Happy Woman’s Day! LOL. I know I am late to the party but I have 2 fab excuses or rather reasons for my tardiness! Firstly, I personally think that women should be celebrated and honoured every day- I mean hello? Secondly, I ran 10km race that left me knackered so I wasn’t in a position to write- you know ‘cause I run with my fingers- kikikiki.

My latter excuse was actually the Totalsports Woman’s Race that took place on Woman’s day in Newtown, Johannesburg. Initially I signed up for this race as part of my fitness plan- to run more races and eventually do a half marathon (eek). However there was a lot of awareness created around the event and ‘theme’ this year. I found myself feeling increasingly excited about the imminent event and what it stood for. The theme was #RunForLife in support of #PinkDrive (Breast Cancer Awareness), and I agree with Charmaine Claasens, Head Of Marketing Totalsports, it is a “strong message with a single minded ‘call to action’ that aims to unite women across South Africa to celebrate life… sport has the power to change lives”. I know my life has been changed by the ability to be active and participate in exercise.

On the actual race day, the vibe was electric as women from all walks of life converged at Mary Fitzgerald Square- the venue itself having been named after a female activist, somehow provided the perfect location to start and end the race. There were a handful of men too, and they played a great role in motivating us, while others dressed in amusing outfits and carried handbags in support of us women. As we ran, we spontaneously screamed and shouted and laughed. When I felt like stopping, I was motivated by shouts from other runners “Don’t stop now- you’re not a quitter”, “Run for all those who died at the hands of abusers”, “Run for single moms”, “Run for cancer patients” and so on and so forth. It really was an awesome way to spend Woman’s Day. I will definitely do it again, this time with my girlfriends.