History created at this year’s ‘Kaya FM 67km Relay for Mandela Day’
More than 17 000 runners took to the roads in the highly successful biggest corporate relay in Africa.
MORE than 17 000 runners took to the roads in the highly successful biggest corporate relay in Africa.
The second Kaya FM 67km Relay for Mandela Day was held on Sunday July 13 marking it as the most successful event in corporate relay event on the runner’s calendar.
The day was also a special commemoration as it was the anniversary of the day that Nelson Mandela Mandela lost his first son while in prison and was sadly unable to bury him. Fellow Rivonia trialist Ahmed Kathrada was present at the start of relay to show his support for Mandela Day.
The event, proudly hosted by the City of Jo’burg , was the result of a noble partnership between Kaya FM and the Nelson Mandela Foundation and was designed to celebrate Madiba’s legacy. Passing the baton between relay teams was a symbolic gesture of comradeship, paying it forward and reaching out a hand to those less privileged members of society. Each ten-man team ran a 6.7km in honour of Mandela.
CEO of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Sello Hatang, thanked everyone for the phenomenal support showed today. “Madiba’s commitment to service is at the heart of this race, and we look forward to growing this event even further in years to come,” he said. “Today should remind us of who we were and who we want to be. If Tata was here, he would be smiling at the effort everyone has put into this day. Funds raised from today’s event will be used to preserve and digitise Nelson Mandela’s papers – the oldest of which dates back to 1929 – for generations to come.”
Nedbank Running Club again took gold in the men’s open relay category, with Monama Pharmacy winning the women’s open relay title. In the mixed category Discovery Athletic Club took gold.
Kaya FM MD Greg Maloka said he was grateful for the amazing support of the station and this relay. “Today has been a remarkable event that honours the work of our Tata and celebrates 20 years of freedom. This event is about so much more than the relay – it is about the human spirit. Kaya FM proudly puts the power of radio behind Madiba’s legacy.”
