More than 2 000 runners braved the weekend’s cold weather and took to the streets of Gugulethu for the 10th annual RCS Youth Day Race on Saturday.
The popular event, formerly known as the Dave Spence Memorial Race, was bigger than ever, with double the number of people taking part compared to last year. About 1000 took part in last year’s event on Youth Day.
The race celebrates the important role of the youth in post-1994 democratic South Africa. And financial services provider RCS was once again the title sponsor.
Anthony Timoteus of the University of the Western Cape Athletics Club and Nomvuyisi Seti of the Langa Athletics Club scooped top honours in the 10km men’s and women’s categories, respectively.
Coming second in the men’s category was Sanlam Athletics Club’s Danzil Paulse with Ashley Smith of UWC Athletics Club in third place, while in the women’s race Nedbank’s Madela du Plessis came second followed by West Coast Club’s Natalie Beckenstraten.
RCS Group chief executive Regan Adams said: “The RCS Youth Day race is a wonderful opportunity for RCS to bring people from all communities in the Mother City together on one of the most important dates on the South African calendar.
In second place was Madela du Plessis of Nedbank; the winner was Nomvuyisi Seti of Langa Athletics Club; and Natalie Beckenstraten of West Coast Club came third in the women’s race.
“The ethos of this race reflects the company’s strong mission of ‘working towards making things possible for people’. We view our investment in this race as an important one through which we aim to uplift and honour particularly the young people within these communities,” he said.
The RCS Youth Day race was organised by the Gugulethu Athletics Club and has traditionally been held in honour of Dave Spence, a legendary local athlete and coach at the club.
In second place was Danzil Paulse, of Sanlam Athletics Club; the winner was Anthony Timoteus of UWC Athletics Club; and Ashley Smith, also of UWC Athletics Club, came third in the men’s race.
Spence coached a number of top athletes from Gugulethu and many of these athletes continue to plough their time and resources back into the development of athletics in the community.
The RCS Youth Day race included a 10km road race as well as a 4.2km fun run to make it accessible to runners and walkers of all ages and fitness levels. The route was designed to connect Gugulethu to surrounding areas and offers runners and their supporters a fun-filled family day where all are welcome.