Thohoyandou, last stop! Vendaland welcomed the Sport Heroes with buckets of rain that cooled down the hot spell of the past few days. The downpour paused for a while and the entourage was able to do a walkthrough long the bustling streets, singing and handing out condoms for the last time. They were joined by quite a few local boxing and running heroes, and as usual the boisterous parade attracted a lot of attention.

In town to welcome the Heroes, and walk the last five kilometres with them was Sport and Recreation Director General Vernie Peterson, who also handed the SRSA sport equipment over to the local municipality for distribution to sports clubs in the area. SABC was also in attendance and conducted interviews with various of the Heroes as well as the Director General.

Due to the rain the coaching clinic was moved to an indoor sports arena. Despite the rather cramped conditions – try practicing running, football, boxing and cricket with two hundred children an a smallish hall – as usual the children were all smiles and laughter. Most of them were from a local school for the disabled.

The last activity on the 2009 Sport Heroes Walk Against HIV/AIDS was a visit to the Bushveld Foundation, a small children’s home in central Thohoyandou that houses about thirty orphaned go a long way in improving the children’s simple, very basic living conditions.

Everyone was visibly relieved when they left the centre, their task that has taken them to sixteen stops across Limpopo finally complete. As them about what they remembered most and it was the intense heat and many uphills they faced during the 1 751km walk, the faces of children at the care centres they visited, and the joy when children received their balls at coaching clinics. Many also talked about the talent they saw during clinics, and how they hoped that somehow the simple tricks and practices they taught during the clinics would have a positive result.

Next year’s Sport Heroes Walk will be the last in a nine year cycle, and will take place in Gauteng. For now however everyone were simply in a hurry to get home and recover from an intense but satisfying experience.

Everyone was caught by a curved ball – so to speak – when it appeared that that the municipality of Musina was on strike, and wouldn’t be able to help much with arrangements in that town. This didn’t deter the Heroes though. With the help of the local sports council an impromptu clinic was held at a local school, and their time and energy spent in the town went to a worth cause despite the wrangling going on at official level. Nothing keeps a good sportsperson down!

Would she rather be climbing mountains? Evelina tries her hand at golf.

In the next town, Makhado, things went slightly better, despite it being a Sunday and the town’s streets being almost deserted. The Heroes received an official welcome at the local municipality building, and after a brief lunch went to the venue of the coaching clinic at the town’s showgrounds. They were greeted by dead silence and not a soul in sight. So they they had to entertain themselves for a while. Now, how do top sportspeople entertain themselves on a lazy Sunday afternoon? they play sport, of course!  In no time a few of the Heroes were playing cricket among themselves – which of course gave top cricketer Daleen an unfair advantage – while some distance away others were receiving golfing lessons from someone who had brought a club and a few golf balls along.

It’s worthy of repeating – nothing keeps a good sportsperson down!

After a while some young people started drifting in, and soon enough the coaching clinic got under way, though it wasn’t the highlight event they were at Tzaneen or Makhado, or even at the dusty field in Mogwadi. But there’s still a firm, highly visible determinination among the Heroes and their entourage to, no matter what, make sure they leave a stamp on every community they visit.

The municipality’s inability to provide a coherent list of the local beneficiaries of SRSA’s equipment handover meant, once again, that the cricket bats, softball and cricket helmets, whistles, stop watches and other items stayed in the  entouragevehicles, rather than being passed on to the municipality. Since this is the fourth time it’s happened on the walk, this approach to helping rural communities with sport will probably have to be reconsidered, perhaps by bringing on board other community organisations such as NGOs and schools.

To stops remain – the village of Giyani and the final destination, Thohoyandou.

Sorry for the lack of posting for a day or two, Internet access has been very intermittent.

After the very successful Sport Heroes Walk stop at Tzaneen, Polokwane followed in much the same vein, even though the coaching clinic was a bit smaller. However, and fittingly so, the Sport Heroes had what was surely the equivalent of a ticker tape parade through the mains street of the city, complete with brass band. At the end of the parade, which took the Heroes to the sports ground next to the newly completed Peter Mokaba Stadium, every passer-by knew that the Heroes were in town.

