Trail Taxi – giving a life ride to township youth

Three ‘Trail Heroes’ are changing the lives of many young people in the Western Cape, helping them to exchange the drudgery and dangers of township life with opportunities to run scenic mountain trails in some of the province’s most attractive natural landscapes.

Zibele Bala, Hakeem Smith and Lovemo Nyaude, all accomplished trail athletes in their own right, have found their own enjoyment running mountain trails has substantially increased by sharing the trail love with young people trying to find a path in life.

And Trail Taxi is the name of the vehicle they’re driving to make this happen.

Trail Taxi began three years ago. It brought together the Helderberg trail community through the Helderberg Trail Running Crew, the event company Faces, elite trail athlete, Toni McCann and her adidas TERREX team.  The initiative is still thriving, thanks to the regular commitment of the project’s three ‘Trail Heroes’, Smith, Bala and Nonzamo-based athlete, Lovemo Nyaude and volunteers from the Helderberg Trail Running Crew.

Trail Taxi co-founders, Alfred Thorpe of the Helderberg Trail Crew, Shirley Gilbey and McCann wanted to respond positively to the challenges young people from the townships face in accessing trails in nature, often significant distances from where they live.

Their response was to arrange for groups of youngsters living in under-serviced and peri-urban areas to travel by taxi to the various mountain trails, where they would be met by one or more Trail Heroes to guide them on their morning run.

“Trail Taxi provides mountain trail opportunities,” Thorpe continued. “We take kids out of their tough daily circumstances into a very safe environment. And they also become part of a broader community when we run together.

“Apart from our three Trail Heroes, the Helderberg Trail community have been fantastic in their commitment. For example, one of our leading trail athletes, Nicky de Villiers, has volunteered at countless Trail Taxi runs over the past year and is part of the core group helping to sustain this initiative.

“Initially we focused mostly on our three Trail Heroes – helping them to help others,” explained Thorpe. “They’ve been kitted out with all the equipment and gear they require and have been given the opportunity to take part in high-profile races such as Otter, the George MUT and Cape Town Trail Marathon. 

“But this year we are focusing more on the kids themselves and our Trail Heroes are helping us achieve this.”

Early morning trail running along beautiful mountain paths, which currently take place twice a month, followed by a light meal, has become a powerful antidote to the temptations of a life of gangsterism and drugs for some youngsters living in poverty.

“Trail Taxi allows kids to escape their challenging environment for a few hours, enjoying a run through nature and sharing a meal afterwards,” said Trail Hero Smith, who himself had to survive life on the streets in his youth. “We aim to double the number of outings this year from 12 to 24, providing more scope for more kids.”

Smith and Bala also share a passion for the Two Oceans Marathon but will be looking to make up on the trails for missing out at competing in last weekend’s mega-race due to injuries.  

“I’m 36-years-old and have accepted that I might not be the next Ryan Sandes!” admitted Smith. “My work as a pastor has enabled me to also run with young people from the church and I’m becoming increasingly involved with growing and mentoring others – looking after the next generation of talent.

“At Trail Taxi we started with schools from Stellenbosch and now also reach out to some orphanages and schools in the wider region. Learners from Kuilsrivier, Khayelitsha, Cloetesville and Kayamandi join our programme through the Stellenbosch-based Calling Academy, while Stellenzicht High School, Boys town in Macassar, Girls Town in Cape Town and Goeiehoop in Sir Lowry’s Pass have all participated.

“I’ve been delighted at the impact of Trail Taxi on these learners and I’ve seen several talented kids on our runs who undoubtedly have the potential to go further. I hope I may be able to help them realise their talent. 

“We’re working with race organisers to make it possible for some of our athletes to take part in races,” Smith continued.  “These are mostly unaffordable for these runners, but we’re hoping events like the Cape Town Peace Trail, the Otter Trail Marathon and Ultra-trail Cape Town will be able to assist.

“And of course, it’s not just about the race entry and transport. We must also look at providing essential equipment to these runners and good race nutrition – essential components of becoming a good trail runner.”

‘Heroes’ are a lot of what Trail Taxi is about, but Trail Hero Bala, who hails from the small Eastern Cape town of Qumbu, believes it is the Helderberg Trail Running Crew who are the real heroes. “They have done amazing work – they believe in the project, keep investing in it and help us to help the kids.

“On my side I do all my training on my own but I’m lucky to have someone like Toni (McCann) to guide me. The way it works is that Toni and Alfred mentor me and I mentor the kids!” Bala explains.

“Toni also monitors the programme from her current base in France. Sometimes we are able to bring adidas-donated shoes from the ‘Trail Taxi Shoe Library’ to the mountains on a Trail Taxi run and the kids are overjoyed to be able make use of good TERREX trail shoes which don’t slip in the mud.

“Helping these kids get into the mountains and away from drugs and stuff is really important to me.  I’m also helping some of the Khayelitsha kids to run track at Blue Downs and it’s great to see how they have improved.”

Bala was particularly disappointed at missing out on Two Oceans action this year, after a strained hamstring during the race prevented him from achieving a silver medal last year. But he stays centred and energised by his Trail Taxi work, supporting young athletes and enjoying running on mountain trails.

As the third Trail Hero, Zimbabwe-born Nyaude, says, “If you don’t have somewhere in nature to go to ease your mind, you can end up in trouble.”