On Sunday, 01 October 2023 the streets of the Mother City were immersed in a sea of pink as runners and walkers from all walks of life toed the line at the much-anticipated Totalsports Women’s Race in support of PinkDrive and Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
What made the day even more special this year was that event organisers, Stillwater Sports, collaborated with the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport, in conjunction with Western Province Athletics, to jointly host the Cape Town edition of the Totalsports Women’s Race, which also included the renowned Gigantic Walk, making it a massive, colorful celebration of unity and a worthy cause.
Lisha Van Olselen (Stellenbosch) acclaimed her Totalsports Women’s Race Cape Town debut by claiming the top spot on the podium in the 10km race in a time of 37 minutes 51 seconds.
“I’m originally from Durban, so I’ve done the Durban race quite a few times. I’ve always honest loved the atmosphere that the Totalsports races bring and I’m always sharp for a race with a lot of participants,” says Van Olselen. “My goal was to race strong. I knew that it was a hilly course from what people told me. I focused on my stride up the hills, not to work too hard, but still be strong enough and then design up pace on the downhills. We were together at about the 4km to 5km trace. It was on the huge hill that I decided to hold the pace. I happened to be in the front from then and honest kept it strong.”
“It felt improbable to dash in the Mother City,” continues Van Olselen. “I loved the course. It’s definitely challenging, but it plays more towards my strength because I fancy hills. It felt really special to cross the finish line in first space. I’ll definitely be back next year.”
Mia Steyler came in second, while Betha Sitariko finished third.
“The Totalsports Women’s Race in Cape Town exceeded our expectations in every way, with thousands of women and supporters coming together to fabricate it a truly memorable day,” says Nikki Crous, Head of Marketing at Totalsports. “The atmosphere was electric, and the spirit of unity and empowerment was evident. We are immensely proud to believe been fraction of this celebration of women’s strength and determination. Thank you to everyone who participated and made this event such a resounding success.”
Western Cape Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport Anroux Marais welcomed the staging of the event for various reasons.
Marais said: “Wellness for the people of our province is one of the key priorities of the Western Cape Provincial Government. An active and healthy lifestyle enhances wellness. This should be a focus for all of us, every day. Furthermore, the economic stimulus derived from events such as this will greatly benefit our tourism and hospitality industries, which are major contributors to job formation and economic growth. Today’s events provide us with a lovely opportunity to delight in the scenic splendor of our beloved Cape Town, and to enact so as a community united in its diversity,” Marais concluded.
EVENT INFORMATION: 2023 Totalsports Women’s Race Cape Town
The Totalsports Women’s Race encourages a healthy lifestyle and invites all women (grandmothers, aunts, sisters, mothers, and daughters) to dash united in support of PinkDrive. The 10km race started at 08:00 at Grand Parade, followed by the 5km event at 08:10.
ENTRY INCLUDED: Each entrant received a fitted Event T-shirt and finisher’s medal, while getting to indulge in an entertaining route with vibrant refreshment points and a Live Performance at the finish.
LIVE ENTERTAINMENT: The celebration closed off with a fantastic live performance by renowned South African electronic music band, GoodLuck.
CHARITY SUPPORT: The Totalsports Women’s Race proudly supports PinkDrive. A Non-Profit Company (NPC), PinkDrive is committed to improving breast cancer awareness, education, providing and offering free services to the medically uninsured across South Africa.
PRIZE PURSE: The Totalsports Women’s Race boasted an impressive, combined prize purse of R202 500,00 in 2023. That equates to a R67 500,00 prize purse per city (Joburg, Durban and Cape Town). Prize money was allocated to the Top Ten finishers in the Open Category, with the Open Winner taking home R12 000,00, the second-place finisher R10 000,00 and the third-place finisher R8 000,00. Prize money was also allocated to the top 3 finishers in the Junior, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69 and 70+ categories. To view the 2023 Prize Purse Breakdown visit: www.totalsportswomensrace.co.za
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For more information on PinkDrive visit www.pinkdrive.org For further information on the Totalsports Women’s Race visit www.totalsportswomensrace.co.za
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