{"id":186540,"date":"2018-09-12T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-09-12T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/186540\/runners-face-the-cold-in-honour-of-fred-morrison\/"},"modified":"2018-09-12T14:21:45","modified_gmt":"2018-09-12T12:21:45","slug":"runners-face-the-cold-in-honour-of-fred-morrison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/sports-news\/2018\/09\/12\/runners-face-the-cold-in-honour-of-fred-morrison\/","title":{"rendered":"Runners face the cold in honour of Fred Morrison"},"content":{"rendered":"

Runners from far and wide braved the cold on Sunday to tackle the annual Fred Morrison half-marathon.<\/p>\n

This race, which is hosted by Germiston Callies Harriers, honours Fred Morrison who was a well-known, successful runner and a compatriot of Wally Hayward and Jackie Mekler.<\/p>

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Morrison was also the chairperson of Callies for many years.<\/p>\n

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The event, which started at 7am, saw about 1 400 runners starting and ending either their 21km or 10km races at Germiston Stadium.<\/p>

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\u201cThe race went well despite the very cold weather, though the weather definitely caused a drop in attendance,\u201d said Les Black, on behalf of the club.<\/p>\n

\u201cNotwithstanding the weather, the times achieved were respectable with Retsibile Khotle winning the men\u2019s 21km race in 69 minutes and Gerda Steyn winning the women\u2019s 21km race in 82 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

In keeping with tradition, Callies also hosted a 5km fun run, which started at 7.30am, and aimed to raise funds for a worthy charity.<\/p>\n

Callies announced all proceeds from the fun run will be donated to Care Bear Gauteng Safe House for Abandoned and Abused Babies and Toddlers, in Elsburg, which offers a place of safety to abused, orphaned and neglected children.<\/p>\n

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The home, established in 2016, can be found at 22 Joubert Street and is managed by Zenobia Venter.<\/p>\n

The event managed to raise R4 200 for the charity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you to all who took part and also to all the volunteers who helped on the day, including Callies members, friends, family, the EMPD and Helivac Medical Services. Without you, the race would not have been possible,\u201d said Black.<\/p>\n