Pinelands non-profit's marathon success on Rondebosch Common

The Zimele non-profit in Pinelands turned their disappointment of not doing the Cape Town marathon into triumph when they decided to do their own marathon on the Rondebosch Common on Sunday, October 19.

Zimele co-founder and executive director, Dr Sarah Whitehead from Wynberg, and her friends were all set in their yellow T-shirts getting ready to do the Cape Town Marathon when they received news that it was cancelled.

“We were completely devastated and rather shocked,” she said.

The marathon was cancelled due to safety concerns, organisers said in a statement released on Monday, October 21.

According to safety officer Phil Prinsloo, the first reports of high winds came in at 12.15am that the Race Village, including two start lines and the finish line, in Green Point, as well as at various points on the route, had been affected.

Until 4.30am high winds were reported, and infrastructure, fencing had blown off, and in the hospitality area, gazebos and some furniture had blown away, along the route up to Observatory.

In Observatory and Rondebosch, very high winds, with gusts of more than 60km/h, were observed between 3.30am and 4.30am, affecting fencing in this area.

Despite the disappointment, her team, which included Lee Moffat, Grant Carelse, Andrew Kleyn, and Alice Bednal,l decided to go run on the Rondebosch Common.

“We decided to head to the Common to do a few kilometres. When we got there, one of our team members suggested doing the marathon around the common,” she said.

Dr Whitehead said they gave it a go as they wanted to raise awareness about disability by doing the actual Cape Town marathon and figured that they could still do just that, albeit on a smaller scale.

“We wanted to prove that people in wheelchairs are just as capable and determined as able-bodied people.

The Zimele non-profit, which has been around for five years, provides prosthetic rehabilitation to adult amputees from disadvantaged backgrounds. 

Dr Whitehead launched a fund-raising campaign more than two months ago, during which she and several friends planned to run the Cape Town Marathon to support her organisation. The campaign raised more than R1.2 million, including more than R175 000 through the GivenGain platform, with the remainder coming from private donors, she said.

Dr Whitehead is a person with a disability who has a developmental venous anomaly in her brainstem, which results in symptoms such as mobility impairment and subsequent physical disability. 

She would have participated in the marathon in a World Made 3 wheelchair with a hand cycle/tricycle attachment, where she would hand pedal with assistance from her friends, who would take turns pushing her. (“Join Dr Sarah Whitehead's marathon journey to support disability awareness and Zimele, Southern Suburbs Tatler, Thursday, August 21)

Dr Whitehead and her team did 17 laps on the Rondebosch Common to make the 42.2km marathon distance. 

She used her World Made 3 wheelchair with a hand cycle/tricycle attachment, and said it was hard work during the marathon.

“I had not appreciated that it’s a full body work and not just from my arms from the pedalling motion. Every muscle in my body felt very worked,” she said.

Dr Whitehead said she is satisfied with the funds that were raised during her fund-raising campaign for Zimele.

“We are entirely dependent on funding/donations, so every amount raised helps us reach more amputees that need our services,” she said.

Please visit Zimele to find out more.