Tuks Night Race a big favourite amongst Pretoria’s runners
With the few opportunities that road race athletes have these days to participate in night races, the Sappi Tuks Night Race became one of the most popular races in Pretoria and it is families in particular who love to take on this challenge together.
Earlier this year Faizel Salie (62) and his children, Tamara (18) and Binyamin (15) participated in the Sappi Tuks 10km race and they will definitely be back on September 9th for the popular Sappi Tuks Night Race.
The family have already set themselves goals for next year. Faizel and Binyamin will participate in the Two Oceans 21km race, and then Dad will take on the Cape Town Marathon with Tamara.
Ironically, running is actually a new sport for the family, because table tennis is actually their sport. They are active participants in the Gauteng North league and Binyamin represented South Africa in Ghana last year as a table tennis player.
The running thing started last year when Binyamin went to Pretoria Boys High School, and he started jogging.
“Tamara and I started joining in, and it became a family thing. I was sceptical at first, but before I knew it, I was a converted jogger. It’s nice to do things with your kids,” Faizel explained.
According to him, his wife, Cynthia, is a work in progress. Currently, she is more of a walker than a jogger, but the three of them are hoping to change that.
“What makes the Sappi Tuks Night Race special to me is the fact that it takes place inside the Hillcrest Sports Campus. So it’s very safe, and the route is well lit,” he remarked.
Faizel is also an avid cyclist. Many mornings he goes for a 75km ride with friends, but jogging is becoming more and more special to him. He has more than 10 Argus and 94.7 races to his name. Last year he did the Argus on an e-bike, clocking a time of just over two hours.
“What I love about jogging is that for the time I put in, I get a lot more out of it. The power output I put out when I jog is phenomenal compared to cycling. When I jog for about 20 to 30 minutes, I average about 340 watts, whereas my average in a 75km cycle ride is only about 140 watts,” Salie said. Prospective participants can still register for the race at www.entryninja.com.
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