The Long Run 2007
The Long Run 2007 ran from 25 July to 3 August , from Hoedspruit to KwaMashu. Some 700 runners from our corporate and government partners joined us to run from Poverty Node to Poverty Node, bringing the message of business and government working in partnership to communities along the way.
The run ran through Hoedspruit, Bushbuckridge, Hazyview, Dullstroom, Middleburg, Ermelo, Newcastle, Dundee, Greytown, Howick and finally KwaMashu.
The run's theme was 'Node to Node'. In 2001 the President declared 21 areas of the country Presidential Poverty Nodes (both rural and urban). Some 10million of our poorest people live in these Nodes. In 2005 The Business Trust embarked on a detailed economic survey of these areas, as part of its Community Investment Programme, and launched a pilot economic development initiative in the Maruleng and Bushbuckridge region. This Long Run was used to draw attention to the poverty nodes, and the work we are doing, together with our government and corporate partners, to develop enterprises and attract investment to these underdeveloped areas.
Business Trust Challenge
Those who have participated in previous Long Runs will know that it gets bigger and better every year. In 2007added a new element to each day of the run, called the Business Trust Challenge. After running their 10km stretch, teams travelled to a Business Trust supported project. There they competed against each other to learn more about the Business Trust, compete in a project based activity (such as cracking marula nuts in Bushbuckridge, tribal dancing in Hazyview, or clearing a roadside in Greytown) and work together to overcome obstacles.
Celebrities
Last year's run attracted support from some of South Africa's greatest sporting heroes and heroines. This year we were joined by Baby Jakes, Graeme Smith, Francois Pienaar, Andrew Hudson, Bruce Fordyce and Willie Mtolo, as we demonstrated the power of partnership, and that together, we make a difference.
Media CoverageThis year, the Long Run acheived coverage on SABC Morning Live, SABC evening news, CNBC Africa, SuperSport, SAFM, SABC Radio, Business Day, Business Report, The Star, The Mail & Guardian, and the Citizen, not to mention numerous community papers.
To watch our television coverage on SABC click here.
To read our print coverage, click here.
To read our radio coverage, click here.
Long Run Newsletters
Newsletters were sent out on each day of this year's run describing the projects visited, the teams who ran and a summary of media coverage. To read the newsletters, click on one of the day's below:
Day 1 - July 25th, Hoedspruit to Bushbuckridge
Day 2 - July 26th, Bushbuckridge to Hazyview
Day 3 - July 27th, Hazyview to Dullstroom
Day 4 - July 28th, Dullstroom to Middleburg
Day 5 - July 29th, Middleburg to Ermelo
Day 6 - July 30th, Ermelo to Newcastle
Day 7 - July 31st, Newcastle to Dundee
Day 8 - Aug 1st, Dundee to Greytown
Day 9 - Aug 2nd, Greytown to Howick
Day 10 - Aug 3rd, Howick to KwaMashu
