SPCA team raise just over R15 000 for furry friends

Date: 07 November 2019 By: 

On Thursday, 17 October, a group of SPCA volunteers from Louis Trichardt arrived in Cape Town to take part in the annual Jan Braai Marathon. Their main goal was to raise money for the Louis Trichardt SPCA.

The first stage of the race started off as early as 19:00 that evening, where all the runners received their running packs with headlamps to scope out any possible attacks from snakes or other critters.

The first stage’s requirements were as follows: 8 km into the Badsberg Cellar vineyards and back to Goudini. Brian Peli and Lesley Gaigher had committed themselves to running the race in dog suits, and so they did. “And oh man, it was HOT!” said Lesley as soon as they finished the first round of the marathon on day one. “For someone who has never attempted any sort of running sport (as myself), I will tell you 8 km is done more quickly than you would imagine. No crawling to the finish line, not even out of breath, we made it! Still, another 34 km loomed…” said Lesley.

Day 2 dawned and the time arrived for the next few kilometres. They needed to cover 21 km for the second day. The day started off with some snacks and bubbly for breakfast at the Deetlefs main cellar, and at 08:00 sharp the countdown began. They started off through the vineyards and soon took a turn into the fynbos-adorned bush trails, after about 5 km into the race. The first wine stop was in sight, where they got the chance to sip some wine and enjoy some snacks before they headed off to end the long and sweaty walk. “Again, we completed the day’s race within the given timeframe. It has to be noted that we were not the last to reach the finish line back at Goudini and we did not bow out and take a bakkie ride along the way!” said Lesley.

The third day started off a bit differently from the first two. They already had 29km under their belts but still needed to go through Jason’s Hill Private Cellars and along the foothills of the Slanghoek Valley to cover the remaining 13km to finish the race. Thanks to Lesley’s bag of goodies and some motivational music, they pushed through within the time frame that was given to them.

Lesley, Alicia (Thomas), Grietjie (Smith), Eljané (Van Tonder) and Brian would like to thank all the people who sponsored them for this worthy cause. They were able to collect just over R15 000 and said that they were honoured that they could make a difference for the animals.

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