The following day the Sport Heroes and their entourage started the long trek into the rural areas around Mogwadi (Dendron), Vivo, and Alldays. The Mogwadi stop had, for the first time on the Walk, a rural feel to it. The Heroes’ welcoming was very low-key, and the field where the coaching clinic took place was grassless and dusty, without any seating facilities, no toilets, nothing. Fortunately quite a number of children arrived for the clinic, and the lack of good facilities didn’t dampen their enjoyment.

Show us your stuff.... trying to qualify for a soccer ball.

Because each stopover now attracts more kids than there are SRSA soccer balls to hand out, elimination competitions are held in cricket, football and athletics (there are normally few enough boxers among them). It has added an extra element of excitement to the clinics, and it’s satisfying to see everyone doing their utmost to qualify for a soccer ball, and watch the joy when they receive it. Normally more than 75% of kids receive a ball this way.

Unfortunately it was yet another municipality where SRSA couldn’t be sure that the sports equipment earmarked for handover would be distributed transparently and equitably. Squabbling among municpal and sport club officials resulted in SRSa unceremoniously packing up the boxes with equipment into the vans. It’ll be handed over to the provincial sports authorities, who must first ensure that the local authorities are able to apply the equipment for the community’s benefit before handing it over.

Due to changes in arrangements the next stopover, Alldays, have been moved to a village only about 10km from where the Mogwadi clinics were held. This adds a long distance to the Heroes’ travel plan, and much negotiating and persuasion took place before this change in plans was accepted.

From there it’s a long, very long drive to Musina, the fourth last stop on the Heroes Walk.

Wow! The Sport Heroes arrived in Tzaneen to a sumptous and most generous welcome. Firstly they were greeted with a fruit lunch at the municipal hall (talk about a healthy lifestyle!) after which all were given ‘padkos’ as well. The mayor gave a short but impassioned speech, and it was clear to all that this municipality paid more than lip service to the HIV/AIDS scourge.

On the way to the Nkowakowa Stadium, venue for the coaching clinics, the Heroes had a parade that was joined by about two hundred people from the surrounding community.

Gogo in action during the coaching clinic

The subsequent clinic was one of the most disciplined and well-organised events of the Walk so far. And what made it unique was the participation of several of the area’s gogo (grandmother) football teams, who not only took part in the clinic, but treated everyone to a ten minute soccer game. Most laughter erupted when one gogo lost here shoe while kicking the ball!The seriousness of HIV/AIDS and brought home most vividly when the Heroes visited St Anne’s, a care centre about 50km from Tzaneen, in rural Limpopo. It’s home to more than sixty orphaned and mistreated children, many of them sick with TB and other AIDS-related illnesses. For an hour or so the Heroes danced and sang with the children, who seemed to have boundless amounts of energy.

St Anne’s good work was rewarded later the day when a donation from the Sport Heroes Walk was presented to the care centre.

The heat is slowly picking up, and will probably not relent for the rest of the Walk. Yet, especially after the success of the Tzaneen day, the Heroes are in high spirits. ‘Everyone is keen to do their part of the Walk each day, and support staff are also now doing some walking’, says Mbabala, the Walk’s logistics manager.

Tomorrow the Walk takes the Heroes through the beautiful surroundings outside Tzaneen. It’s an uphill affair though, so could be tough on the non-professional runners. Their next stop is Polokwane, provincial capital.

Come on everyone, run! Willie inspiring the kids.

The wear and tear of day-in and day-out running, coaching, getting up early and driving long distances is starting to show. Tempers are getting shorter when dealing with stroppy municipality officials, and misty eyes say much about how everyone’s missing home. Yet they’re still doing their best, putting in everything to make every day a success.

‘As long as we do our miles every day and connect with the community,’ Cynthia says. ‘Then we’ve achieved what we’ve come for.’

And that mantra is by now a steady rhythm that, to a greater or lesser degree, repeats itself every day.

It’s fascinating to how different municipalities work – some highly efficient, others floundering and disorganised. Some mayors of town are highly involved and hands-on, arriving unobtrusively in non-descript cars, and taking active part in in the coaching clinics and other activities. But yesterday the mayor arrived in a black Mercedes, emerged for about five minutes to hand out twenty condoms, and then promptly got back in and left.

Some municipalities bring sport clubs and local organisations to the coaching clinics to take part, and are able to organise hundreds of kids to come along, while others manage to only produce a few dozen school children and a teacher or two.

