Durban - Sipho Mataka will run the Mandela Marathon on Sunday to raise money for the Denis Hurley Centre, an inner city facility which serves the underprivileged in Durban by working with the city's different faith traditions.
The 39-year-old New Hanover firefighter said he was addicted to long-distance running as it helped him maintain his fitness.
This will be his fourth Mandela Marathon, among the other marathons he is taken part in, including the Durban City, Soweto, Two Oceans and JZ Zuma Marathons and five Comrades Marathons.
A man runs at the Mandela Marathon.
Through the walk, two generations of runners will be united in their support for the Denis Hurley Centre. Monsignor Paul Nadal, 86, is a resident of Garden Grove in Berea and will also be taking part in the march. Despite his age, he said he remained fit and active.
Speaking about running for the Denis Hurley Centre, Mtaka said: "I asked myself how I can help people who are helpless? I am not rich but my daily life is good. At the same time, I am aware of people who cannot even get something to eat."
The route of the Mandela Marathon begins at the Arya Samaj (Manayi) Hall in Imbali, where Madiba made his last public speech before he was arrested by apartheid police on March 25 1961. It ends at the Mandela Capture Site just outside Howick where he was arrested on August 5 1962.