Energizer Archives - Rupert Approves

It Was a Beer Drinking, Night Racing, Art Viewing, Wine Tasting, Fromage Gubbling, Soweto Viewing Kinda Weekend

May 12, 2014 1 Comment

I don’t often write about my weekend or what went down – but this was such an interesting one that I wanted to share.

You may remember me giving away tickets to the Energizer Soweto Night race a few weeks back. Well, the event took place on Saturday and I’m so glad we braved the cold and distance to attend.

We took part in the 10 km ‘trail’ race – and although it started off really slowly due to the dark, the cold, the crowds and the extreme bottle necking – it was one of the best races I have ever taken part in. We decided from the start that we were going to take it super easy and just enjoy the sights and sounds – and I’m so glad we did. (It’s also the first race I’ve done where I had beers before the race…highly recommended!)

Soweto has a vibe like non other, and for the full 10kms we were surrounded by cheering fans, high-fiving kids, impromptu directional singers, smells, sights and sounds. A highlight for me was running next to Bruce Fordyce for several minutes, joking about how this would be the slowest race we had ever done.

For anyone who has ever trail ran (runned? ron?) you will know how it’s courtesy of the person infront to signal and point if there’s an upcoming obstruction – such as “rock”, “ditch” “water”. You get the vibe right? Let me tell you, running through the dark streets of Soweto means the obstructions are somewhat different. Just a few I heard, and called out, were: “Pothole”, “Taxi”, “Dog”…”Toilet”. Only in Africa!

On Sunday, to celebrate Mother’s Day and my Dad’s 60th we went to the Nirox Art and Wine Fair. Nirox has got to be one of my favourite places, and Nirox plus art plus wine is easily a winning combination.

My cousin Olivia is out visiting from The States on her FOUR MONTH Summer vay-cay, and she (along with Aunts, Uncles, friends and cousins) joined us for the day out.

Just lovely!

Mom, Gran and Gill (Aunt)

Kearney’s – We hate being in the spotlight.

I love this piece. It’s titled “Man after divorce” or something like that.

Uncategorized

The Energizer Light Race – Ticket Giveaway!

March 3, 2014 12 Comments

Us Saffas have gotten pretty good at doing things in the dark – what with all the Eishkom power outages that we’re all too used to being on the receiving end of, it’s no surprise we’ve become adept at coping in a blackout. Hell, I once even attempted to boil water by precariously placing a mug over 2 tea-light candles. (Side note – it doesn’t work)

Doing Things In The Dark has even spurred a new movement in athletics – with Nike launching their Run Jozi initiative and now Energizer joining in on the fun. Last year I blogged about the Energizer Night Race here and here and this year, it’s back!

If the thought of running turns you off (yes, I’m talking to you friends with “bad knees”), then never fear, because this year participants have the option to take part in either a 10 km trail run, a 5 km walk or 20 km mountain bike. Even better – it’s taking place in Soweto with all routes illuminated by you and Energizer.

Diarise Saturday 10 May now – as this is an event you don’t want to miss. If you class yourself as more ‘water boy’ than ‘athlete’ then the array of entertainment on offer will not disappoint. Participants will be surrounded by the beat of Zulu drums and Pantsula dancers while spectators will be entertained by George the Beatboxer, DJ Milkshake and Laser Dancers. Come hungry as the food will be ‘local and lekker’ with options from local African cuisine caterers and shisanyama’s on sale.

As this is a night race (otherwise why would Energizer sponsor it, silly) the events start as follows:

Mountain Bike Race: 6:30 pm

The route begins at Mofolo Park and follows the wetland north to Dorothy Nyembe Park, circling this park before passing Sedibeng Restaurant. It moves through Dube Hostel then heads to Mzimhlope, before turning back with Orlando Stadium on the left heading to Vilakazi Street. It then briefly joins the runners and walkers along Vilakazi street before heading past Winnie Mandela’s house and back to Mofolo Park.

10km Run: 6:45 pm

Leaving the starting point at Mofolo Park, the route will pass Nancefield Zulu Hostel, go over the bridge at Dube Station and along the small stream with the suburb of Klipspruit on the right, turning left at the Power Park Dam and the Orlando Towers. It will then pass through Nomzamo Shack settlement, crossing over the railway bridge in Orlando adjacent to Orlando Stadium through to Vilakazi street before heading back through Dube Village to Mofolo Park.

5 km Walk: 7:15 pm

The walk starts at Mofolo Park, then heads into Dube village past the Ubuntu Kraal and Winnie Mandela’s home before crossing over the Orlando Koppie. It then moves onto Vilakazi street before heading back through Dube Village to Mofolo Park.

The prices for each event varies from R60 for spectator to R270 for mountain biker). To enter you must visit www.energizerlightrace.co.za

The good news, for those squealing at the cost, is that the lovely folk at Energizer have given me 4 tickets to give away. Nice hey? All you need to do to stand in line to win an entry (to a race of your choice – even you Mrs-bad-knees-I’d-rather-spectate) is to simply comment on this blog post and tell me how amazing I am. I jest – although bonus points for bribery.

To win – for realsies – simply comment on this blog post and tell me why you want to take part, and which race tickles your fancy. You then win a cool prize and save yourself some ronds to spend at the shebeen that night.

This unmissable event is a must for fitness lovers, Afro-chic partygoers and those who love the vibrant culture and history that Soweto has to offer. Get glowing with the Energizer Light Race and set the night alight. For more information, go to www.energizerlightrace.co.za

The competition closes at midnight on Friday 7 March and the winna-wenas will be announced on Monday 10 March.

