A twist to running through innovation

Bringing communities together through friendly competition
IJG has provided trail and road runners an opportunity to experience the best of both worlds.
Jamie-Lee Loss
The Trail VS Road three-run series officially held its second run for the year at the IJG Trails in Windhoek on 18 June. Titled the Lightning Run, it was no ordinary event, as it was aimed at seeing who the better runners are between trail runners and road runners. There is a constant back and forth about who is better and this run series will make it possible for them to come to the conclusion of that debate.

The second run consisted of a variety of distances including five kilometres, 10 km and 21 km. The shortest distance was aimed at people who don’t run often but would like to get out, as well as for children who would like to participate. The 10 and 21 kilometres were meant for everyone who wants to compete as these are the distances that count towards the series.

The run series has been sponsored by IJG since 2017. Event team member Julie Mbaiza admitted that the turnout of the second run was not as big as the first run, adding that this is due to the change in weather. She said she, however, looks forward to the outcome of the final run.

The second run was fun yet challenging and family friendly as parents were allowed to run with their children. The event also catered to all age groups. Roger Suren, a 14-year-old participant, mentioned that “everything was sore” at the start, but towards the end, it was much better and he managed to win the five-kilometre run.

The last run of the series will be held on 12 August, and is called the Moonlight Run, because on that day there will be a full moon and the idea is to have the runners compete at night. This is simply because they want to give both road and trail runners a different experience as opposed to the norm, which is to run during the day. Series winners will be announced on that day as well as fastest woman and man. The two will receive N$1 000 each, which will be put into a money market investment account at IJG Namibia.

“The event is meant for everybody, regardless of whether you have taken part in the previous runs or not as it provides individuals with an amazing experience. “If you are interested in joining, just start. You don’t have to be the best runner or have the best shoes, just start running,” Jivanka Kruger, a female 10km participant, said.