The route is like a journey back in time, almost a pilgrimage. The first half of the route is a tale of three physical and mental challenges. The first starts with a steady pull from the gun. Before you even reach the first kilometre marker board you pass the Whipping Post at the corner of Buitenkant and Darling Streets. Here stood a post to which slaves and convicted persons were tied for corporal punishment. So begin this journey mindful that ours is a history with stories that are painful and cruel. Before the crest of this first small challenge you pass St Mark’s Anglican Church. Built in 1867 it continues to serve the Christian communities of District Six and beyond, not much further the Al-Azhar Mosque. Founded in 1887, it is District Six’s oldest mosque. Reflect here as you steady yourself for the next challenge on how two great faiths and many great peoples manage to live in this beautiful place in harmony.

The second hill starts just before Upper Orange. Tougher than the first, be thankful that you turn off at the reservoir and are saved the pull up Table Mountain. The National Gallery and Parliament come into view between the sixth and seventh marker. The going is easy here but it is a sombre place for nearby is the Cape Town Holocaust Centre. Here we remember man’s inhumanity to man and promise to be kinder and more tolerant. And so into Bo-Kaap you run. The third and final challenge is the sternest as you work your way up into slave history. This is an area characterised by narrow cobblestone streets and mosques. Many of the colourful houses, then slave quarters, date back to the 18th Century.

Once over the hill the 11th marker in Somerset Road gives a clue of the next gruesome destination, Gallows’ Hill. This was a place where many slaves were executed. Think then on justice and your own freedom. By now the halfway mark is behind and the road ahead is flat and easy. Green Point Park comes and goes at 14 kilometres and the V&A Waterfront marks only four kilometres left. Finally as you get near the Grand Parade there is one final destination in this journey; the Slave Tree Plaque in Spin Street. This commemorative plaque marks the site where slaves were auctioned. Here we celebrate ourselves as athletes for who could put a price on any spirit that can run so free?