Foreword
Message from the Race Director
Dear Runners
Race week has arrived, and we are excited to see the months of
planning and hard work come together on Sunday!
Message from Title Sponsor, Dis-Chem
For as long as I can remember the Dis-Chem Half Marathon has always
been a must-do event on the Gauteng road running calendar. Historically
the event has always been referred to by it sponsor’s name and this
was one of the things which attracted us to the event when we were
evaluating running event sponsorship possibilities way back in 2001.
With the foundation of our business having been built on health and
wellbeing, we felt that road running provided an appropriate platform
for us to promote our brand to a wider geographical audience. With just
five pharmacies in central Gauteng at that time our brand was loyally
supported by the communities within the suburbs surrounding each
store. This was to change significantly once we started utilising each of
our pharmacies as event entry points in those early sponsorship years –
all entries were manual in those days. Participants from all over Gauteng
were attracted to one of our existing stores and our pharmacy retail
model, our product range and our specialist customer advice at point
of purchase were exposed to an entirely new potential customer base.
Little did we know then that we’d be here today, poised to present our
19th event sponsorship together with the organising club - Bedforview
Country Club (BCC) Athletics.
Those early days of weekly meetings with BCC Athletics stalwarts
Wayne Saunders and Barry Dingle amongst others, seem like yesterday.
The evolution of the event has been driven by a set of shared values
between Dis-Chem and BCC within a co-operative and innovative
environment. The sole focus has overwhelmingly been on delivering a
memorable event experience for all participants and we trust that we’ve
achieved that from each runner and walker’s perspective.
Over the years this event has pioneered many innovations in local and
regional road running circles. Most of these were unheard of outside of
the realm of the Comrades and Two Oceans ultra-marathons at their time
of adoption. On occasions, the event was severely criticised, but what
has transpired is that many of these early initiatives now form an integral
part of the road running event management status quo.
This will be the 19th edition of the race as the Dis-Chem Half Marathon.
Our partnership with Dis-Chem Pharmacies started in late 2001, and the
first official Dis-Chem Half Marathon took place on Sunday 13 January
2002. Although Stan Goetsch of Dis-Chem initially entered a three-year
sponsorship with Bedfordview Country Club Athletics Section (BCC
Athletics), after 19 years the race is still made possible by Dis-Chem
Pharmacies, and we very much look forward to celebrating the 20th
running in 2021… and many more after that.
The BCC Athletics Section was established in September 1978, and
we were allocated a date in January 1979, by the then Transvaal Road
Running Association, for a half marathon. For the first few years the Club
hosted the race thanks to various fundraising initiatives, before finding a
title sponsor. Thus from 1982 to 1993 the race was known as the Bliss
21km, sponsored by Bliss Dairies, and then as the Reebok 21km, until
Dis-Chem Pharmacies came on-board.
The list of BCC Athletics founding members, race organisers and
long-serving stalwarts who have given so much to this event is too
long to mention here, but I can, however, say that we remain eternally
thankful to everyone involved over the years, and particularly Dis-Chem
Pharmacies.
The venue and route have changed over the years, transforming from
a double lap to the single lap through the streets of Bedfordview,
Morninghill and Primrose that we know today. What has not changed
is Dis-Chem Pharmacies’ support, and the BCC club’s commitment to
continuously better the race.
Thank you for joining us again this year, we look forward to seeing all of
you on the start line. Have fun, stay hydrated and keep on running!
Charn Swart
Race Director of Dis-Chem Half Marathon & Vice-Chair of BCC Athletics
Section
We once again look forward to hosting you come Sunday 12th January.
We encourage you to consider your options and join Modern Athlete
magazine, BCC and ourselves in availing yourself to the need for us all
to become more aware of our impact on the environment by “running
clean” and leaving only our footprints.
Here’s wishing you a great run, may you fulfil your personal goals on the
day. For those going on to run the longer marathon and ultra-marathon
events later in the year we invite you to visit one of our network of 170
stores around the country, where we’ll be able to assist you in meeting
your health, nutritional and supplement needs.
Stan Goetsch
Director - Dis-Chem Pharmacies
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