The recent Clearwater Mall 10km Race and 5km Fun Run was a great success, attracting hundreds of participants. The Honeydew Community Police Forum (CPF) patrollers, who supervised the track during the event, played an important role in assuring the race’s safety and seamless operation.
According to the Honeydew CPF’s public relations officer Michael Steyn, their patrollers arrived early in the morning and their preparations included safety briefings and meticulous planning sessions to ensure that every inch of the race course was covered. Patrollers collaborated with race organisers, law enforcement and medical personnel who were also deployed along the route through the use of cellphones to develop a comprehensive safety plan for the event.
“The overall safety of the runners on the road was most certainly one of the biggest challenges. Drivers become impatient and speed past the runners, which could put their lives in danger. Where possible, we tried to get the motorists to just slow down and be considerate of the runners. Luckily, there were no serious incidents reported. Our patrollers did deal with a minor fall, but luckily, we managed to bandage the runner, and he was on his way again.
“I think a moment that stood out was about 1.5km before the end, there were three women cheering everyone on even though they didn’t know them. The atmosphere and vibe were just great, and the runners reacted very positively to this. The runners were very happy to see us and we also cheered them on and they, in turn, thanked us for keeping a watchful eye on them,” expressed Michael.
Michael added that as CPF, they always try to engage with residents in the area and that it was a productive day all in all, especially because they received positive feedback and thank you messages after the race.
