Paki Lawu
Johannesburg → Cape Town · 1 485 km · 29 days
Sat 21 Nov & Sat 19 Dec · R120 · 200 places each · or run a free leg
Be on the start line
Two ticketed days, one at each end of the 1 485 km: the Johannesburg send-off on Sat 21 Nov, and the run into Cape Town on Sat 19 Dec. Pick 5K or 10K, and your barcoded ticket is emailed the moment payment clears. These are the only two days with a start line, a finish and a crowd.
The send-off proper. Be at Live Cafe, 102 Rivonia Rd, Sandton, by 06:45; the run leaves at 07:30. 5K runs to Houghton. 10K goes past Mandela’s Houghton home at km 6.4 and on to Zoo Lake. Paki carries on to Soweto.
Limited to 200 runners on Day 1
The finish. 10K starts near Ysterplaat/Brooklyn, 5K on the West Coast Cycle Path at Paarden Eiland. Everyone crosses the line together at Kanéla On The Go, 82 Sea Point Promenade, after 1 485 km.
Limited to 200 runners into Cape Town
Can’t make either day? There are eight free community run-ins along the route, or you can back the run instead.
Money raised goes to prostate cancer initiatives: awareness, education, early detection and screening for men. A portion covers the direct costs of putting the run on the road. Payments are processed by Yoco.
Raising R 1 000 000 across 1 485 km
We keep a clear record of what’s raised and how it’s allocated throughout the campaign. After the run we’ll publish the total raised, what the run cost, and the amount given to prostate cancer initiatives.
Where it’s come from
The Why
On 21 November 2026 Paki Lawu leaves Johannesburg on foot and doesn't stop until Cape Town. That's around 51 km a day, more than a marathon, every day for 29 days. Every kilometre raises awareness and funds for prostate cancer, and gets more South African men screened early.
“I lost my grandfather to cancer. Now I'm running across South Africa in his honour.”
Paki Lawu · Founder & runner
The run launches in the heart of Movember, putting men's health front and centre while the country is already talking about it.
Prostate cancer is among the most survivable cancers when it is caught early, and among the least when it is not. The run exists to get men tested.
Will he make it? That question, answered daily for a month, is what turns a run into a story the whole country follows.
Locals are invited to run stretches alongside Paki. The finish in Cape Town becomes a public arrival.
The Route
Twenty-nine days, 1 485 km, no rest day. Out of Sandton past both Mandela homes and through Soweto, down the Golden Highway to the Vaal, then the N1 for over 1 250 km through Bloemfontein and the Karoo. Near the end it climbs Bain’s Kloof Pass rather than the Huguenot Tunnel, which is closed to pedestrians, and finishes at Kanéla On The Go on the Sea Point Promenade on Saturday 19 December.
Now 29 days: the new day-by-day plan, with dates, goes up here soon. The route stays the same.
In Training
The build-up: the early mornings, the long weekend legs, the kit and the crew. From 21 November this becomes the daily record of the run itself.
Run with Paki
Away from the two ticketed days, running clubs, influencers and the public run 5 to 10 km alongside Paki at eight points along the route, always on town roads and never on the highway. These eight are free: register below and we send you the date and the meeting point.
All eight are free. Dates follow with the new day-by-day plan.
Follow the Run
A daily post from the road, a weekly documentary episode, and the finish-line arrival in Cape Town. The whole thing, as it happens.
On Board
Route safety, medical cover, nutrition, personal care and the finish line, all on board.
Nutrition & recovery
Route safety
Official medical partner
Finish-line partner
Official deodorant partnerTwenty-nine days of daily content, a national route, and a finish-line moment built as a public event, with a projected 4 to 5 million campaign impressions.
Press, media or anything else? Write to pakilawu0@gmail.com and we’ll get back to you.