GVI Cape Town Half Marathon

So at 4am, a few hours before we could expect to see the sun, our alarms went off to raise us from our sleep. It is one thing to have to get up early on a day, then quite another to have to get up that early. However, the reality is that most of us were already awake, for it was the morning of the GVI Cape Town Half Marathon and the excitement and anticipation was building.

About one and a half hours north-east from Cape Town in a little place called Wellington we arrived at the location for the run. After a few stretches and a banana or two, race time was suddenly upon us. Boom! At 7.15am the gun sounded and we were off, straight up a 45 degree angle hill no doubt, but we were off nonetheless. It was time to test what this GVI Team was made of. Would we live up to the expectations? Would we live up to the hype? Would we live up to the chat?

Well I am happy and proud to declare that we did! Nick Herrick was our front runner and clocked a staggering 1:42. Not far behind, I broke my previous record by 10mins with a time of 1:46. Then breaking the 2 hour barrier, Shayle Havemann raced home in 1:58, followed closely behind by Kate Davis with 2:02 (who I must point out was running with a damaged knee). It was a fantastic team performance and a great day out!

So why were we running? Well it was to raise money for the Hope Edu-Care Centre in the Westlake community. This new pre-primary centre is entirely funded by the GVI Charitable Trust. Its primary goal is to get kids off the street and into a positive, constructive learning environment. Since it is free for children in the community to attend, it means that there is no financial barrier for the poorest children. Our fundraising target is £1,000. At the time of writing this, we are doing fairly well, but still falling short. So if you think you can help make up the difference, please do read a bit more information about exactly where the money will go and donate via the following link - http://www.justgiving.com/Will-Frost

All as a result of charitable contributions, this new edu-care centre is starting to make a huge difference to the children in this community. So if you are able to help, even in the slightest, to develop it even further, you can help make a huge difference too. Thank you.

Jim Bacon and the rest of the GVI Cape Town Team

GVI Cape Town Half Marathon