WEST ACRES FUN RUN – RUNNING FOR THE WISE
On 9 September West Acres Shopping Centre hosted a Fun Run – Running for the Wise initiative in order to raise money for disadvantaged Old Age Homes – and Centre’s in Potchefstroom.
The Fun Run had the Potch community in excitement and at 06:30 am on Saturday morning, rows of participants were standing in line to either register for a 10km, 5km or a Zumba-workout.
The participants were warmed-up and amped-up by Louis Janse van Rensburg who made sure that every muscle was stretched before the runners could face the road! Some participants were lucky to catch a few freebies from different sponsors. Everyone was motivated and at 07:14 am, they were psyched and ready to run for fun!
At 07:15 am the participants were set-off and they started running their hearts out. Alongside the running route, water stations were provided by First National Bank, Body Fuel Express, Zigmart and Clicks in order to fuel-up the participants with some water and something sweet. The participants did not only run for the wise but they also ran to achieve a first, second or third place in each category. West Acres Centre awarded the 5km and 10km winners with big prizes, some of the tenants in the Centre also jumped in to give an extra prize to the participants – Body Fuel Express, Top Fashion, De Rooie Deur, Zigmart, Telkom, Lifestyle Computer & Cellular Repair and Clicks.
In the 5km race, the women showed us who was the boss and boasted with three medals and prizes. The winners of the 5km race were Lizelle Coetzee and Tanya Conradie who set their feet simultaneously over the finishing line. These ladies received their medals and prizes with big smiles and gratitude. “I and my friend Tanja actually decided to run the race just for fun and to support our community. It turned out to be more competitive than we thought! It was so nice to run with other people making jokes and just having fun. The West Acres Fun Run Initiative was a great community event which united the town together. I will surely participate every time such a great fun day is organised! That’s why it is called a Fun Run,” said Lizelle Coetzee.
In the 10km race, the crowd was left in awe by the runners. The first place was Nelson Khene from the North-West University (NWU) who had an incredible race with a time of 40 minutes and 27 seconds on the 10 km run. “I love running, it’s my passion! The West Acres Fun Run was really amazing and I’m glad I took part in it. It was humbling to see so many people support an event that was expected to be small but had a very big impact. It made me so proud to be a Potchefstroomer! I always tell people that ‘each one, teach one’, the event was a way of showing other people simple ways of raising funds to help people in need.”
In the meanwhile, the spectators and crowd were entertained by stalls like Curves, Discovery Vitality, Healthy Hearing and Pick n Pay. They certainly made sure that the participants got enough freebies, snacks, drinks and friendly conversations.
Last, but not least Mary-ann Robinson that hosted the Zumba-session had the ladies in ecstasy and she made sure that they got the groove on. With every dance move, there was an un-wipeable smile on each participant’s face and they enjoyed their self to bits, while Body Fuel Express and West Acres showered them with sweatbands, drink and freebies.
The West Acres Fun Run- Running for the Wise was not only a great initiative to give back to the “wise” in the community but also a great way of bringing the Potch community together for a good cause and to have lots of fun. According to Nelson, he enjoyed every second of the Fun Run. “It was great! I got the greatest service during the race (it was safe, there were water points at the correct points, the ER was there to ensure safety, traffic controllers did an amazing job – escorting me from start to finish.”
West Acres has decided to host this CSR-initiative yearly and will soon inform the public to whom Old Age Home in Potchefstroom the funds of the 2017 Fun Run – Running for the Wise will go to. They would also like to thank all the participating sponsors and businesses who made a contribution to this initiative. Make sure you read the follow-up article to see the difference you helped make in the community.
