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Have you and your friends got what it takes to run, walk or cycle 1000km for charity? The Superheroes Challenge is happening this year to help four charities in need.

 

South Africa (31 July 2023) – The Superheroes Challenge was started in 2021 as a way for people to take up a virtual running/walking challenge and complete 1000km in 4 months. This was done to raise funds for charity. Today, schools, teams and individuals are taking up the challenge to help four local charities.

The event was established in 2021 by Liz Baines and Philippa Fabbri, both avid runners, who decided to create a virtual sports event for schools and communities catering for children with special needs and neuro-diversities across South Africa.

The original challenge was to run 1000km virtually, which was the route along the N1 from Gqeberha to Johannesburg in the space of four months. Liz took on the challenge and was able to raise funds for the Elsen Academy, a school that her son attends. Philippa is one of the founding members of the school and the Director of Fundraising. She loved the idea and that is how the challenge was born.

The two ladies set about promoting the challenge and encouraging other schools throughout SA to come on board, in order to raise awareness and funds for children with special educational needs and neurodiversity.

The schools would each have teams or solo participants entering and accepting donations and sponsorships. Participants would run, walk or cycle in their teams or on their own anywhere in the world and send in photos and stories of their experiences.

“During the pandemic, we wanted to still feel connected to each other and be able to exercise and get outdoors, and even better if we could be part of something for a good cause”.

“We even had our family members in other regions of the world taking part which was extra-special and they would post videos on our social media group and that created that sense of community that we were missing”.

The idea was to take 1000km and divide it up between your team or aim to achieve it on your own… as long the full distance was covered in 4 months… starting on the 1st of June and ending on the 30th of September 2021.

During the first year (2021), there were 9 school beneficiaries with a total of 124 team entries. R141 000 was raised and shared amongst the beneficiary schools.

“This year, we have changed the format and made it over 1 month (1 July to 31 July) and we’ve incorporated a SUPERHEROES theme so the name of the event is THE SUPERHEROES CHALLENGE, because we believe that even though our children might have special needs or barriers, they have some incredible superpowers as well.”

Four beneficiaries were selected this year. Elsen Academy, Cheshire Home for the Physically Disabled, Down Syndrome Association PE and Victory Kids.

There will also be a physical event in Gquberha, so if you would like to join and add 5km to your challenge, you can find the Facebook event here and join the group here.

You can register your team or yourself via the website here.


Sources: Supplied
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About the Author

Tyler Leigh Vivier is a writer for Good Things Guy.

Her passion is to spread good news across South Africa with a big focus on environmental issues, animal welfare and social upliftment. Outside of Good Things Guy, she is an avid reader and lover of tea.

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