What is of concern is that in quite a few places there was a clear ’spirit of entitlement’ with people ranging from anonymous bystanders to municipality officials complaining about the fact that so-and-so didn’t receive a t-shirt, a ball, or any of the equipment that was handed over to the municipalities. They’ll argue with SRSA and Walk officials while standing in the middle of a field of a hundred or more needy children from their community, smiling and joyfully playing with their soccer balls they’ve just gotten, care of SRSA.

Then again, we’ve seen dozens of community volunteers, local heroes and local coaches taking part enthusiastically while receiving no pay or handouts. In some places these people displayed amazing talent and energy. Perhaps these people should be rewarded with equipment with which to help sport in their communities?

Today the Heroes walk from Phalaborwa to Tzaneen, a picturesque route though the fruit producing valleys in and around Letsitele. They’ll only pass briefly through the town centre – as they mostly do – before moving on the main activities in the neighbouring community of Nkowakowa.

The rainy skies gave way to the first sunshine since the Heroes left  Bela-Bela a few days ago. This  fact was welcomed by all, but in in fact not much distance was covered due to the workhorses, Willie and Ruben, having to travel back to Johannesburg overnight to attend an ASA meeting. Normally they account for fifty kilometers of running every day, which meant that the remainder of the Heroes only covered about forty kilometers instead of their usual quote or one hundred or so.

The group of children gathered at the Lebowakgomo Stadium for the coaching clinics were a much less exuberant lot than those at other spots, so handing out the balls were easy, since there were also less than 200 of them present (Two hundred is the number of balls allocated to each stopover). After the coaching clinics were completed, the usual handover of SRSA-donated sports equipment to the municipality was done.

What is amazing is the see the range of ages of children attending the clinics. It ranges from school leavers to toddlers no older than three or four. Sometimes it makes catering for everyone’s needs difficult, but at Lebowakomo several pre-school teachers pitched in and helped keep the little ones occupied.

The convoy of vehicles the Heroes travel in suffered a minor, two-car bumper bashing on their way to Lebowakgomo, but fortunately no one was hurt. Some of the roads they travel on are in less than ideal condition, and goats, cows and other animals run freely across them making travelling in some parts quite difficult. Generally the incident was a wake-up call for everyone to drive carefully.

Tomorrow the Heroes turn south to Burgersfort, about 100km from Lebowakgomo. They’re already about 20km before the town, so will in all probability push hard to cover some of the 169km to Phalaborwa – the longest stretch on the Sport Heroes Walk route.

Despite heavy rains during the past two days, the Sport Heroes have doggedly been running along their predetermined route through Lephalale, Marken and Mokopane. Although all of them were drenced to the bone, none had complaints, the worst being having to stop by their accommodation to change into dry clothes before starting the day. Even so, the limited visibility due to the rain as well as foggy conditions made running on the side of the road a dangerous affair, even though the runners are all trailed by either their own or traffic vehicles.

In both Marken and Mokopane the coaching clinics had to be cancelled to a large extent, because of wet fields. In both places however large groups of children had gathered to welcome the Heroes at community halls, and they were well rewarded by SRSA’s handout of soccer balls, and a few basic instructions from the Heroes.

The Heroes were particularly well received in Mokopane, where the local municipality looked after their every need. It seemed that the whole town’s police and traffic force were commandeered as they personal body guard, trailing them everywhere and making sure they’re safe on the wet and dangerous roads.

Councillors from Mokopane accepting their sport equipment from SRSA's Kanyane Mohlala.

In addition they were treated to a gala dinner by the municipality at a Mokopane hotel. SRSA handed over sports equipment to the municpality amid much jubilation. Later on the event turned into a birthday party for soccer star Veronica Budu Phewa, who got a huge, surprise birthday cake. Counting the number of candles on the cake, She managed to blow all of the candles out in one go, even though, when counting them, I thought she was a little young to be an international football player!

The Sport Heroes Walk Against HIV/AIDS has now been going for almost a week. What is impressive is the quiet dedication of the Heroes, never complaining about anything. When there’s a task at hand, they simply fall in and do their best. This is what makes them true Heroes – the willingness to sacrifice almost three weeks of their time to share their skills and insights with less priviledged communities.

Next on the stopover list is Lebowakgomo. It’s a short 60km drive there from Mokopane, and anyway, the Heroes stopped about thirty kilometers on the other side of the town, so they’re once again well ahead of schedule.

And let’s hope the rain keeps to the evening hours, so the Heroes can stay dry during the day.

