HOW BIG IS YOUR HEART VIRTUAL MARATHON
With the sudden and dramatic end to all large gatherings and events due to COVID-19 , life-saving Cape of Good Hope SPCA events were cancelled without warning . These events were more than just a chance for the incredible “ Team SPCA ” athletes to compete for a great cause . In essence , they provide us with much-needed funds raised by runners , cyclists , trail runners and their supportive network of friends and family .
The new challenge we were faced with was how to unite a community of passionate animal lovers ; finding a way to join their hearts and hands virtually to enable these incomegenerating initiates to continue . And so began a series of SPCA firsts !
Our very first SPCA “ How Big Is Your Heart ” Virtual Marathon came to fruition in the second week of the national lockdown – leading the charge was World Champion trail running legend Ryan Sandes who gladly took up the challenge to run 21km over 6 days in the shape of a heart – We admit 21km for this super-athlete is not too hard , but his passion for animals was just the “ gees ” we needed . Soon after , others took up the baton – Smile FM ’ s Lindy Lehto and Mishka Patel ;
KFM ’ s always warm-hearted Zoe Brown and one tenacious Vanessa Sandes Haywood . Together over 130 SPCA virtual run team athletes answered the call , and soon social media was flooded with heartshaped runs that revealed the might of so many hearts in action . Checkers , The Crazy Store , Regal Pet Food and Salomon footwear , were generous enough to offer some amazing daily prizes that saw our runners rewarded for their bighearted efforts .
This virtual event saw over R60 000 raised and it paved the way for other events to come ; # thelovelockdown saw us take on our first-ever virtual photography contest while # Doit4Love and # Comrades4Change saw imaginative and dedicated # TEAMSPCA runners doing lockdown versions of the Comrades Marathon and anything from banana bread bake-a-thons to Netflix bingewatching marathons to help raise funds for animals in need .
Times may be uncertain , but there is one thing we all remain sure of – Animal Cruelty Must Stop ! No Animal Should Suffer ! – not during Lockdown , not during the COVID-19 Pandemic , not ever .
COMRADES FOR CHANGE
Many runners sadly had to hang up their trainers as the harsh reality of COVID-19 derailed their Comrades ’ dreams . TEAM SPCA athletes Maretha Smit and Liam Gannon were not deterred . Instead of giving up , they decided that their new # Comrades4Change race would happen- just a little differently than previously anticipated .
Maretha , a registrar in anaesthesia & perioperative medicine at Groote Schuur Hospital , ran the distance by doing several laps of Rondebosch common while admitted attorney , Liam Gannon braved it on his treadmill at home . Together , they raised an impressive R60 102.77 .
FOOTPRINTS 2020 35