When she thinks about running in the German winter she has laugh. The South African can never get used to the feeling that you don’t get really warm even when you are running.
Sinenhlanhla Buthelezi, called Sine (spoken Sna), is a runner with a heart. Her first marathon in April in Bonn pushed her to her limit during the winter preparations that she went through in addition to her master study. But she was also fully committed to her charity project. It was the first marathon of her life – a big personal experience and a terrific initiative as result of this, 3300 kids got their first school books in Sines home country in their native language.
The 30-year old grew up in a Township in Ngwelezane at the province of Kwa-Zulu Natal – and thus she is familiar with many problems. There the most children do not have books in their mother language isiZulu – there are eleven official national languages in south Africa. together with Organization Book Dash Sine made this awesome success happen. Sine is very proud of the achievement and is inspired to attempt, a new project. Again, she wants to improve herself by running and benefit in the meanwhile. On the day of the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon on 29th of October, she’ll be collecting donations. This time she wants to help to remedy another issue, that she is familiar with. Because many girls and women in the Townships cannot afford sanitary products, many of them do not go to school during their menstruation periods. „This amounts up too many missed days during a year and affects their grades. The concerns and needs she wants to take away from many girls and wants to purchase maxi pads from the donations “, Sine explains. She hopes to collect more than 3,000 Euros during the period of Mainova Frankfurt Marathon to when she runs the Ultra marathon that she is taking place in next summer. Sine combines another sport high with a new charity project. „I believe that every woman should run marathon once in her lifetime. Running has taught me patience, but also has showed me that I can achieved more than I ever thought, says the South African who speaks excellent German. Sine worked for the Goethe-Institute in Johannesburg for 3 years and now studies „International Media Studies “, which the University of Bonn offers together with the „Deutsche Welle “.
Currently, she trains four to five times a week, mainly at the bank of Rhine in Bonn. She appreciates that she as a running woman can feel safe even in the darkness, which isn’t possible in South Africa. After her time from 4:36 at her first marathon in Bonn, she aims for a run within 4 hours and 30 minutes on the speedy Frankfurt course. „I enjoy running because, that’s when I have the best ideas “, says Sine. „I will never stop. “
