The Mitchell's Plain experience

I lived in Cape Town for 22 years but I was never a runner, nor did I ever think I would become one.  I spent my Cape Town years enjoying the sea and the relaxed vibe, being completely oblivious to this running world that actually existed all around me.  Now that I live in Johannesburg, Cape Town has become my holiday destination and now that I'm a runner, I usually try to fit a race or two in while I'm here.  So it's the Christmas season and here I am, in Cape Town. Before I came I checked the race calendar and found that there were two races taking place in the Mother City that I would be around for.  The first one, the Mitchell's Plain half marathon took place the day after I arrived which was perfect as I could take full advantage of the sea level!  The only less than perfect thing however, was that it took place in Mitchell's Plain.  In all my years of living in Cape Town, I had never been to Mitchells Plain, but had never heard anything good about the area.  I wasn't convinced this was the best race to do given the surrounding township so like a ridiculous Gautenger, I phoned the race organiser to find out more about the event.  When I told him I was from Johannesburg and was just wondering if it was a safe race to do, I could almost hear him thinking...you ignorant woman...you idiots run marathons in Soweto and Joburg CBD and you want to know if Mitchells Plain is unsafe?? But instead of verbalising that thought, he simply giggled as politely as he could and told me it was perfectly safe.  So off I went on Saturday morning to run the Titans Half Marathon. The race ran along the beach and as I looked up at the mountain and dodged the last bit of the high tide, I couldn't help laughing at myself.  The friendly Cape Town runners all welcomed me along the way and the entire race had such a good feel to it.  I suddenly felt incredibly silly for thinking this could be unsafe.  Perhaps its not a great area on any given day, but on Saturday morning it was buzzing with good vibes and happy runners. The race was well organised (apart from not getting a medal) and enjoyable....and on top of all that, I even ran a PB.  I'll definitley be back in Mitchells Plain next year!