ROAD RUNNING
races or have ability in their running . Then we have a B category , which is training shoes that have got some running life left in them . And then we ’ ve got the C category - that ’ s all the shoes that are pretty much at the end of their running life , but can still be used by people that have got no shoes at all . Those shoes we give away , so that the people in need of shoes have got something on their feet .
End of the day , we want our runners to understand that if we give them a pair of a category racing shoes , that they don ’ t have to wear those shoes every day , they can use the B category shoes in training and then they can save their race shoes for when they do do speed work or participate in races .
We also had some of our PEaK team captains from America come out from Louisiana in December , and they brought 70 pairs of running shoes from the university sports teams in Louisiana . They said they can get so many shoes here , but the problem is , how to get them into the country without paying tax , because the customs people want to charge import duties on pre-loved shoes that are getting donated . So , there are some hurdles like that , but it ’ s great that through PEaK , we have a global reach that will benefit out local runners .
MA : Based on the pics , your first ‘ race ’ attracted a lot of kids , which is great to see . JB : Emma and I have our own pilot project in the Thabo Mbeki informal settlement , with a weekly run . We ’ ve got a register for the people that are over 15 years old , but we let the kids just come and go as they please . It ’ s very hard to track 20 kids that are churning around , and every week it seems there ’ s 20 new kids , so it ’ s hard to track that – as long as they ’ re showing up and having fun , that ’ s all that matters . Then when it comes to the 15-yearolds or anyone older , we have a register and a star chart , because we want them to commit
Triple World Duathlon Champ Emma Pallant-Browne was one of the sweepers .
to the sessions and being there – and earn their shoes .
MA : What has the reaction been to Project Run ? JB : We ’ ve got people from other communities that potentially want to collaborate , where we bring all of these communities together to do runs . But there are some limiting factors , such as needing to transport a big group of people to another location , so for now , we ’ re just focusing on the Youth Day run in June as our next event . But we are taking some of the guys to local races , so they can see what it ’ s like .
We ’ ve also been contacted by someone in the education empowerment sector that believes
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