Pretoria resident, Gideon Swart, will be lining up to race the 75-kilometre 2022 K-Way SA MaxiRace Cape Winelands presented by Banhoek Chilli Oil in association with Yenn Health and On Shoes, not simply for the love of running, but also to raise awareness for the plague of human trafficking that is taking place in South Africa.
“I will be running to raise awareness for the work Brave to Love are doing in the human trafficking arena,” says Gideon. “Their mission is to rescue, recover, rehabilitate, restore and re-integrate women and girls that have become victims of sex trafficking in the sex trade in our country, our continent and our world. This is done through providing medical, psychological, emotional, physical, and mental support to those women that have been vulnerable and ended up as slaves in the sex trade.”
Currently in South Africa, human trafficking brings in more money than the illegal drug trade, and is showing no signs of slowing down, with girls as young as ten being sold into slavery, many times by their own families!
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Having always been active, Gideon wanted to use his sports training as a tool for good. It was from this that he decided to use sporting challenges as a way to raise awareness for important issues. In April this year, he was on the start line for the 2022 Ironman African Championship, having never cycled further than 100 kilometres or run further than 30 kilometres at a time!
The MaxiRace Cape Winelands will be taking place on 1 and 2 October 2022 in Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. There are still a few entries available for each distance (seven / 13 / 20 / 45 /75 or 100 kilometres) for those wanting to join in the fun.
“I love trail running, so when I saw MaxiRace Cape Winelands, I knew this would be my next event!” explains Swart. “I have never run a trail running race, nor ever run 75 kilometres on a trail route, but I am super excited to not only take part but also continue to spread the awareness of the work being done by Brave to Love.” Gideon is hoping to finish the route in under 12 hours.
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“I hope that through this we are able to spread awareness and raise funds for Brave to Love, so that they can continue with their awesome work,” says Swart. “I don’t want anyone to live in fear, but I want people to know what is going on around them so that they are able to protect their children and loved ones.”
To find out more about Brave to Love, please visit their website.
If you would like to contribute financially, here are Brave to Love’s banking details:
Also read:
Expert training tips to prepare for the K-Way Maxirace Cape Winelands
Picture: Supplied