Every Saturday morning at 8am, hundreds of walkers and runners gather at Len Rutter Park in Florida Park for a 5km run.
Dogs and children alike accompany their families and friends to the parkrun, where smiles are visible on the faces of all the participants.
Two regulars at the Roodepoort parkrun are Quinton Quait and his best friend, Kandas. Kandas is a nine-year-old Giant Schnauzer who has been proclaimed the ambassador of this particular parkrun.
The large ball of fluff is well-known to the runners and volunteers – his friendly nature and quirky habits spread a wave of positivity through the participants. Quinton and Kandas are inseparable and the pair recently completed their 100th parkrun together at the Roodepoort venue.
After an enjoyable run, a fresh drink of water just isn’t sufficient for Kandas, who actually climbs into the water bucket for a real cool-down.
Kandas Sonop Quait got his name from the 1981 movie, Kiepie en Kandas, which was filmed at the Sonop men’s residence at the University of Pretoria. He originally lived at the men’s residence with Quinton’s son-in-law, but eight years ago, the puppy spent Christmas with Quinton, and they have been a family ever since.
Over the last few years, Kandas has collected a fair number of T-shirts from his 13 registered parkruns and his participation in the Florida Block Watch. He has stolen the hearts of many residents and his fan-base is steadily growing.
For their 200th run, Quinton and Kandas will have matching T-shirts to celebrate another impressive milestone they will have achieved together, and add to the adorable dog’s shirt collection.
