Ready, set, go! More than 1,000 people will lace up their running shoes and hit the streets of East London in support of the fight against underage drinking.
The participants, from across the province, South Africa and even outside the country, will be sweating it out on Sunday June 29 in the third instalment of the Eastern Cape Liquor Board Underage Drinking Awareness Race, which is also linked to Youth Month.
Runners and walkers, young and old, will set off in the fun event from the starting line at the Beacon Bay Crossing at 7am.
The race, piloted in East London, is part of an ongoing effort to combat underage drinking in the Eastern Cape.
Its aim is to raise awareness and promote education about the risks associated with underage drinking.
Open to athletes and families, participants can enter the event’s 21km, 4km, and 2.1km distances.
The event was started after the tragic deaths of 21 young people at the Enyobeni Tavern in Scenery Park in June 2022.
The Buffalo City and Nelson Mandela metros and OR Tambo district have been identified as underage drinking hotspots in the province.
The race will be held a day after the ECLB hosts an underage drinking summit in East London, in a bid to address the scourge which is grappling the province.
“We decided to link these two specifically to raise awareness about underage drinking,” ECLB CEO Dr Nombuyiselo Makala said.
“We are excited about the race. Part of what we are doing through this race is also to promote sport because we believe strongly that sport can go a long way in providing some form of alternative to our young people.
“At some point, we will do an assessment of the extent to which this race has impacted our people, but we believe strongly, if you look at the athletes that we attract across the province and outside the country, we are hoping to look back and see the impact its making.
“It’s getting a lot of support from even the provincial government, hence the premier [Oscar Mabuyane] declared it as a provincial race and that is why we are working with the provincial government,” Makala said.
ECLB staffers and those who will be working at the race on the day, will participate in a pre-run this Sunday (June 22}.
Registration for the 21km with a licence is R150, and R210 with a temporary licence.
The entry fee for those taking part in the 4km is R40, and R20 for the 2.1km.
All distances will start and end at the Beacon Bay Crossing.
The winner of the 21km stands to walk away with R6,000, up from R3,500 in 2024.
The first 800 21km runners will earn medals and T-shirts. All finishers of the 2.1km and 4km will receive medals.
Online entries, accessible at https://www.webtickets.co.za/v2/Event.aspx?itemid=, close before midnight on Monday, while manual entries close on June 27 at 12 midday.
Msiya said the entry fees collected would go towards preparing for the race and supporting underage drinking programmes.
The first awareness race held in 2023 saw 160 enthusiastic runners take to East London’s streets.
Daily Dispatch
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