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New race to honour Madiba launched in Houghton for Mandela Day

The 8km route will incorporate iconic sites including the Nelson Mandela Foundation on Central Street in Houghton. File photo.
The 8km route will incorporate iconic sites including the Nelson Mandela Foundation on Central Street in Houghton. File photo.
Image: Gallo Images/Fani Mahuntsi

This year, in celebration of Nelson Mandela Day, the Nelson Mandela Foundation will host its inaugural Mandela Day Houghton Run.

The event, which will honour the birthday of global human rights icon and former SA president Nelson Mandela, will be held in the grand old suburb of Houghton, where Mandela lived and on the streets where he often walked in his later years.

The 8km route will incorporate iconic sites such as Madiba’s 12th Street house, the Sanctuary Mandela on 13th Street and the Nelson Mandela Foundation on Central Street.

The Old Edwardians Sports Club will host the start and finish of the race, with Virgin Active gym in Houghton hosting the warm-up before the race and cooling down afterwards. It was Mandela who convinced Richard Branson to buy the Health and Racquet Club business in 1994 to form Virgin SA.

Multi-award winning group Ladysmith Black Mambazo will participate in the inaugural event. The KwaZulu-Natal group said they shared many gatherings with Mandela, including being at the awarding of his Nobel Peace Prize.

The race will start at 8am on Sunday July 17 and be timed, with Discovery Vitality offering 300 points for members who complete the distance.

Tickets are available at Ticketpro for a donation of R200. All race proceeds go towards the Nelson Mandela Foundation. Entries are limited.


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