Road runners coming through
The excitement on the athletes' faces were obvious and in the air were the breaths of champions.
A substantial number of athletes from various running clubs on the West Rand lined up behind a red-and-white tape on Kobie Krige Street, Krugersdorp for President Hyper’s 15km night race.
The excitement on the athletes’ faces on Wednesday, 11 January, was obvious and in the air were the breaths of champions. As the starter moved closer to the tape, the athletes in front bent down to get ready for the countdown. The pace car was ready, the starter had his hand holding the gun in the air and the athletes had their eyes on their goal. The sound of the gun was the signal for the athletes to begin the event and off they went, with the fasted and probably most experienced runners pulling away with great vigour.
Soon, the entire road was crowded with athletes as the next group – those who had entered the 5km road race – lined up. This time, a group with a larger array of runners stood behind the red tape. A group of children between the ages of 10 and 15 were right in front with the older runners behind them. Neon shirts, tekkies, colourful headbands and even brightly decorated strollers were the trend, even though there was no theme for the race.
It was clear this group ran for fun.
Then the crowd waited for the first athlete to return. Some of the crowd’s favourite music sounded from a van and the shops inside President Square were still open for business. Soon one of the athletes, Abram Kumalo, returned and the crowd cheered while he ran his last 100 metres of the 15km race.
Abram finished the race in about 51 minutes, long before any of the other competitors returned. He won a gold medal and a bar fridge.
Then the rest of the racers returned and groups of people supporting their unique athletes cheered as they ran up the entrance of the centre. The first 100 athletes all received a President Hyper gift card.
The first woman to cross the finish line was Lesley Train-Austin, a resident of Krugersdorp who claimed she had never won a race like that before. She walked away with a brand-new 32” flat screen TV.
The night proceeded with a raffle and lucky draw, which gave supporters and athletes the chance to win unique prizes. All prizes where sponsored by President Hyper. More than 1 500 medals where given to those who had the courage to go the distance.
“As the race grows in popularity, President Hyper will increase the amount of prizes to make this exciting race as inclusive as possible,” said Nick Karayiannides, spokesperson for President Hyper.
“This race is about fellowship and fun, and we really appreciate the enthusiastic support the community has for this race. We trusts that the race will grow.”
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