by Dzudzie Faith Netshisaulu
The community of Bosplaas West in Hamanskraal was abuzz on Saturday morning, waking up at dawn and braving the scorching sun to take part in the inaugural annual Maselelo Community Fun.
Hosted by the Mahlakgane family, this very first marathon and fun walk saw both young and old converged at the Maselelo Boma, an events venue owned and managed by the Mahlakgane family, from as early as 05:30 to make the 06:00am start.
The fun run attracted soccer stars like the former Orlando Pirates captain, Happy Jele, while former Banyana Banyana star footballer Portia Modise, was the ambassador.
The fun run which the family has organised in honor of their Mother Maselelo, attracted corporates like Toyota Waterburg, Redbull, The George Mahlakgane Financial Services, Dino Panel Beaters, to name a few, coming on board to make this very first instalment a success.
Runners had an option to choose from 10km run or 5kms run/walk distances, with elderly women within the community also joining in the fun.
Maselelo, the Matriarch in celebration, turns 89 years old this year and the family used this initiative to celebrate her milestone. She also took to the road clocking a cool 3kms.
Speaking post, the successful event, one of the organisers, Jazzman Mahlakgane, said he was thrilled that he and his siblings hosted and executed a great initiative. He said he was thankful to the community and to those from afar who heard the call and came out un numbers to take part. Mahlakgane also highlighted a family that had traveled all the way from KwaZulu-Natal to participate.
The well-known football agent also thanked the sponsors who offered their full support, painting Hamanskraal all sorts of colours and giving the community an opportunity to celebrate and also start leading a healthy lifestyle.
“I would like to thank everyone who was involved, it was not easy putting together an event like this for us as a family, my siblings, nephews, and nieces, we all worked hard to make this a success. I would like to thank the community as well for the support and the love they have shown us, it is a great feeling knowing that we have such great support. All the sponsors who heard our cries and came out in full support, it is much appreciated,” Mahlakgane added.
The family teased that they are hoping to go a bit further next year and extend the race to 21kms.