Local athletics club plans to host virtual race to raise funds for communities
MIDRAND – Participants from all over the globe can run anytime between 6am and 6pm (Central African Time) said Nnoni Mokgethi Fat Cats Athletic Club director.
The Fat Cats Athletic Club has decided to host their annual race online this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
After successfully launching and holding their inaugural event at Waterfall Park last year, the club announced on 4 August that their race will be held virtually on 11 October.
Club director Nnoni Mokgethi said that they are ready to set the bar even higher this year, despite participants being separated by physical distance. “The club resolved to go virtual in this year to build on the success of its inaugural race held last year and to ensure that it does not lose gained momentum.”
He said that their goal is to ensure that even with the limitations, people are still aware of the race. “Although the race is virtual, this year will be no different as the race’s theme remains ‘A run for the whole family’. There will still be fun activities on the day of the race, and great prizes on offer for participants.”
Mokgethi added that the club will be giving back to local communities and making a difference. “We currently have active presence in the Limpopo, Western Cape, Free State and Gauteng provinces. Our five-year-old running club has been able to plough back over R200 000 into these communities.”
They hope that the upcoming Fat Cat 10km Virtual Race will allow them to give back even more. “Covid-19 has adversely impacted the livelihood of South Africans and the world alike. People have lost jobs and communities are experiencing challenges that include where to attain their next meal and having the correct PPE.
“When the race committee put a strategy for this virtual race together, a unanimous decision was made to forgo all profits from the 2020 race and rather channel any income from it towards CSI [Corporate Social Investment].
“With the proceeds from the race, we aim to revisit the schools that we continuously plough into to donate to children that are most adversely affected by Covid-19. The donations will include PPE for them and also grocery vouchers for them to take back to their families.”
Entries for the Fat Cats 10km Race are open, participants can also take part in the 5km Fun Run, Nappy Dash (250m) and Kitten Miler (1.6km).
All registrations for the race can be done through the Fat Cats AC website – www.fatcats.africa and the portal is administered by
www.finishtime.co.za
Participants can run anytime between 6am and 6pm. Every runner will have to time their run and then submit that manually onto the Finishtime website.
All participants using Strava or Garmin, can manually upload links to their activity onto the club’s platforms.
Details: For more information, please contact Michelle Mammburu, who is marketing lead at Fat Cat Athletic Club, on 083 295 6366.
