A 26-year-old athlete from Tshidzini village, Pfano Ungedzani, will run from Pretoria to Thohoyandou to raise awareness about the scourge of gender-based violence and drug abuse among young people.
Ungedzani is one of the country's top 400m track athletes. In February this year, he recorded his personal best — a time of 48.73 seconds — at the Pilditch Stadium in Pretoria. He is currently ranked 38th in South Africa and competes in the colours of the University of Pretoria.
Speaking to Limpopo Mirror on Monday, he said he was confident of improving his time this season. His ultimate dream is to qualify for the Olympics. To do so, he would need to shave at least three seconds off his personal best — a daunting task, but one he believes is possible with the help of his current coaches.
"I also want to prove to the whole world that a boy from a rural village in Vhembe can win a world title," he said.
Ungedzani is no stranger to long-distance running. "I used to do long-distance races before I switched to the 400m," he said. That background inspired him to take on the challenge of running the 448km from Hatfield in Pretoria to Thavhani Mall in Thohoyandou.
He will begin the run on Sunday, 1 June, and aims to reach his destination within seven days. "I will be running roughly 40km per day," he said — although he may need to average closer to 64km per day to complete the journey on schedule.