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city life Evelina Tshabalala: Profile of an icon
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ensational. Awe-inspiring. Dynamo. Trailblazer. Formidable. Even taken together, these words cannot adequately describe one in a million, in this case Evelina Tshabalala. Evelina, who hails from Joe Slovo informal settlement, had been a familiar face in Cape Town road races as one of the province’s strongest female runners, until work, life and running became a balancing act – one she was losing. That was until she met fellow runner Steve Akester, and they got to talking. Steve was taken aback by Evelina’s story. He promptly took it upon himself to get her back on the road – in new running shoes, a new Century City Athletic Club vest, and with new hope. “When I met her, I was saddened by the fact that people who are such achievers in our sport no longer get support once they are no longer on the podium.” Steve, CEO of Century Citybased Vlocity Communications, took Evelina under his wing, employing her full time to support office staff and to ensure she got her running in – often on the clock! Within the last year, Evelina has run a number of marathons as well as the Two Oceans to prepare for her 10:39 Comrades, for which she earned a bronze medal and the honour of Century’s first lady home. Named one of South Africa’s 21 icons in 2013, Evelina has
climbed three of the “seven summits”– the highest mountain peaks on each continent. She has remained active in her community, keeping children off the streets and encouraging them to exercise, and formally assists in Century City Athletic Club’s thriving Development Programme, of which she is also a beneficiary.
Evelina Tshabalala with Steve Akester, her benefactor.
What makes Evelina’s story even more extraordinary is that she continues to power her way through life living with HIV. Thanks to antiretroviral drugs, HIV no longer needs to be a death sentence. In fact, by keeping the disease at bay, medication has made the virus a manageable condition. And this is the message that Evelina drives home to the youth and adults alike. Steve has supported a number of runners to achieve
their dreams and to make an honest living. “Runners set long-term goals, and go through extraordinary pain to achieve them, yet they make it. What better than to have such a person as an employee? I employed her to support her running goals while at the same time to grow our club Development Team.” A natural athlete, Evelina won the first race that she ever entered – a 10km race – following it up by winning her next race too, a 5km run the same afternoon. She ran both races barefoot, and the first thing she bought with her winnings that day was her first pair of running shoes! At the age of 19 she ran her first marathon and finished in 3:03 – a good enough time to place her in the South African Championships, where she earned her colours representing Western Province. While running once paid the bills, the older a runner gets, the smaller the prize money. But letting a legend like Evelina fall by the wayside was not going to happen on Steve’s watch. Steve has also motivated other corporates to get involved, including Puma and Western National Insurance. In giving Evelina the push she needed to get back on track, Steve says he is pushed daily by her strength and ambition, and sometimes – when they’ve both got their running shoes on – he’s also pushed on the road by her!