Where it all began
AAAC Road Runners was established late in 1981 by Trevor Le Grange, Barry Botha, Ken Poole and Peet van Niekerk.
The first chairman of Alberton Amateur Athletic Club was Koos van der Watt, and the club president was Johann van der Merwe. In the early days, AAAC had no clubhouse facilities, and had to have their meetings in the (now demolished) Newmarket Hotel in the CBD. Later they used various school facilities, and finally moved into the current clubhouse in 1990, courtesy of the Alberton Municipality.
The club hosted its first half marathon in 1982 under the banner of Fountain Pools. This event became a solid fixture during the first weekend of December every year, and became known as the annual ‘Christmas holiday’ half marathon, attracting 2800 athletes in 1991. Alberton also hosted a very popular 10km nite race between 1992 and the early 2000’s. Some of the major sponsors throughout the years were Fountain Pools, Wadeville Carriers, Prominent Paints, Long Distance Transport & Logistics, Imperial Transport, Paul James Hair Dressing, Hyundai, Citroën, Mike’s Kitchen, Menges, Alberton City, Great South Auto Body, Spear Labels, Plumblink and Mawer & Delport.
Since 2018, the club has undergone various changes, including the introduction of a new club logo and kit. The addition of PPS as headline sponsor of our road race has also helped lift the standard and profile of the event.
Comrades and other major races
Athletes from AAAC Road Runners took part in the Comrades Marathon for the first time in 1982, with 7 athletes finishing the event within the cut-off time. This steadily increased and in the millennium year, 237 athletes finished when the Comrades cut-off time was increased to 12 hours. Long-standing chairman Andries Venter holds the club record for most Comrades finishes (32) as well as 18 silvers medals. In 2019, Koos Coetzee became only the second member to achieve his triple green. A full list of our green number club members, as well as Comrades silver medal table and club records can be downloaded in PDF format from the ‘Club Records’ section.
In addition to Comrades, Alberton runners have achieved success at the Washie 100-Miler as well as the Two Oceans Marathon. Donald Kgopa, who also has 10 silver Comrades medals to his name, holds the club record for Two Oceans with a blistering time of 3:23:38 – that’s a top 30 overall finish.
