History of The Ronnie Davel

The Origins of the Ronnie Davel Memorial race lie in a shared event held in association with Collegian Harriers the club with whom most of our founder members first ran. The Natal Witness on 8 September 1973 reported that this race was to start at 6.30 a.m. from the entrance to Midmar Dam and finish near the Hilton Police Station. There were to be both an A and a B division which would start at the same time from the Midmar Dam entrance and would follow the same route except that the A division will enter the Midmar complex and do a circuit of the dam before going through Tweedie, Howick, Merrivale, the JJ Cedara Drive-in, Cedara and Hilton. The respective distances were 20 miles and 13 miles. The organisers suggested that any runner who could not complete 20 miles in under three hours should enter the shorter race. Entries were only accepted at the start and there was no entrance fee. Refreshments were served at Crossways Hotel now the Old Main brewery/The Junction Pub at a nominal charge.

Ronnie Davel died 9 July 1977 and the existing club run became the Ronnie Davel Memorial run and was first held as such on 1 April 1979. Over time the route was changed with a common start and finish point proving to be more practical. The run used the Hilton Hotel as its start and finish point before moving to Laddsworth School until we reached where we are today with our 16km run in the green forests and village of Hilton.