About Us	Search	Advertising

	Brought to you by:

The second, very successful Wheels and Runners race was held in Hermanus last Saturday.

Athletes from as far as Kwa-Zulu Natal, the North West Province and Gauteng joined locals to pit their strengths against each other. Able-bodied athletes mingled with their wheelchair-bound counterparts in easy camaraderie. Over the past two years, the organiser of this event, Karin Coetzee has single-handedly and literally, moved mountains.

Not only did she establish an event that is growing rapidly in stature and that is earning Hermanus kudos as a town with a soul, but she and her Access for Citizens committee also managed to encouraged restaurants and malls in town to become more accessible for people with disabilities.

For the athletes, parents, friends and officials who gathered at Gearing's Point on Saturday, the event was both joyful and moving.

A father said his son was paralysed in a car accident two days before Christmas two years ago.

“That accident changed all our lives. My wife had to mother my son back to life as if he was a baby. At night she cried herself to sleep. For two years, he refused to do anything else but watch television and sit in front of his computer. Then he was enticed to play quad rugby and now he is slowly becoming interested in life itself. This kind of event means so much to us.”

Onlookers were moved to tears by the sight of people without legs pushing themselves to the limit of their abilities but persevering in the very face of adversity.

Able-bodied athletes stopped to help tired wheelchair-bound athletes along the inclines, rising to an occasion that begged for generosity of spirit.

And still there were incidents in town where people threw their toys out of the cot because of the traffic snarls caused by the event.

Traffic officers and officials redirecting traffic had to endure abuse from people who felt that they were inconvenienced by the race.

Surely it is not too much to ask for to dedicate one Saturday to people who so desperately need us to acknowledge them?

There is an old saying that still rings true: “There for the grace of God go I.”

	Back to top
© Overberg Media (Pty) Ltd.