PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Seventy-seven athletes have so far entered for Saturday's inaugural Plett Street Mile race, including some top runners.
Among these are rising star Carina Viljoen, the runaway winner of the recent George Street Mile in the Ladies Open and Junior Ladies races, who has been described as a "top prospect".
Carina will be on holiday at her parents' holiday home in Nature's Valley and is a confirmed entrant for Saturday's street mile.
In all, there will be six races in various categories, with the top women's and men's events attracting 30 runners.
Famous
Athletics South Africa and Athletics South Western Districts are supporting the Plett Street Mile.
This type of event is hosted in many cities around the world with the most famous being the New York 5th Avenue mile event.
While the Plett Street Mile will host a top professional field, it is aimed at being a large community event, drawing runners of all ages and abilities, from youth to masters, competing in their own races on the day.
"We hope to identify local talent that could someday compete with the best at the 5th Avenue Mile," said Ray Wicksell, one of the organisers.
This has been done by a South African in the past - Sydney Maree, who set a record that stood for 43 years until it was broken in 2024.
"This legend will be in our town for the inaugural event and will be signing autographs and meeting our local runners on the day," said Wicksell.
Read previous articles:
‘We bring you the latest Garden Route, Hessequa, Karoo news’
