Legogote Villagers celebrate 30 years of team spirit
The local running club have been making their mark on the running scene since 1984 and is still going strong.
With their “Good morning, White River” banner, the Legogote Villagers have become a familiar sight at the Comrades and a major player in the local running scene. This month they celebrate their 30th birthday, a big milestone for the evergrowing club.
Members attended the Thursday time trials last week and had a chance to sample some bright red birthday cake, made especially for the occasion. The candles were lit and current chairman, Jurgen Halbich, secretary Amanda Wessels and committee member Edward Hall made the first symbolic cut in the cake.
Legogote Villagers was formed in 1984 after a few avid runners advertised a meeting of like-minded individuals in Lowvelder. It was held in Tony Olds’ “The Sport Shop” and the 18 people present unanimously voted to form a road-running club.
Tim Attwell was chosen as chairman, Mike Harty as vice-chair, Okkie Rottcher as treasurer and Tony Olds as secretary. It was the first club that allowed black runners to join as others in the area only allowed whites. When Mike Harty left the Lowveld, Janet Friel became chairman, the first woman to chair a road-running club in the Transvaal.
The name Legogote (after the prominent landmark) was chosen and Villagers was added as White River “was really only a village at the time”. The annual half-marathon and 8,5km minirun, with Pine Lake Inn as the main sponsor, was the club’s inaugural run. The 21km started at the council offices, wound through town and finished on the lawn in front of Pine Lake Inn. First National Bank had a water table in the middle of the veld along the track to keep runners hydrated.
Every year a celebrity guest would attend the race, enjoy dinner with the committee and stay at Pine Lake Inn for the night prior to the race. The first was Arnold Geerts, editor of SA Runner Magazine, who gave the club a good write-up in the magazine. Sonja Laxton, one of the leading middle-distance female runners of the 1980s, was another guest and described the race as “a great course for city slickers wanting to enjoy some countryside and a break from pounding city streets”. Alan Robb, a multiple Comrades winner also competed in the half-marathon numerous times throughout the years.
In the past 10 years, membership has grown from 45 to a current 95, coming from all over the Lowveld. Twenty-five of these members finished the Comrades this year. They have participated in it since 1985 and announcers have come to look out for their large white banner, greeting viewers from their hometown. Each year club novices have the honour of carrying this banner for the first few kilometres of the race.
The Legogote Villagers got their own clubhouse in 1989 at the Rugby Club and have been based there since. They are now looking to expand it slightly to accommodate the increase in membership. The clubhouse is evidence of the club’s rich history and is covered in photo collages, clippings of newspapers articles on the club, as well as medals won by club members during the year.
Club members compete in time trials every Thursday evening and go for long-distance runs or compete in races on Saturday mornings. They participate in every local race they find, with the club hosting the Mozma’s half-marathon, Sudwala 21km and the God’s Window race every year. Club members also compete with each other and have their scores and distances completed displayed at the club house.
This good-natured competition is evident during races and fellow competitors have lauded the club for their great team spirit, support and encouragement even in competition surroundings.
To become a member of the club or learn more about their activities, visit www.legogotevillagers.co.za.
