Thousands of people are expected to make their way to the Langa Sports Stadium on Freedom Day, Thursday 27 April, 2023, to participate in the second street run through this historic township.
This year Langa celebrates its 100th year, and the organisers of the TymeBank Langa Run for Freedom along with the Langa community will pull out all the stops to welcome visitors to this friendly township.
The race will kick off at the Langa Sports Stadium in Bitterhout Avenue at 7.15am, when runners will make their way through the streets of this vibrant township to the finish line. The route, which winds down Washington Street, is designed to take runners past some of the township’s well-known landmarks. Residents are expected to once again line the streets to cheer runners on, spurring the community spirit of the day.
Open to runners runners of all fitness levels
The race is accessible to runners of all fitness levels and includes a 10-kilometre run for participating clubs and professional athletes, and a 6-kilometre option for non-professional runners who want to test their fitness while they soak up the rich township experience.
The Run for Freedom is the first of its kind for Langa, and Chairman of the Langa Running Club, Aubrey Issacs is the man behind this well-organised event.
“Many people don’t know that sport and fitness is big in this township; we have open-air gyms popping up everywhere. The turnout for the inaugural event last year was beyond all expectations,” he says. “Over 1100 runners participated in the 10-kilometre run and many more arrived to support the runners and to celebrate Freedom Day with us, in the spirit of peace and togetherness.” Issacs believes runners will turn out in their thousands again this year, along with supporters, to run, celebrate and soak up the great community vibe.
“Our ultimate goal is to establish the Freedom Day Run as Langa’s flagship running event,” he affirms.
The Run for Freedom pays tribute to the life of the late Desmond Tutu and his fight for freedom for all South Africans, by creating a safe space for people from across the city and province to run in the city’s oldest township. “For race day we are working closely with the Traffic Department and have roped in our local community policing forum to safeguard the route,” says Issacs.
Lead sponsor TymeBank is proud to be on board and Chief Executive of Business Banking for TymeBank, Karl Westvig, who initiated the relationship with the Langa Running Club in 2015 as CEO of Retail Capital – now a division of TymeBank – continues to fly the flag for the sport.
The Langa Running Club is regarded as one the city’s elite running clubs and attracts members from different communities. Among their members is top female runner Fortunate Chidzivo, and top local runner William Kaptein, who was first to cross the finish line at last year’s Freedom Day Run. He will be defending his title in the 2023 Run against 2nd placed Andre Afrika, who is also a member of the Langa Running Club now.
Registration for Langa Run for is at https://entryninja.co.za until Sunday, 23 April. Or at the venue on race day from 5am to 7am. Entry fees range from R55 to R135 for the 10 kilometre run, and from R30 to R50 for the 6 kilometre run.
Event proceeds will be invested back into the athletics club.
What: Freedom Day Run Langa
When: Thursday 27 April 2023
Where: Langa Sports Stadium, Washington Street Cape Town
Info: #Run4Freedom #RunClean
WS
