Come on everyone, run! Willie inspiring the kids.

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.

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