After a month of parties and festive food, decisive action is needed to meet 2012’s resolutions to lose weight and get fit! The 13-week Pharos Wednesday Summer Sport Series has been designed to help you achieve those goals in a fun way! By involving the whole family, sport and fitness can become a lifestyle not a burden.
“The series exceeded our expectations in popularity last year, attracting a diverse spectrum of sports men and women, as well as an amazing crowd turnout,” said Pharos Wednesday Summer Series event organiser Heather Mostert. “It was really heartwarming to see dads cycling with the kids while mum would be walking with friends or showjumping… Everyone was busy, safe and enjoying themselves – for me, this is what life is about!”
Incorporating mountain biking, trail running, touch rugby and show-jumping this midweek ‘after work’ series has been designed to offer something for everybody, from the super fit aiming to trim down their body fat percentage to those starting their fitness regime after a few ‘heavy’ Christmas festivities!
These 13 weeks of fun-loving, sporty summer days have proved to be much more than a simple initiative to develop a strong community, where health, friends and lifestyle are core values, The Pharos Summer Series marks the beginning of the Summer training season by getting out and enjoying the magnificent countryside, open spaces and long, warm summer evenings.
It’s always important to reward yourself for good effort (all work and no play?), so once you’ve mopped your brow, you can find yourself rewarded with an icy beer or an indulgent, but definitely-worth-it gourmet burger!
Starting in February, the series ties in with the start of the show-jumping season, and is a great opportunity for local talent to prepare their horses for a competitive year, climbing the grades as the series progresses, and as the riders work toward their year-end goals of the World Cup Qualifiers, which take place in Durban and Shongweni later in the year.
“The sport of show-jumping is rapidly growing in South Africa, and we are hoping to install the Durban Shongweni Club as one of the premier venues in the South African equestrian sports calendar. With the continued support of our local sportmen, as well as with the amazing sponsors that we have in Pharos, we are hopeful that we can achieve this goal”, says Anton Mostert, chairman of the Shongweni Club.
The mountain bike track is ‘lap’ based so that riders are safe to ride alone at their own pace. Being a short course they are able to push themselves to capacity and can quickly clock up the miles as well as get a bit of technical training under their belts with the newly added single track routes. Adding to the excitement of the mountain biking element, Ian Wilson of Single Track Minded will be running a knock out speed challenge, which should prove to be great entertainment. Wether you are training for a long endurance ride like the Hill2Hill race later in the year (which also ends at the Durban Shongweni Club), or are a purely social rider, all will agree, the best way to get fit is on your bike.
The trail run/walk is a sign-posted route along which you are likely to be guided over the horses X-country embankments, ditches and drop-offs – so prepare for something very different! Run very informally, runners gather at 5pm and head off together and quickly form into little groups. Alternatively, you can soak up the solitude as you ‘trot’ over the polo fields and through avenues of age-old trees.
Touch rugby is a relaxed affair, all about arriving and joining in, no experience required. The age groups range from the little kiddies to the more social ‘green bottle ballies’ who are working up a sweat… It’s social, it’s fun and it’s a great way to start 2012!
Join in every Wednesday in February, March and April. For more information, contact Heather@altix.co.za or call 082 908 0089.
1 Comment
I’d go for the burger and the beers … and a break from the goshdarned humidity. Nice way to pass an evening.