SPORT NEWS - For the second consecutive year, Knysna athlete Melikaya Msizi took on the challenge of running 100km to collect school shoes and raise funds to purchase school shoes.
The school shoes are to be donated to underprivileged schoolchildren in and around Knysna.
Mielies, as he's affectionately known, first launched the drive last year. A year later, he absolutely knew he had to do it again.
The date chosen for this year's run was Saturday 11 February and, as fate would have it, it was a gruelling day with temperatures exceeding 30ºC.
But, this didn't seem to phase Mielies all that much. "The heat wasn't too bad in the end. I actually felt even better than last year, I was in better shape," he said. While he wasn't too bothered about the heat, others clearly were. In 2022 a group of people ran the entire route with him, but this year he was the only one to run the full 100km. He did, however, still have loads of support.
"There were more people running with me on parts of the route this year; there was a lot of support and I'm very grateful."
Mielies receives a welcome cooling down during his run.
Just like last year, Mielies set off on his 100km crusade at 05:00, but this time started at the Caltex garage on Waterfront Drive in Knysna. He then made his way to the N2 where he ran along the estuary and on to Sedgefield and beyond.
On the other side of Swartvlei, he turned onto the dirt road to Pine Lake Marina/Rondevlei and then headed north to take the stunning and scenic Seven Passes Road.
From there, the route followed the Seven Passes Road all the way to Rheenendal, past Portland Manor and Totties. It joined the N2 again at the Rheenendal turn-off and then followed the main road back into town. Mielies finished the run at Caltex after 11 hours of pounding the roads.
The tough task has proven worth it, as he has thus far collected 25 pairs of school shoes and received R8,8k in donations. People can contact Mielies on 082 625 0693 to pledge their support and make donations until the end of February.
Mielies and his supporting runners approach the finish line at Caltex Waterfront.
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