The Ethembeni School for disabled children at Cato Ridge is hosting a bus tour for international runners taking part in this year’s Comrades marathon.
Some of the areas runners will be visiting are Inchanga and Botha’s Hill. These areas are rich in Comrades history as it marks some of the last big hills before the descent to Durban.
These areas also boast the spot where 5 times winner of the early races – Arthur Newton – used to sit and rest before the halfway mark.
300 learners to cheer runners on
Each year, the 300 learners of the Ethembeni School line up along the road to cheer on the runners.
School principal, Braam Mouton says, “We are hosting the international runners. So it’s a bus tour that is touring the route and they are going to stop at the school. The school will give them a little bit of the Zulu Shosholoza drum and dance and hopefully we’re going to get some funding from overseas runners.”
Mouton says the school could not raise funds during the two years that the Comrades marathon was not run due to COVID- 19 restrictions.
“Well, the bottom line is the Comrades time is basically our biggest fundraising event in the year because the Comrades are passing our school and we’re on the route. We’ve been involved since 1999 and unfortunately, the two years that didn’t happen we have actually lost on that income. So we’re very happy that we’re back and that Comrades are back.” explains Mouton.
