Three friends; Dane Forman, Cameron Finnie and Jonas Barausse started BESETdurban in 2013 and offer a free public walk every couple of months to whoever wants to join. “Durban is packed with so many incredible stories. In eight years of hosting these walks, we are yet to repeat a topic!”, says Jonas. Four years ago, they added the BESETrun to their offering which takes place every Monday at 5:30 am in Kloof and on Durban beachfront. “These runs are all about getting together, getting outside and chasing a sunrise for 5km with some fellow Durbanites”, explains Jonas. “There is a common misconception that exists that the small port city of Durban is sleepy, backwater and generally unappealing. We intended to have this notion corrected, even destroyed. We aimed to have it replaced with a more true and exciting notion, that Durban is worth exploring”, Jonas describes.

“We work on an iceberg principle when it comes to announcing our walks. We tell people just enough information to get them to meet at a specific place at a specific time. Generally, they have only the vaguest of ideas of what that particular walk could be about. We want to expose people to the city or reintroduce them, we want them curious and in comfy shoes. Other than that we ask nothing”, Jonas continues.

As for the BESETruns… they’re a lot more predictable. They start at the same two spots every Monday. For the beachfront crew, they meet in front of Bike and Bean. The Upper Highway members meet at the Memorial Park parking lot on Alamein

Avenue in Kloof. Both runs are 5km and both kick off at 5:30 am sharp and both have shorter routes for those wanting to build up to the 5km run. For these, all that they ask is that you arrive on time so that they don’t kick off without you.

“Where to even begin? We’ve had so many incredible walks. I think the ones we get the most requests for a do-over would be the walk we did around the old abandoned whaling station on the Bluff. That was pretty crazy! It took us two years to get through all the red tape, but in the end, we tracked down the old factory manager who closed the place down in the 1970s and he offered to take us around as our guide. The place is completely abandoned and overgrown now (thankfully) but it was once the largest factory and place of employment in the city and seeing it through his eyes made it all come alive again. We’ve also done some incredible graffiti walks, uncovered abandoned ballet studios in the dome of Durban city hall, explored the story of the beachfront guided by world champion surfers and had military choppers fly over to say “hi” whilst being taken around the Natal Mounted Rifles HQ. Also our two or so annual run’s through the heart of Durban are always a blast. Those always take the shape of two-thirds cardio and one-third Durban stories”, Jonas explains.