Thousands run to raise funds

An excitement was felt lingering in the air on Saturday, August 22, with the first train(less) Rotary Greatest Train Race in 29 years. However, this did not deter the positive vibe on the road as 29 000 feet set off at 8:00.

The moment was signified by a gunshot start, when an excited member of an underprivileged group was invited to pull the trigger as time counted down. The minute it sounded, there was not stopping the racing multitudes.

The Greatest Train Race 2015

As reported last week, the train did not run in this year due to lack of sponsorship required to cover the train costs. Rotary hosts this event annually to raise much needed funds for various charity projects in local communities.

There was a huge amount of gratitude to the main sponsors: GC Construction and Glencore, together with companies such as Anglo American, Coca-Cola Shanduka Beverages, TRAC, Minopex, RiseFM and Oasis. “Various other sponsors were also present and many thanks go to volunteers and participants who stood together to make the Greatest Train Race as successful as ever,” said Chairperson, Max Köhler.

An amazing 480 underprivileged children, elderly and disabled people from the community were treated to a day of fun and games by Rotary at the Middelburg Care Village, where they were seen cheering on the participants as they rushed past.

The Greatest Train Race 2015 attracted 14 500 runners, some competing in a team relay, some running / walking 15km and the brave, took on the 28km as individual runners. A record 700 people entered the 4.9km fun run, which was introduced only last year.

Winners:

Jabulani Khoza grabbed first place in the 28km event in time of 01:34:00 closely followed by Japie Jele with a time of 01:42:00 and Samson Vilakazi in third place (01:44:00).

The ladies chased followed suit with Keneilwe Sising taking the winning lady position with an excellent time of 01:52:00. Petro Steenkamp took second place clocking in at 02:21:00 and third position went to Karlien Cilliers at 02:36:02.

The 15km victory was snatched by 16 year old Jacques Kilder in a time of 00:60:04. 2nd place went to Sydney Nkambule 00:62:29 and 3rd place Isaac Nkambule 00:64:00.

Wilmarie Prinsloo took the honour for the ladies with a time of 01:17:00 followed by Lina Matshego in 01:20:00 and Ria Henn in 3rd with 01:21:00.

The overall Relay Team results were as follows: 1st place went to team Kutting in a time of 01:33:22, 2nd went to Glencore in 01:33:34 and Anglo American took 3rd in 01:38:15.

Local schools were as competitive as ever and HTS Middelburg took victory in the High School Team category in 01:49:52, followed by WH De Klerk in 01:54:14 and 3rd place went to Ligbron in a time of 01:57:17.

In the Primary School Team section, CR Swart came first in a time of 02:07:41, 2nd place was Dennesig 02:10:18 and Kanonkop in 3rd place, clocking in at 2:32:20.

For 29 years the Greatest Train Race have been part of uplifting the local community, many charities have benefitted and will still benefit for many years to come from the money raised through this annual event.

A participant who came to collect his tickets at the Race Office last week commented as follows: The Train Race is an event where one can forget about the financial woes of the world, political tensions and even racial intolerance – and just join in the fun with fellow human beings, knowing that it is for a good cause. This articulates one of Rotary’s aims with the Race, that of bringing communities together.

This will not be the last Train Race and organizers look forward to a tremendous 30th Anniversary next year. The total proceeds raised will be announced later this year.

Article By: Stacey Venter