Top performers in the Kampala 7 Hills Run for South African race

The top runners from the third edition of the Absa Kampala Hash Harrier Seven Hills Run (Absa KH3 – 7 Hills Run) will walk away with a land title and a trip to South Africa.

This was revealed by the Absa Bank acting managing director David Wandera during the launch of this year’s run at the Legends grounds on Monday. The 21km run, spanning the seven iconic hills of Kampala, is dedicated to supporting the education of the girl-child in Uganda. The ‘change her story’ run due on March 16 will also accommodate runners in the 5 and 10km routes.

Apart from the sh15m land title that will go to the overall winner of the 21km race courtesy of Bakaima Real Estate Agents, four other timed runners will be flown to South Africa-in an all-expense paid trip to participate in the annual Absa Run Your City Johannesburg 10km run in September.

“We are proud to be associated with this event for the third year running,” Wandera, who was in the company of Helen Basuuta Nangonzi, the bank's Marketing and Customer Experience Director and the Hash Master Wilson Asiimwe said.

“Under our citizenship agenda, Absa is committed to building a just society, and partnering with the Harshers embodies our commitment, not just to support that but also to support physical well-being among the communities.

“We are leveraging on the power of the run and all the participants to keep the girl-child in school, with the aim of improving access to quality education for them in Uganda,” Wandera stated.

He said from the past two editions they collected over sh500m that has enabled over ten thousand girls to continue in their education. He added that proceeds from this year’s run will be directed to their esteemed implementing partners that include the Joshua Cheptegei Foundation, Baylor College’s Dreams program, Amref Health Africa, Windle International, World Vision, IYAWE, TERREWODE, Wakisa Ministries and Mukono High School, who they have worked with in the past to drive the impactful usage of the proceeds.

He noted that the run is growing significantly from 2600 to 6000 runners last year.

“We encourage other organisations, running enthusiasts, corporate teams and running groups who all share a passion for community development to join this impactful initiative,” Wandera stated.

The Hash Master Wilson Asiimwe said the bank is helping them fulfill one of their CSR activities and called on all running groups, NGOs and other partners to join the run in support of the girls.

“We want to ensure that the girl-child is kept in school by supporting them with scholastic materials and other needs that will keep them in school,”

Registration for the run goes for sh35,000 for individuals and sh40,000 for those that want their race timed. Corporate team registration fees range from sh2m-sh5m depending on the size of the team.

Participants will start collecting their race kits from selected Absa bank branches with effect from February 1 and are encouraged to look out for more information on Absa Uganda’s official channels.

This year’s run is poised to be fun and inclusive cutting across a diverse section of runners in multiple categories including professionals.

Over the years, the run has received tremendous logistical and technical support from the public and private sector organizations such as Kampala Pharmaceuticals Industries, Vivo Energy, Bakaima Real Estate Agents, Kakira Sugar Limited, UAP Old Mutual, Crown Beverages, Case Medical Services, DHL Express, Hostalite Ltd, New Vision, Graphic Systems, Biyinzika International, and Fenon Premium Events among others.