In the world of sport, where elitism trumps just about everything – a world where mainly the winners and most successful are celebrated and pampered, often turning into spoilt prima donnas – the late Nelson Mandela’s words about the power of athletic pursuit can sometimes ring hollow.
The former South African president once said: “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does.”
While his sentiment was true, the focus on elite performers often sees this impact of sport overlooked, as the spotlight typically falls on those at the top. Yet, far from the glitz and glamour of high-end sport, away from the limelight of superstardom, Mandela’s words remain profoundly relevant – especially where men and women of goodwill use sport to make a difference, often unseen and undocumented.
One of these changemakers is Lindi Meyer, founder of LIV2Run, a development running team based at LIV Durban, and supported by RMB and the FirstRand Foundation. The team is transforming lives through trail running.
In April, Meyer led several of her runners to compete at the RMB Ultra-Trail Drakensberg (UTD), where they all performed admirably – particularly impressive for a few debutants.
“We had an incredible weekend as a team at UTD, and we look forward to growing from strength to strength every year,” Meyer told Independent Media.
The team achieved notable results, with three athletes finishing in the top five of their respective distances, and several others recording personal bests. Meyer is grateful she chose to dedicate herself to helping young people who were previously seen by many as misfits.
Originally from the Eastern Cape, Meyer first heard of LIV Village in 2014 while attending a church conference and was moved by its vision: “To rescue and restore.”
She began living in the village in 2015 while working in the finance department. A lifelong runner, Meyer would often jog to and from work.
“Soon, I found that I had this trail of kids running after me. One day I said to them, ‘Let’s meet on Mondays for a running club’. While I didn’t come here specifically to start racing, LIV2Run started informally, just me sharing what I knew about running.”
The children’s enthusiasm and teachable spirit soon led Meyer to enter them in races.
“The club grew very quickly and eventually reached a point where I realised it was too much to do alongside a normal job – there was just too much going on.”
She recalls experimenting with different disciplines until they found their niche.
“Since 2018, we’ve explored all the running spaces and eventually settled on trail running as our speciality. We believe it’s an emerging sport with lots of opportunity. It was hard to focus on many disciplines, and trail made sense given our partnerships.”
LIV2Run is not a typical running club. Meyer and her team developed a unique model for athlete growth.
“We have senior and junior teams, but we also introduced the concept of an athlete-coach. Senior athletes double as coaches – whatever they learn, they’re expected to pass on to the juniors. It’s about paying it forward.”
“Last year, some of our juniors matriculated into the senior team through a selection process that assesses both talent and character. It’s a full-circle strategy – to inspire, you must first be inspired. You can’t coach someone if you haven’t been coached yourself.”
The team benefits from expert coaching by the renowned James Montgomery, who also mentors the athlete-coaches and advises them on training the juniors.
At this year’s Drakensberg event, 25-year-old Nolwazi Dlamini made her UTD debut and impressed as the first female athlete on the team being developed as a future coach.
“We are training Nolwazi to be an athlete-coach, and our hope is that she will manage and lead the women’s team. She’s incredibly disciplined, knows what she wants, and most importantly – she loves running. She’s not into the Salomons and fancy gear. She’s focused and a natural leader.”
Understandably, Nolwazi was nervous before her first race in the Drakensberg.
“I’m scared but excited. It’s my first time going to the Drakensberg for a race, and I’d like to thank Ms Lindi for encouraging me.”
Meyer described her as a standout runner spotted in their social running group, RunFit, and fast-tracked to the senior squad due to her dedication and talent. Nolwazi ran cross-country, track, and road races before settling on trail running.
“I love running. I did it in school – they used to call me Caster Semenya,” she laughs. “I did the 1500m and ran like her.”
Meyer laughs too, recalling how the only athlete most of the runners knew was the legendary 800m star.
“In rural communities, I’ve found that Caster is the only name they recognise. She’s a great role model, of course. But we want to expand that. We want our kids to become the role models themselves – and we hope Nolwazi becomes that figure for the younger girls.”
Nolwazi finished fifth in her race at the Drakensberg, no doubt inspiring many young athletes at LIV – situated near King Shaka International Airport, en route to Ndwedwe and Mahlabathini.
It is stories like this that Mandela must have had in mind when he said:
“Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does.”
