Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 96, July 2017 | Page 47

COMRADES
LANDMARK
MONUMENT
SELFIES
Did you take your ‘selfie’ at
any of the Comrades landmark
monuments along the route? If
yes, please share it on any of
our social media platforms.
COMRADES GIVES BACK
TO THE NEEDY
Shortly after this year’s race, The CMA officially handed over
much-needed mattresses, blankets and food products from
its Old Mutual Comrades Underprivileged Runners Project to
non-profit organisations. Among those who benefited were
several community-based projects and NGO’s focused on socio-
economic upliftment and early childhood development.
CMA Vice Chairperson, Cheryl Winn, who also oversees the
CMA’s Official Charities Committee, says, “Every year, the CMA
donates all of its used mattresses, blankets and food that are
left over from the Underprivileged Runners Village project hosted
over the Comrades weekend. This year we accommodated about
500 runners at the YMCA in Pietermaritzburg, providing shelter
and sustenance to enable them to participate in The Ultimate
Human Race. Together with the assistance of volunteers from
the Pietermaritzburg Community Chest, fresh and hearty meals
were prepared for the runners over the course of their stay at
the runners’ village.”
800 mattresses and blankets were provisionally allocated to the
project. Of these, 400 were handed over to the Community Chest
to donate to schools, créches and homes for children in need.
The remaining 400 mattresses will be donated to similar projects
in and around Pietermaritzburg. Winn adds that that nearly 50
stretcher beds that were used in the Comrades Medical Tent were
also donated to the Community Chest, and these will be sent to
crèches around KwaZulu-Natal, where they will be used in the sick
bay facilities of the beneficiary organisations.
Winn concludes, “We are very grateful to our sponsors and
partners, especially our major sponsor Old Mutual, who so
generously made the Underprivileged Runners Project a reality
this year. The support of our sponsors is essential to the success
of the Comrades Marathon.”
Old Mutual Head of Brand Karen Thomas says