Running ‘Comrades’ at home for SPCA
AS PART of #TeamSPCA, Mowbray resident Maretha Smit will run the equivalent of the Comrades Marathon at home to raise funds for vulnerable animals.
Smit, a registrar in anaesthesia and perioperative medicine at Groote Schuur and Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, hopes to raise at least R20 000 for the organisation on June 14, and said that any money donated would be greatly appreciated.
“I have completed four consecutive Comrades Marathons, with a personal best time of 08:25 in 2019,” Smit said.
“This year would have been my fifth, aiming for a silver medal under 07:30. My ultimate goal would have been to reach that green number with no interruptions,” she said.
She added that animals had sometimes been forgotten when thinking of the impact of Covid-19 on communities.
“No matter how many times we disappoint them, they will always come back with love. During this pandemic, we have all been focusing on ourselves and have forgotten about those around us, including the animals,” she said.
Smit will run around her flat’s parking lot.
“It’s a stretch of about 350m up and down, but if I include the underground parking it will give me about 750m per lap,” she said.
Cape of Good Hope SPCA fundraising officer, Natasha Johannes, said Smit’s donation would be a welcome boost. She said in addition to their diminished fundraising capacity from these types of public events, they were also experiencing high volumes of surrendered and abandoned animals.
To donate, visit: https://www. givengain.com/ap/maretha-smitraising-funds-for-cape-of-good-hopespca/