RUN2STOP CAMPAIGN 2011

The time had come for the ultimate test, man versus machine, celebrities versus runners in an Amazing Race-styled 12-day event from Cape Town to Johannesburg. A team of four drivers was about to take on a team of nine runners for this gruelling test, created to introduce the supply of the latest rubber compounds from Continental Tyre to the outsole of a new Adidas running shoe, the Adistar Ride 3. This Continental rubber technology provides ultimate traction in running shoes on both wet and dry surfaces.

Confirming it stardom status, Continental Tyre had secured  celebrities  Mark Fish, Helman Mkhelela, 94.7 Highveld Stereo Brad Brown, Comrades silver medalist Lindsey Parry, with Andre Arendse, Roger De Sa and Michael Mol offering support and joining in at the start line activities. Captained by Brad Brown, the running team consisted of nine athletes who were required to relay-run a distance of 1300 kilometres over 12 days, of which 600 kilometres would take place in the extremely challenging parts of the Great Karoo and a third of the distance woulf be run on gravel roads.

On the other hand, the driving team captained by Mark Fish had to cover a distance of 6 000 kilometres over 12 days. The team had three full-time driving spots with Fish and Eugene Van Merwe (Key Accounts Manager of Conti Partner) occupied two spots while third was to be filled on a rotational basis by five Continental Tyre employees who had flown in to meet the team at various arrival points en route.

D-day had arrived on July 23rd 2011 and the challenge was on to see which team would fare better – drivers on Continental tyres or the runners on Continental tread. While the running team was given a direct route from Cape Town to Johannesburg, the driving team was obliged to make 28 stops at Conti Partner stops along the way where they would perform checks and tasks with additional tasks and clues incorporated in various towns along the route all in the name of fun as man was pitted against machine across tricky South African terrain.

The stage was set for the Continental Run2Stop Campaign on July 23rd at The Tyre Guys N1 City (Goodwood) for the first day of 12 adrenalin-rushing, pulsating and gruelling days onthe road from Cape Town to Johannesburg.

Serving as a warm-up to the start of the race, a ‘Strongman‘ type acitivty was set up for the teams. Former Bafana Bafana soccer stars Bradley Carnell, Helman Mkhalela, Andre Arendse and Roger de Sa challenged the mixed team of Michael Mol, Brad Brown, Comrades silver medalist Lindsay Parry and Continental Tyre SA Marketing Manager Russel Stewart. The soccer team gave spectators a preview of what they had lined up for their opponents bu sprinting the first 50m of the activity course, powering through the 50m giant tyre roll, then heaving a car tyre for another 50m, and finally sprinting to the finish line. The celebrity soccer team were rewarded with R10 000 which has been donated to The Sports Trust (an organisation providing disadvantaged children the opportunity to play sport).

As the start gun fired, driving team captain Bradley Carnell burnt serious rubber as he sped out of the starting blocks, leaving nothing but exhaust fumes for the running team. The Continental branded Audi Q7 disappeared down the N7 towards Citrusdale where their first task was to locate the Citrusdale ContiPartner Store. Added to their challenge, the driving team had to record the GPS co-ordinates of the ContiPartner store, take pictures, and have the store owner complete the vehicle safety check sheet and point of sale order. They were also expected to answer questions relating to the towns they had passed through before they continuing the challenge.

The driving team made their way to Worcester for the rnight while Brad Brown’s running team were headed towards the Great Karoo in the soon-to-be-launched Adistar Ride 3 trainers comprised with a Continental rubber  sole.

Over the next few days, the driving team had passed through Stellenbosch, Cape Town and Riversdale, Oudtshoorn and Kimberley and had piqued the interest of locals along the way who were keen to catch a glimpse of the soccer celebrities competing out of their comfort zone.

Getting to the halfway point had been quite challenging for the runners who had to cope with sub-zero weather conditions in certain parts, blistering wind and snow but the team remained in good spirits and was pleased with their times. The runners however did commend the Continental rubber compound on the soles of the trainers as it saved them a few hiccups along the way by providing much-needed extra grip.

They managed to cover a greater distance on the stretch from Wellington to Ceres, which relieved the pressure somewhat from the Sutherland leg. The route from Carnarvon to Prieska saw them completing 125km’s of running in one day, with Douglas being their next destination.

Although sympathetic towards the running team, Bradley Carnell’s driving team was in confident mode as they reached Bloemfontein, with Uitenhage being their next stop. With both teams gaining momentum and edging closer to the finish line, there still wasn’t a clear indication as to which team would win the Continental Run2Stop Challenge.

After a long, tiring and challenging 12-day journey through tough South African terrain, the driving team crossed the finish line first but there was some consolation for the runners who weren’t far off. A relieved group of runners had completed a relay run of 1300kms from Cape Town to Johannesburg and received a warm welcome by Continental staff at the Constantia Kloof ContiPartner store.

And just when they thought the challenge had ended, the teams were surprised to learn that they still had one last task to complete – the Conti-Castle competition. Both teams had to create a rather tricky balancing act of a tower of tyres with Adistar shoes, all in the name of raising money for The Sports Trust.

World-renowned distance runner Bruce Fordyce and his team of Andre Arendse, Bidvest Wits coach Roger de Sa and SuperSport United head coach Gavin Hunt clinched the R10 000 winner’s cheque for The Sports Trust after keeping their Conti-Castle intact.

This time around Bradley Carnell wasn’t all smiles after his team of Helman Mkhalele, Rowen Fernandez and Brad Brown failed to get their Conti-Castle off the ground.

Run2Stop Press Gallery

Race Details:
Start: 23 July, 12:00am, Goodwood, Cape Town (The Tyre Guys N1 City).
Finish: 3 August, 15:30pm, Constantia Kloof, Gauteng (Jody’s Tyres).

Running team :
Brad Brown, Helman Mkhalela, Lindsey Parry, Andre Kleynhans (Continental employee), Elias Mabane, Justanus Gantsi, Peter Ramathoka, Jacob Mazibuko, Jabulani Nkosi, Justin Sher (last 3 days)

Driving team :
Bradley Carnell; Eugene van der Merwe (Continental), Lorri Falchi, David van der Merwe, Thando Sobandla, Monica Ramsunder and Russel Stewart (Continental employees taking part in the team on different legs), Irmi Reif (Audi Driving School)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON CONTINENTAL
With sales of €26 billion in 2010, Continental is among the leading automotive suppliers worldwide. As a supplier of brake systems, systems and components for powertrains and chassis, instrumentation, infotainment solutions, vehicle electronics, tires and technical elastomers, Continental contributes to enhanced driving safety and global climate protection. Continental is also an expert partner in networked automobile communication. Continental currently has approximately 155,000 employees in 45 countries.

BACKGROUND OF THE SPORTS TRUST
The Sports Trust is a public benefit organisation, established in 1995 and caters to the needs of providing sports equipment, kit & facilities to disadvantaged communities nationally. The Sports Trust remains committed to its founding vision of making sport more accessible to disadvantaged South African’s across all sporting codes, for both abled and disabled bodies. Its’ service includes assisting schools, clubs and community sports organisations with access to much needed funds in order to obtain their sporting requirements. The Sports Trust is able to assist companies with their alignment to broad-based Black Economic Empowerment requirements and with its PBO status, The Sports Trust can issue Section 18A Tax Certificates to donors.  We are committed to building active communities through sport and recreation, helping tomorrow’s heroes today.  For more information please visit our website www.thesportstrust.co.za.