As part of this year’s Mandela Day celebrations, the Nelson Mandela Foundation will host the second edition of the Mandela Day Walk & Run in Houghton, in honour of the global icon.
Nelson Mandela International Day has enjoyed 13 years of global support and solidarity since it was launched in 2009. In 2023, the world commemorates 10 years since Mandela passed away, whilst this year also marks 105 years since Madiba was born.
This year, the race begins at Houghton Primary School and follows the route Mandela walked for exercise when he lived in Houghton. The suburb was the home of President Mandela for a number of years following his release from Robben Island and his 13th Avenue address has since been converted into Sanctuary Mandela, a boutique hotel and convening space.
Houghton Estate is also the suburb that hosts the Nelson Mandela Centre for Memory, where the foundation is housed.
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“The foundation calls upon everyone to use Mandela Day as a day that brings people together to take action against poverty and advance the project of nation-building,” said a statement. “This year’s theme for Mandela Day is Climate, Food & Solidarity, and our call to action is “it’s in your hands”, to take action against climate change.”
This year the Mandela Day Walk and Run will include 5km, 10km and 21km routes and will be held in partnership with Balwin Properties, Supabets, Discovery Vitality, Clover, Vision Tactical, Mahindra, Brand SA, Power FM and INX TV.
The race will start at 08h00 on Sunday, 16th July, and will be timed, with Discovery Vitality offering points for Vitality members who participate.
Tickets are available at https://www.nelsonmandela.org/activities/entry/mandela-day-houghton-run, with R100 for the 5km walk, R150 for the 10km run, and R200 for the 21km run. All race proceeds will go towards continuing the work of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
For more information, visit https://www.nelsonmandela.org/activities/entry/mandela-day-houghton-run or http://onreg.com/mandeladay23.
