More than 30,000 people take part in the Discovery East Coast Radio Big Walk

It was a fun morning out for more than 30,000 people coming out on 18 May 2014 as the 2014 Discovery East Coast Radio Big Walk got underway.  Families and friends; professionals and casual walkers, corporates and colleagues; veterans and first-timers – all spent an enjoyable morning together, along Durban’s promenade.

The sun may not have been out in full force, but this did not “cloud” the cheerful spirit of walkers as they left the start at uShaka Marine World and made their way to the finish line at People’s Park at Moses Mabhida Stadium.

"This year's Discovery East Coast Radio Big Walk has been a tremendous success. For Discovery it is hugely encouraging to see how involved the people of Durban have been. People are getting it. Exercise and being healthy are important and taking part in an event like this just goes to show how easy it is to be physically active. And to top it all, the Durban promenade and beautiful surroundings is a great incentive for anyone to put on a pair of walking or running shoes and go for a walk,” says Iona Maclean Discovery Head of Experiential Marketing.

East Coast Radio’s General Manager, Trish Taylor, says, “Every time we host the Discovery East Coast Radio Big Walk, I am left humbled and amazed. This year, even more so. Watching more than 30,000 people from all over KZN together celebrating the magnificence of Durban’s coastline was testament to our Big Walk To Freedom theme. A massive thank you to each and every one of you for helping us grow the Discovery East Coast Radio Big Walk into the biggest outdoor participative event in KZN and for making the day absolutely epic!”

This year’s four-distance event yielded some interesting facts: The most number of entrants (5338) to this year’s Discovery East Coast Radio Big Walk were under the age of 19. On the other end of the scale, this year we had 193 participants who are over the age of 70!

The distance that attracted the most number of entries was the 5km walk – the same as last year. This year, 15962 people signed up for the 5km event.

Almost twice as many women (61.2%) as men (38.7%) took part in this year’s event.

The Discovery East Coast Radio Big Walk has evolved significantly, since the first walk back in 2004. 1800 people took their takkies for a walk back then. Over the years it has turned into one of the most anticipated family fun events on the KZN social calendar.

And the times reflect this too, with #bigwalkdurban trending on Twitter nationally.

We look forward to doing it all again next year!

Pics: Supplied.

Captions: (1) East Coast Radio’s Damon Beard rallies up the crowd at the start.

  (2) Walkers stream along Durban’s promenade

NOTE TO EDITORS: Please note that the official name for the event is the Discovery East Coast Radio Big Walk.