A request from longstanding Flow client, the Nelson Mandela Foundation, recently saw me heading away from Flow’s Durban office overlooking the Indian Ocean and out into the Midlands.
I was en route to the official capture site of Nelson Mandela outside Howick on the Tweedie road, to attend a media launch for the 2014 Mandela Day Marathon.
Now in its third year, the marathon celebrates the triumph of the human spirit over adversity and is described as “one of the hardest marathon routes in the world” by race administrator Johan van Staden, of KwaZulu-Natal Athletics.
It was at this spot at a roadblock on the R103 on 5 August 1962 that the police finally captured their so-called “Black Pimpernel”, who was posing as a chauffeur at the wheel of an Austin Westminster.
Mandela’s arrest precipitated a number of court appearances, ending in the now-famous Rivonia Treason Trial that would ultimately see him spend 27 years in prison.
Today the site features a small museum and unique steel-column sculpture that brings Mandela’s face into relief when viewed at a specific distance.
Around 10 000 athletes and 25 000 spectators are expected to converge on the Midlands on 31 August, while millions more will enjoy live television coverage on SABC2.
“The envisaged economic impact is R80-million, with benefits for the local rural community, hospitality industry, transport and service suppliers,” said uMgungundlovu District Municipality’s Mayor, Councillor Yusaf Bamjee, at the official on-site launch on 12 June.
The route starts at the Manayi Hall in Imbali, where Mandela gave his last speech as a free man in 1961, uttering his now-famous quote: “One person, one vote – amandla awethu (the strength is ours).”
In addition to the 42.2km Mandela Day Marathon there will be a 46664 race for invited celebrities, members of Parliament, national and provincial sponsors and VIPs; a 10km race and, for the first time, a 21km race.
The 2014 Comrades Marathon winner, Bongumusa Mthembu, joins veterans Bruce Fordyce and Willie Mtolo and a number of radio personalities, who have been chosen as brand ambassadors for the race.
