- Men from Nkowankowa Township in Tzaneen joined the 2026 Hollard Daredevil Run, running in purple speedos to raise cancer awareness.
- The Prostate Cancer Foundation says one in four Black men will get prostate cancer, against one in eight white men.
A group of men from Nkowankowa Township in Tzaneen ran in purple speedos in the 2026 Hollard Daredevil Run, to raise awareness of prostate and testicular cancer.
Rugby player Vonani Mongwe was one of them. He ran in honour of his father, who died of cancer. The run, held on 23 October, asks men across the country to run in purple speedos.
Mongwe says he wants to support people who have cancer, and encourage those affected to speak up because help is available.
“I want to tell someone out there that cancer is not the end of the world, there is still hope. This is why it is important to do regular check ups, so we can prevent it or detect it early before it spreads,” he said.
The Prostate Cancer Foundation of South Africa (PCF) says one in four Black men and one in eight white men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. Black African men have a 60% higher risk of developing it, and are 2.5 times more likely to die from it.
When it is caught early, five year survival is above 98%. Once it has spread, that drops to 30%. A 2023 study of men in Limpopo found nearly two thirds did not know enough about the disease, and more than 80% knew nothing about screening.
PCF chief executive Andrew Oberholzer says the Daredevil Run donation is the largest single donation the foundation receives each year. He says it pays for educational material in several languages and helps keep free PSA screening running across the country.
The run raised R1.2 million in 2025.
You can support the campaign through the Back a Buddy account, by asking your employer to let staff join, or at hollard.co.za/daredevilrun.
