On to Lebowakgomo

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.