Heritage Day

Get involved this Heritage Day. Image via Adobe Stock

Virtual fun run: Run your city, your way this Heritage Day

This Heritage Day, join in the fun as people from all over the world will participate in the popular run which has moved online.

Heritage Day

Get involved this Heritage Day. Image via Adobe Stock

The Heritage Day Virtual Run is a great initiative that will inspire people to continue participating in all sporting codes; and also builds on the spirit of nation building and unity amongst us all.

Several virtual races have taken place during lockdown, but this event stands out due to the fact that “goodie bags” or “race packs” get delivered to participants, and a tracking application has been designed specifically for the race, encouraging more interaction from both spectators and runners on the day of the race.

“We are truly proud to be part of this event,” says Bonga Sebesho, Head of FNB Sponsorships.

Ten-kilometre race highlighting iconic landmarks

In a pre-COVID South Africa, FNB would usually have three road-running events, including major city landscapes and creating scenic routes for participants. Each year, the three cities that take part — Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg — attract over 40,000 enthusiastic runners from across the globe.

“The Heritage Day Virtual Run is an exciting addition to the existing FNB Run Your City Series (RYCS) portfolio of events,” says Michael Meyer, Managing Director of Stillwater Sports.

Although participants would normally have to choose a landscape in which they will participate — Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg — this year, any individual across the country can participate in the virtual race.

“Participants from all walks of life will be able to unite (virtually) in a spirit of camaraderie, pride and celebration.” says Meyer.

Delivery of race packs for the run

The events team and FNB are partnering with courier service Pargo to ensure that race packs can be collected at various Pargo points located at convenient retail stores, including Clicks, The Foschini Group and more.

All South African participants who enter before Monday 14 September 2020 will be guaranteed to fetch their race pack before race day.

The contents of the race packs valued at R360 include a FNB RYCS limited edition event performance t-shirt, race number, FNB socks, Powerade bottle and access to the tracing app to be used during the virtual run.

On the day of the race

The tracking app will show the runner their progress on their actual route and also let them know what their virtual position in the race is.

A leaderboard will thus be available through the app as well as the final results that will be uploaded to the app and the FNB Run Your City Series website.

Additionally, those who finish the race are eligible for a digital medal and certificate.

How to take part on Heritage Day

The event takes place on 24 September and participants will have four hours (from 8am until 12pm) to complete their race. The entry fee is R195 per individual and entries close on 22 September 2020.

Click here to enter: runyourcityseries.com/

What better way to celebrate Heritage Day than to spend it admiring the landscapes of our beautiful country?