A royal opportunity to run and make a difference

By Stephen Granger

Her name is ‘Leonique’. Small in stature but big in heart, Leonique sat in the front row and took to heart what Rhonda Vetere was saying in the Macassar Secondary School Hall, where she is a pupil.

“Don’t let anyone squash your dreams. Connect with others around you – the bonds you make with people will become the most important thing in your life,” said Vetere, the influential global technology executive, two-time author, team leader and ultra-distance triathlete, on a visit to Cape Town to run the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon in support of Elana van Zyl’s Endurocad Young Women Empowerment programme.

“The people you surround yourself with are very important. Don’t waste time on people with low-energy and don’t be afraid to look anyone in the eye,” Vetere emphasised.

Twenty minutes later, Leonique was doing just that, in a short one-on-one with the energetic “corporate athlete”, which is how Vetere likes to describe herself. “What a connection,” remarked Vetere. “An amazing girl who could achieve so much.”

A powerful presence, both as a speaker and in person, and with a number of Ironman (227km) and marathon (42km) finishes and many adventures behind her, Vetere is the ultimate corporate athlete and spends more time than most in the air, although her feet are, figuratively speaking, very much on the ground.

“Before COVID, I averaged 286 days flying each year,” Vetere said. “I’m not one of those executives who stays in office and makes decisions remotely. I feel strongly about connecting with people and so I need to travel to where they are to partner with them and take strong business decisions.”

Vetere is one of a number of well-known women in sport and other fields who have joined the Endurocad “tribe of zebras” in running Sunday’s Sanlam Cape Town Marathon in aid of a cause in which they all feel passionate about – empowering young women.

Vetere and Van Zyl met a few years ago on the Serengeti Plains, where they both took part in a 55 km running event for charity. Vetere instantly bonded with the Cape Town Marathon ambassador and vowed to support Van Zyl’s important work.

“Bonding with people is vitally important,” Vetere told the Macassar girls. “And I’ve enjoyed a special bond with Elana. She is one person I would fly anywhere in the world to be with.”

And indeed now she has and will be running side by side with a number of South Africa’s “running royalty” in tomorrow’s (Sunday) marathon.

“The Endurocad campaign has been inspired by the Spirit of the African wildlife,” said Van Zyl, one of the all-time greats of South African distance running and the holder of an Olympic silver medal, world titles (in the half marathon) and world records (15km and half marathon).

“The elegance, fierce fighting spirit and the strong social bond of the zebra depict what the campaign is all about and the team will be wearing black and white apparel during the race.

“Endurocad provides a safe space for young women to learn new skills, become empowered confident and develop healthy lifestyle choices as they transition into young women. And we want everyone to join us in building a healthy and active society of empowered women in South Africa.

“It’s an exciting time for us following the launch of our bursary programme for young women athletes and we will shortly be finalising the selection for next year’s intake. It’s fantastic that so many wonderful people have responded to our challenge and will be running with us on Sunday.”

Nolene Conrad is one of many Endurocad success stories. The Blue Downs–Eerste River-raised athlete attended Endurocad as a trainee, where she excelled, achieving World Athletics gold label status as an athlete, before going on to join the Endurocad management team.

“Our tribe is led by incredible women and men, all of whom are leaders in their industries”, explained Conrad. “Leading from the front is Endurocad Founder Elana Meyer and she will be joined by Zola Budd, Blanche Moila, Rhonda Vetere, Dr Caroline Pule (a biomedical scientist working in tuberculosis research), Naiema Abrahams (MD of Freightmore), myself and sports conditioning specialist, Johno Meintjies.

“The objective of our fundraising campaign is to raise R500 000 for the Young Women’s Empowerment Program which is aimed at developing, educating and empowering young women between the ages of 14 and 18. We target high school women from communities surrounding Stellenbosch, including Kayamandi, Cloetesville, Ida’s Valley, Stellenzicht, Macassar and Eersterivier.”

Budd, who recently returned to South Africa from America, is a legend of South African athletics, having achieved multiple titles and world records over a range of distances. The world junior records for the mile and 3000m still belong to Zola. Few will ever forget her tangle with American Mary Decker while running for Great Britain in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, while a measure of her profile is the nickname ‘Zola Budd’ given to the country’s mini-bus taxi’s to signify their speed.

“It’s good to be back in South Africa, in Stellenbosch,” said Budd, now fifty-five. “We always said we would return after the kids had finished their education and that’s what we’ve done. I’ve enjoyed getting back into coaching and linking up with Elana’s Endurocad (runners academy). I’m working as a high-performance coach at Stellenbosch High.

“Yes, it looks like I’ve been roped in to run the Cape Town Marathon as part of the team! I’ve been running roads and trails around Stellenbosch, but it’s ages since I last ran a marathon. I ran one in Italy three or four years ago and before that it was when I came back to run the Comrades Marathon in 2014 (where Budd, at 48, years ran a superb 6 hrs 55 min for a top ten gold medal).

“It’s good to be part of this tribe though and work towards building an empowerment programme for women. And it looks like we will not have to run too fast!”

Included in the group of women is South Africa’s first black athlete to be awarded Springbok colours. Blanche Moila, 65, recently retired from her job as a psychiatric nurse at King Dinuzulu Hospital in Durban. She won numerous titles during her running career, representing South Africa in both cross country and on the road. She has completed 17 Comrades Marathons and is passionate about encouraging young athletes in the sport. “Royal” company, indeed, for this group of inspiring runners.

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