More than 30,000 people join in the Discovery East Coast Radio Big Walk
The Durban promenade was awash with yellow and orange as over 30 000 people from all walks of life laced up their takkies to walk alongside each other in the province’s biggest outdoor participative event; the Discovery East Coast Radio Big Walk on Sunday 20 May.
Tens of thousands of KwaZulu-Natalians weaved their way from uShaka Marine World to the finish at Moses Mabhida People’s Park. Enthusiastic walkers and runners set off in distance and pace based batches; a 5km, 10km or 20km walk and 9km fun run. Adding to the already cheerful vibe, participants were delighted to see East Coast Radio presenters walking or running alongside them.
East Coast Radio’s General Manager Boni Mchunu says it was moving seeing so many people simultaneously enjoying healthy time spent together. She adds, “We’d like to thank every walker and runner who joined in today; you helped make it another memorable event. We hope that you have been encouraged to #FindYourPace for more than just this year’s Discovery East Coast Radio Big Walk. Perhaps this was a fun reminder of how enjoyable it is to get active outdoors, something we’re lucky enough to be able to enjoy year round in KZN.”
This year, the t-shirts were a blank canvas for walkers to express themselves and highlight what motivated their walk. People got creative and took the opportunity to let everyone know what they were walking for.
The festivities continued at the finish area of Moses Mabhida People’s Park as families and friends shared their accomplishments with each other while enjoying great live entertainment and yummy food. Hosted by ECR's Darren Maule; it was Shekhinah, Easy Freak, Chico Muya and Deon G who got participants jamming to round off the day.
“One’s health and wellness journey is so personal and this was evident at today’s Discovery East Coast Radio Big Walk, we had some fiercely competitive walkers as well as those who were enjoying a more relaxed pace with friends. It doesn’t matter what people’s reasons for exercising are, what’s important is for them to ensure that it’s part of their daily routines. Running and walking are great forms of low-impact exercise, they are inexpensive and easy to fit into our busy lifestyles,” said Iona Maclean, head of sponsorships and experiential marketing at Discovery.
This year, the Discovery East Coast Radio Big Walk is supporting the amazing work of Saint Giles, a non-profit organisation that has been helping disabled persons from all communities in Durban for over 65 years.
“One of the reasons the Discovery East Coast Radio Big Walk is proud to be supporting this amazing organisation is because of how they approach helping disabled persons. They individualise the help they provide and they bring people together and uplift them through work and being active. This ties in with our approach of seeing everyone as an individual and trying to get as many people active as possible,” Maclean concluded.
A cheque to the value of R60,000 was also handed over to Saint Giles, a non-profit organisation for the disabled. The organisation was the event charity identified by Discovery and East Coast Radio for their amazing work to receive a portion of every entry fee.
Watch highlights from the event below:
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