Adventure News: 2012 VALLEY RUN - GOING TO EXTREMES FOR A GOOD CAUSE

Adventure News: 2012 VALLEY RUN - GOING TO EXTREMES FOR A GOOD CAUSE - Ndorfin, South Africa

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Monday, 09 July 2012
2012 VALLEY RUN - GOING TO EXTREMES FOR A GOOD CAUSE

During the Valley Run, a group of runners and seconders took the opportunity to visit Kiddy Land, a crche in the Valley of 1000 Hills that has successfully applied The Unlimited Child model. The children at Kiddy Land were treated to a lunch of sandwiches and fruit followed by some delicious chocolate cake. Valley Run runners Travis Krause (left) and Mike Sears, with Kiddy Land owner, Lorenda Green.
(Image Courtesy Peridot)

The 2012 Valley Run, a 112km trail run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban through the Valley of 1000Hills, was a resounding success both as an extreme sporting event and as a fundraising effort. A total of 32 adventure athletes set off and the last person crossed the finish line 20 hours later. It really was a punishing route, said competitor Hedley Young. We started at midnight and just 45 minutes into the trail, we crossed the Umgeni River for the first of four crossings. The river was fairly full so there was a strong current and we were wading chest-deep. Obviously, with the temperature hovering around 8C, running in wet clothes made for tough conditions and many of the runners cramped as a result. We were all really happy to see the sun come up at dawn.

By the time the group stopped for an early lunch at 11:30, five people had already withdrawn and the remainder of the field were looking haggard. They battled on however and the first three runners crossed the finish line at Blue Lagoon in Durban at 5:30pm, completing the epic distance in a time of 16.5 hours.

Chester Foster, one of the final group to complete the trail run, said that they were exhausted after 20 hours out in the field. We fell behind the main group as we were stopping regularly to treat blisters. With no markers, choosing the correct route became our biggest challenge and we were fortunate that we made no wrong turns. It was great to see the finish and though we were exhausted, it was a really rewarding day, said Foster.

While just completing this epic trail run is a massive achievement, this group of incredible runners have shown their mettle in terms of fundraising too. Organised by the Mamu Loman Federation, the event was held to raise much needed funding for The Unlimited Child, a non-profit organisation focussing on early childhood development. In this regard, the team exceeded all expectations as they raised over R90 000!

The Unlimited Child promotes the correct stimulation of young children by providing educational toys, caregiver training and ongoing support to crches in underprivileged areas. According to The Unlimited Child CEO, Cassy Healey, most of the organisations work has been in the Valley of 1000 Hills where it has reached 20 000 children, 751 caregivers and 252 crches.

We have been absolutely blown away by the phenomenal job that The Mamu Loman Federation has done. The funds raised will help us to supply toys and training for another four crches. This means we will be able to impact over 180 children and give them the opportunity to reach their full potential in life, Healey said.

The Unlimited Child was the perfect match for us, explains Andrew King, one of the founders of the Mamu Loman Federation. As our route for the Valley Run is through the Valley of 1000 Hills, we wanted to support an initiative that is giving back to this community and the great work being done by The Unlimited Child delivers on all fronts.

Event organisers were delighted with the funds raised for the event charity The Unlimited Child and 27 athletes finished the gruelling race.

A Punishing Race
(Image Courtesy Peridot)