Thesis Run Cru, Soweto

Wandile Zondo, Co-Founder

‘Official’ running clubs tend to judge you based on your pace, or which races you’ve run – which sadly, puts lots of newbies off. But our crew is beginner-friendly: our philosophy is that anyone can run, from high school to tertiary students, and from bankers to creative souls. As long as you’re passionate about running, you will be accepted into our movement.

Thesis (in this case, ‘research to illustrate a new point of view about street culture’) began as a streetwear and lifestyle brand. A small store in the Sowetan township of Mofolo Village, selling T-shirts and bucket hats inspired by youth culture in the streets: art, graffiti, music.

I come from a family of runners; my uncle founded the Soweto Marathon. As a result, I had been running since high school and had never stopped. So when we opened the shop, I used it as a base for my training runs. People noticed – half of them lived in the neighbourhood – and they wanted to join me.

I put together a calendar of races we could train for, and took to social media. A core group of 30 to 40 people met every Saturday morning at the Thesis store, to run in the streets of Soweto. We started sharing photographs via WhatsApp and Instagram. The older generation, kids, and taxi drivers cheered us on when they saw us running.

And by 2012, the movement had gathered momentum. We started hanging out at the store after our runs, which then extended to having braais at each other’s houses. We’ve become a family that looks after each other, whether running or outside of running.

Take Londiwe; she joined our group as a complete beginner. When we first saw her, we were running in Pimpville: she was overweight and moved slowly – it’s fair to say, she had a long way to go. Her brother was already a member of our crew, and invited her to join us.

But there’s always someone in our crew who’s more experienced than you, and who’s more than happy to share their expertise. We helped Londiwe to improve by sharing our knowledge of nutrition and training. First, she ran a 10-K. Then a half marathon. And this year, she’s training for the Soweto Marathon! We took her by the hand and made her feel comfortable about running. At the same time, we encouraged her to test her limits.

That sense of looking out for each other also extends to more experienced members. Last year, I sustained a calf injury just before the Soweto Marathon. I’d planned to run it under three hours, and had already reached my training peak. My friends encouraged me to forget about the silver medal, and instead focus on healing and rest. If I hadn’t listened to the advice my crew shared, I might still be carrying that injury with me today.

If you’re a part of the Thesis ecosystem, just by the knowledge we share, you’re bound to improve your running.

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