-profit organisation and an official CMA charity partner over the past three years, has been greatly impacted by the Amabeadibeadi initiative.
The NPO’s marketing and fundraising manager, Claire Hodgkinson, said, “Just under R3 million has been raised for HACT’s community-based projects and services thanks to the generosity of our Comrades runners. These funds have enabled our team to save and transform the lives of countless people living in the disadvantaged communities of the Valley of 1000 Hills, located directly along the race’s famous route. We will forever be indebted to Mick for the legacy of transformation and charitable giving that has now become synonymous with the world’s oldest and largest ultra-marathon.”
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