Cape Town – Rugby World Cup predictions and heart-warming stories of runners contributing to changing people’s lives and making the planet a better place were all part of a lively and entertaining Cape Times Captain’s Challenge breakfast at the CPUT Hotel School in Mouille Point on Saturday.
The event was a curtain-raiser to the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon held yesterday.
Talk-show host and MC, Aden Thomas and Cape Town Marathon race ambassador Francois Pienaar paid tribute to his “fallen comrade” from the 1995-winning Springbok team, Chester Williams, and was confident that South Africa would make this year’s Rugby World Cup final.
“I think we’ve learnt how to finish games and certainly Varsity Cup rugby has helped this,” said Pienaar.
“So I think we have a real
chance. I think the top three will be South Africa, New Zealand and England. But I really want Francois Steyn at number 12. Many teams who have won the World Cup have had a fly half at inside centre.”
SA Sports Science Institute’s chief executive, Dr Phati Zondi, encouraged everyone to embrace those things which fill their hearts with joy, after she confided that she hoped for a comfortable four hours thirty minutes marathon.
“You can make it work if you want to,” Dr Zondi said.
Advocate Marukgwane Moremogolo, known as the “book runner”, completes his marathons and ultra-marathons with the aid of a book, satisfying twin passions of reading and running at the same time.
“I finished my first Two Oceans Marathon in 6 hours 36 minutes without a book, and then this year ran 6:11 reading a book by my favourite author Zakes Mda,” said Moremogolo.
“And I’ll expect to read about 15 pages of a book when I run Cape Town Marathon tomorrow.”
The advocate’s passion goes further than his own reading.
The mission of his “Fat Cats Book Club” is to impact disadvantaged children who don’t have books at home.
“We are having hundreds of books donated through our ‘Kilometres for Books’ project.”
Apart from aiming to finish in under three hours, Mohamed Dirani, managing director of Plano, a Singapore health technology company
empowering people to achieve their best vision through education and technological solutions, is a man on a mission.
“Our aim is to give thousands back their vision through running,” said Dirani.
“I am angry that so many, who could have their lives changed through spectacles, are being significantly
disadvantaged.”