As Cape Town prepares to welcome thousands of runners from 21–23 November for the 2025 RMB Ultra-Trail Cape Town (UTCT), two young athletes from KwaZulu-Natal are quietly carrying the hopes of their community and the backing of a development programme designed to change the course of their lives.
The event, recognised as one of the ‘World Trail Majors’, is setting the stage not only for elite competition but also for the rise of athletes who have fought their way through difficult beginnings.
At the heart of this year’s build-up is a partnership between RMB and the LIV2Run programme, a collaboration aimed at widening access to structured coaching, life-skills education, and competitive opportunities for youth who rarely get a chance to enter the professional sporting arena.
As per RMB’s youth-driven sports initiatives, the organisation hopes its investment will ‘scale up and increase our impact’, as LIV2Run founder Lindi Meyer puts it.
Runners breaking through barriers
LIV2Run, founded seven years ago by accomplished athlete Lindi Meyer, now operates in several disadvantaged communities where weekly training sessions are paired with a life-skills curriculum focusing on listening, speaking, problem-solving, creativity, positivity, teamwork and leadership.
‘The mentorship of our athletes happens in multiple ways,’ Meyer explains. ‘We host training camps, mentoring weekends-away and coaching clinics.’
According to Meyer, the support from RMB strengthens the programme’s reach.
‘RMB not only enables us to continue doing what we do, but also to scale up and increase our impact. We deeply appreciate their partnership, as together we seek to transform lives through the platform of running,’ she added.
That partnership is now evident in 20-year-old Mthobisi Ntanzi and 26-year-old Nolwazi Dlamini, two athletes from Ndwedwe, near Tongaat, who will compete in UTCT’s Explorer 23km (EX23) race.
Growing up with a single mother and limited resources, Mthobisi found that running provided structure and discipline at a time when opportunities were scarce.
He began training at 17 under coach Sinovuyo Ngcobo, eventually earning a place in the senior LIV2Run team. He made his mark last year with a second-place finish in the KS16, UTCT’s 16km race, hinting at a promising future.
Nolwazi’s path looks different but no less challenging. Raised in a home marked by unstable family dynamics, she often had to support herself, and today she also assists her younger siblings as they complete school, as running became her lifeline.
She joined LIV2Run in 2022 and has since made the KZN cross-country team, finishing fifth at the RMB Ultra-trail Drakensberg 25km earlier this year. UTCT will be among her biggest stages yet.
RMB’s commitment to supporting grassroots athletes is central to the initiative, as the bank views sport as a bridge to opportunity.
Their involvement in UTCT extends beyond sponsorship, serving as a platform to resonate with the next generation while giving overlooked athletes a pathway to compete at a global level.
Operating largely in underserved communities, LIV2Run’s model is simple: identify talent, nurture it, and equip young participants with personal and professional life skills that reach far beyond running.
The 2025 RMB UTCT runs from 21–23 November, featuring routes across Cape Town’s iconic mountains and greenbelts:
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UTCT – Northern Mountain Range to Noordhoek
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UT100 – Karbonkelberg and Table Mountain
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PT55 – Llandudno to Newlands Forest
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TM35 – Table Mountain
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EX23 – Alphen Greenbelt to Table Mountain
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KS16 – Table Mountain
Fans can follow updates via RMB’s social platforms or on the official UTCT website.
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Picture: LIV2Run/ Supplied