Running in the rain... Ruben and Willie on their way to Lephalale from Thabazimbi.

Today started off with a 5km walk for everyone, together with the mayor and officials from Thabazimbi. The cloud cover had increased, and further on where faithful workhorses Ruben Ramolefe and Willie Mtolo were grinding away the kilometers towards Lephalale, it had started to drizzle. Not that the rain put the two off, they were seen chatting amiably among themselves, greeting passing locals and generally just taking the 28 kilometers they completed in about three hours in their stride.

Most Heroes didn’t do any running and walking, since they’re ahead of schedule. Only forty kilometers were completed, with the day’s walk ending in Lephalale town.

Along the beautiful, meandering route of lush, green bushveld locals were curiously watching the runners pass.

Where are they from?
Pretoria.
And where are they running to?
Thohoyandou.
Hau!

The disbelief was clear.

The weather seemed to put a damper on activities during the rest of the day. During their march through Lephalale, the Sport Heroes handed out condoms in the streets and at the local taxi rank, but found it to be almost deserted. ‘Normally these places are teeming with people’, several of them commented, ‘but there’s almost nobody in sight here. Where’s everyone?

Later at the coaching clinics held at well grassed, neat stadium it was only a small group of children who gathered to take lessons from the Heroes. The proceedings were quite informal, and was more of a relaxing activity session than coaching clinic.

SRSA handed its equipment allocation to a number of schools who were represented at the venue. Even though the value of the equipment exceeds R20 000, it was clear that it was a drop in the ocean when one takes the total needs into consideration.

So for the Heroes and their support teams it was a fairly early finish to the day, with everyone leaving by 4pm.

Tomorrow will see the Heroes back to their quota of about 80-100km per day, that will take them to the small village of Marken. There’s more rain on the way, they say, so the inevitable northern Limpopo heat is avoided for another day.

It was a slow start to the day in Lephalale, with the Heroes only arriving at the sports field in Thabazimbi around one o’clock, after having done a walk-through in the town centre. All the Sport Heroes hummed their approval that the cloudy weather was most welcome and helped to keep things cool on the road during the running part of the day. The only Hero with a complaint was Desiree, who has a nagging knee problem. Fortunately the physio was at hand to apply some ice and a bandage. Let’s hope it clears up (her knee, not the weather…) since a few more days of cloud cover will be most welcome.

The kids that took part in today’s coaching clinics was a particularly playful bunch, who prior to the coaching clinics and after the formalities were done took to the field like a cage full of kittens, rollicking around on the grass, chasing each other and generally being, well, just kids. Much of the subsequent coaching clinics was taken up by impromptu races, boxing matches, ball games and mini cricket tournaments. For an hour or so the air was filled with cheers as spectators egged each other on, or in celebration of a win.

In the end, however, it was the spectators who lost out. Since, yet again, there weren’t enough of the soccer balls SRSA hands out for everyone, a decision was made to only give them to kids who actively particpated in the clinics (there are about three times more spectating children ambling round on the field). So while the field was filled with kids throwing balls around after the handout, there were also a lot of long faces.

The number of balls handed out per  once stop-over – two hundred – was based on the average participation in last year’s Sport Heroes Walk. But this year participation is considerably increased, which is of course great, since it means the Walk is having a greater impact, even if all participants don’t receive a free ball.

Regarding the walking and running route, the Sport Heroes are now ahead of schedule and stopped the day’s run about forty kilometers before Lephalale, tomorrow’s stop-over point. The organisers envisages that this will enable the Sport Heroes and their support team to take a day off running, just to rest and recuperate sore muscles and bruised feet.

Most of all, let’s hope the cloudy weather continues for a few more days!

The answer is a big yes! However, the ten Heroes don’t EACH walk 1700km, that would take forever to complete. So they do it in relay, with each runner doing a stretch of between 5-25km each day, depending on their strength and ability. Long distance runners like Willie Mtolo runs 25km every day, so he would’ve completed almost 500m by himself by the time the Walk reaches its final destination!

Early in the morning, each runner is dropped off at a predetermined position, with the effect that all of them run more or less at the same time. Each is also followed by either a traffic vehicle, or one of the Walk support vehicles. This means that they complete about 100km every day on average, in the space of four hours or so, leaving them time to visit hospices and conduct sport clinics.

And yes, they have a physiotherapist on board to help with the inevitable aches and pains at the end of each day!