Buyi Runs for Charity
What started as a means to get back in shape after childbirth, has become a passion for Bisley resident Buyi Makhoba-dlamini, who will be running her second Comrades Marathon this June to raise funds for Wildtrust.
Makhoba-dlamini (41) decided to take up road running after giving birth to her first baby boy in 2010 to lose the baby weight and stay active and healthy.
She started jogging with a few friends who participated in Collegian Athletics Club time trials and decided to join them.
"You could say Collegians' time trials and friends made me fall in love with road running," she said.
In 2012, her running changed gears when she started running more regularly with her friends and finally realised she had fallen in love with road running.
She also started taking part in organised races, with the guidance and motivation of her husband, Nsinzwa Dlamini.
"My husband also runs a lot and has completed about five Comrades Marathons, so you can see that running is in our family's blood," she said.
As a Wildtrust employee, after realising that her company was one of the official Comrades Marathon beneficiaries she decided to run the race to raise funds for Wildtrust.
After being tasked with leading the fundraising team in 2014, coupled with her growing passion for road running, she decided to make a deal and promised her colleagues that one day she would run the Comrades Marathon for charity.
After completing her first Comrades Marathon in 2018, Makhoba-dlamini this year, is finally living up to the promise she made in 2014 and will be running her second Comrades to raise funds for Wildtrust.
She initially set her target for R10 000 and was blown away when she reached it in the first 48 hours.
Currently sitting at R10 950 raised, with just under a month to go, she has upped her fundraising target to R30 000.
Registered as the Wildlands Conservation Trust, Wildtrust is a South African non-profit, non-government and public welfare organisation.
On how she managed to raise so much in such a short time, she said she guessed it was because she was a "people's person".
"My friends, my colleagues, family members, athletes, St Anne's community and everybody around me are very supportive. I am very grateful and looking forward to the Comrades Marathon and raising more money for Wildtrust," she said, adding that unfortunately her husband won't be joining her as he is tending to