Good Luck!!

Update 10/03/14

The winners have been drawn! (thanks to a very nifty online number generator). If your name is below please drop me an email at katenicolekearney@gmail.com with your email address and cell number.

Ziphelele: 5km

John Kearney: 10km Train Run

Sasha Martin: 5km walk

Stephan Schlebusch: Mtb Ride

Congrats!!

Do Something New, Dammit, Life

The Energizer Night Race – Post Event

December 4, 2012 3 Comments

I have a massive case of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) or in this case KIHMO (Knowing I Have Missed Out) that I wasn’t able to take part in the Energizer Night race this past Saturday. As this time of year goes our diaries were fuller than a Christmas stocking and we had another engagement on – an early Christmas with my fiances family.

As irony would have it – my brother and his fiance both took part – and their feedback only added to my envy. I decided to do a fun QnA with my brother John and one of the winners of the hamper Kate Els.

– Which race did you take part in?

(Kate) 10km run

(John) 10km trail run

Was this your first night race? If not which other ones have you done

(Kate) Not my first, but my furthest night race so far. I take part in the Kinetic Night Trail series once a month and will be running the 8km in December.

(John) Yes, first running race and a night trail run at that!

The entertainment lineup was diverse – who was your favourite performer?

(Kate) I loved the drummers! Code Red Drum Corps I think they were called? They were fantastic and made me bounce up and down a little in the cold wind before the race

(John) Most definitely ‘Code Red’, the drumming show. Real talent and coordination. Apart from that just watching the runners freezing their butts of in the cold waiting for the start!

*Seems we have a definite favourite here!

Would you do it again?

(Kate) Definitely, I think next year I’ll organise a big group of friends and spend more time at the venue though. And won’t be as nervous!

(John) Definitely! Can’t wait to do other trail runs as well.

Did you dress up? If so, in what?

(Kate) Ha ha no! I was far too nervous about running 10km with a headlamp on to even consider dressing up. Made sure that I had lots of reflective neon strips on my clothing though. I loved the guys dressed up in morph suits that looked like tuxedos. They were winners!

(John) No, very boring in my running clothes and Salomons.

Summarise the event in 3 words

(Kate) Energetic, fun, totally-worth-it

(John) Challenging, Rewarding, Entertaining.

Did you take part to compete or just have fun?

(Kate) A bit of both. I want to take part in a half marathon early-ish next year so I’ve started trying to improve my fitness and my 10km personal time.

(John) A bit if both, I told myself it was just to take part, but once I started I felt strong and decided to compete as best I could.

What was the toughest part?

(Kate) Trail runs are harder mostly because of the uneven ground and the winding path, making it more important to concentrate on where you’re running. But even though it makes it tougher, it also makes you a better runner and strengthens your ankles, so less chance of an injury in future!

(John) Waiting in the cold to start! Not the events fault, the weather just decided not to play the part but luckily the rain held out.

Thanks to Kate and John for answering the questions – sounds like a freezing but fun event! Also, Happy Birthday to my big bro for today – see, you can teach old dogs new running tricks 😉

Do Something New, Dammit, Life

Win With The Energizer Night Race

November 22, 2012 9 Comments

I like to think I’ve come a long way since my first trail run, when I arrived at the venue, kitted up in all the right gear, headlamp on and about as confident as Mark Zuckerberg at a Social Media convention. Then the gun went off and I found myself panting after a 12 year old in converse and stumbling through the finish line what felt like 3 days later.

Trail running is a whole different ball game. I was used to flat roads, gentle slopes and dodging only traffic. Trail running involves precarious surfaces (think golf courses, rocks, rickety bridges and rubble). It also requires a lot more stamina due to having to concentrate every step of the way. But what. a. jol! It’s an opportunity to go out at night with a bunch of people, often dressed like a bit off an oddball and run around forbidden spaces. Theres something quite liberating about dashing over the 9th hole on a larny golf course.

One of the more popular trail runs on the calendar is the Energizer Night Race which is now in it’s 8th year. So just like the battery, the event keeps on going (see what I did there?)

This year the Energizer Night race is being held at the stunning Central Park Trails in Jozi, on 1 December. It’s a Saturday night so there’s no excuse not to grab all your mates, family and running buddies and go through for what promises to be an action packed event (think 5 km run/walk fun races, 10km trail run, 12km team relays as well as a 40km mountain bike relay for teams of 2). The entertainment line up is a win, with the likes of Jesse Clegg (yes, ladies), local band Tokyo Groove, Code Red drum corps, string quartet ‘The Muses’, SA fire performers ‘Dreams of Fire’ and Laser X – a dance and laser experience show.

Sounds good huh? And from only 100 ronds to enter, it’s a no brainer if you are looking to be festively financially savvy. If you are keen to enter simply visit their website or like them on Facebook. You can also find out more about race and event details on these pages.

Now for the fun part. The super nice folk from the Energizer Night Race have given me two hampers choc-a-bloc full of goodies, to give to two of you. They are valued at R1500 each and consist of various Energizer items, an Enrista coffee hamper a Salomon t-shirt and a 32Gi hamper. Everything an avid runner needs before the big race!

To win one of these hampers all you need to do is follow @nightrace_sa on Twitter and then tweet why you need want to win this hamper with a link to this blog (I’ve shortened it here just to make life esier – wp.me/p1ZuF8-7Q)

I will be picking the 2 winners in the next few days, so enter as many times as you like, and good luck!

For a bit of visual stimulation, this is a piccie of what you can win :

Also, be sure to check out the video from last year’s race

Share your trail running experiences with me below – would love to hear them!