Missing this KZN 'Cemetery to Cemetery' race will be a grave mistake

Run for your life. Finishing last would be a grave mistake. You don't want to get caught in a dead heat at the finish.

The puns just write themselves when it comes to a first-of-its-kind Cemetery to Cemetery run‚ hosted by a Pietermaritzburg undertaker on Sunday.

The 12km challenge aims to promote a healthy lifestyle.

As weird as it sounds‚ the organisers are dead serious!

At first glance‚ the short press release appeared to be one of the many fake news alerts that often hit reporters' inboxes. But further reading and a phone call showed how real it was. The sender‚ laughing‚ said: "No dead men will be running!”

Khayelihle Funeral Services‚ a perennial sponsor of the KwaZulu-Natal capital city's races - including the Maritzburg Marathon‚ 100 Capital and the Mandela Day Marathon - said it decided to host its own race in a bid to encourage customers‚ and the community at large‚ to take care of their health. It is hosted under the theme Sibathanda Bephila‚ which translates to: "We love them while they are still alive."

The undertaker's spokeswoman‚ Thandiwe Zamisa‚ said it promises to be "an epic race with no dead heat" as the winner will walk away with a gold medal and company paraphernalia. Zamisa said they will also be creating awareness about the shortage of burial space and alternative burial methods in a city that is also run by an undertaker and Khayelihle's former rival‚ mayor Themba Njilo.

Zamisa said Khayelihle was started by Muzi Mkhize‚ now its CEO‚ after the painful experience of losing a loved one and finding that the service he received was not up to standard. It was then that he saw that there was a gap in the market.

The race starts at 7am from Ethembeni Cemetery in the south east of Pietermaritzburg to Mountain Rise Cemetery in the northern suburbs.

"In future there will be prize money‚ so missing this event will be committing a grave mistake!" quipped a fervent Zamisa.

- TimesLIVE