Urban Run festival kicks off tomorrow
PORT Elizabeth’s Donkin Reserve, the balcony of the city, will come alive this weekend with a festival of activities as thousands celebrate the Urban Run and the hosting of South Africa’s first Inner City Enduro.
Hosted by the Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA) and managed by Zsports, the Urban Run festival kicks off at 8am tomorrow with a public participation aerobics class by Metrogym.
Registration and collection of goodie bags for the Urban Run events open at 9am, and the first of two exhibitions by extreme enduro rider Brian Capper takes place at 10.15am.
The Spar Rotary Kids zone is open all weekend, with inflatable activities for a R30 donation to the Rotary Club of Port Elizabeth Sunrise, which will supervise the area.
The Kids’ Urban Run best-dressed competition with Moaz the Clown starts at 11.30am, before the race start at noon.
A cash prize of R1 000 is up for grabs for the best-dressed individual or group and this year sees the Oracle Media super heroes joining in the kids’ run, where you can see Catwoman, Spiderman, Wonder Woman, Batman and Captain America running with the children.
Capper performs again at 12.45pm before the kids’ prize-giving, where the highest fundraiser for Reach for a Dream will receive a new bicycle from Cyclopro.
All the action then moves to Fort Frederick, where Red Cherry Adventures hosts the Inner City Enduro, which sees world champion David Knight in action from 1.30pm.
Sunday’s action starts at 8am with Centrestage’s Gino Fabbri getting the Urban Run participants warmed up and ready for the best-dressed competition at 8.30am. The winner or winners will walk off with R3 000 cash.
In this unique-concept event, where each athlete raises R100 or more for charity, the participants are called to the starting line in four batches based on how much they raised for the Cleary Estate Cheshire Home.
The race starts at 9am. Participants cover an 8.5km route in the city centre, tackling some 20 obstacles and getting to see urban renewal in the city.
All obstacles and water tables are sponsored by Bay firms, adding to the festive atmosphere before participants finish back on the Donkin for a well-deserved finisher’s medal and BOS sports drink.
Prize-giving with Gino is from noon, with prizes for the top philanthropists and lucky draw prizes, including another bicycle from Cyclopro.
Entries are being accepted on www.urbanrun.co.za as well as at registration tomorrow morning. No late entries or race-pack collections are possible on Sunday.