So I took part in the iThemba Avon Justine Walk-A-Thon; a march with a mission to help beat breast cancer

Uncategorized1 Comment

To raise funds for various cancer-related charities, Avon and Justine teamed up to create the iThemba Walk-A-Thon held on the Seapoint prom. Because I’m a lazy cow I was going to do the mini 5k walk but was persuaded by super fit Lauren Watters from Dear Heart Beauty to suck it up and do the whole 10k. Eek!

La and me in our iThemba T-shirts. I had to tie a knot in mine ‘cos it covered my shorts and made me look like I wasn’t wearing any pants.

Fortunately, the weather was a bit overcast so it made our trek a lot easier. We also got to collect free refreshments at several points along the way.

Don’t you think these water baggies look like candy floss? That was my first thought when I saw them. I pretty much shrieked and broke out into a sprint towards them before realising my mistake.

In all, the 10k walk took a good two hours but it flew by in a flash. As the pace was leisurely, you could have a lekker catch up with your friends and indulge in a bit of people watching.

This lady was wearing her mask backwards and probably still has no idea as to how many people she totally freaked out.

Shortly after reaching the half way point, I developed a blister the size of Brazil and had to complete the rest of the race without one of my trainers.

Emmy, she of Rouge Beauty, is the wicked girl laughing at my pain behind my back. (Nice one Em, real nice…) Her boyfriend, however, was the white knight who loaned me the slip slop.

Still, it was totally worth it. Limping across the finish line, I felt a very satisfying sense of accomplishment. Another thing I enjoyed about the walk? The awesome energy of all who took part. Many people were there in ‘teams’ or with their entire family including their pets. Everyone was out to have fun for a good cause and loads got dressed in crazy pink accessories which added to the festive atmosphere. Lauren and I even spotted a few doggies that had been spray painted a fun shade of fuchsia.The experience was also very humbling because we were among woman who’d lost loved ones to cancer and were walking in their memory. While I have many friends and an aunt who’ve been affected by cancer, all of them have survived. It made me feel very lucky and more appreciative of, well, everything I guess.

After the race, I popped into the VIP/media tent to down litres of Vitamin Water and be ridiculed by people who were ‘freaked out’ to see me in flats. (I do own them, okay?!) This is also where we ran into Mzansi Magic’s Pabi Moloi.

Pabi is South Africa’s Avon ambassador.

If you missed out on this year’s iThemba walk-a-thon, don’t stress. It’s an annual event and something I’m now going to participate in every year. If you’re in Cape Town or Jozi, I hope to see you there.

Love, love

Leigh

One thought on “So I took part in the iThemba Avon Justine Walk-A-Thon; a march with a mission to help beat breast cancer”

Leave a Reply