He goes on to say that his running forms a big part of his work with Rejuvenate , to grow awareness of the work the foundation does , and his trip to the New York Marathon was a case in point . “ We found a kid named Mvelo in the Edendale community in Pietermaritzburg , who had an above-the-knee amputation , so he needs a prosthetic leg with two joints . I ran New York on his behalf , and New Balance committed to match whatever funding we could get in for him . I told him I would run it for him , and when I got back , we would hopefully be able to get him a leg ,” says Travis . |
Travis ran New York to help young Mvelo of Edendale get a prosthetic leg |
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“ But we ’ re working on a five-year plan with him , because it ’ s not fair giving someone mobility for a year , and when they outgrow that mobility aid , you can ’ t help them further . When we help someone , we have to keep them mobile for the rest of their life . It ’ s quite frightening that in many communities in this country , manual labour is the main option for making a living , but having a disability means you are instantly cut out of around 70 % of work opportunities , so we don ’ t just want to enable them through mobility , but also through education , which will allow them to pursue a better life .”
Looking Ahead … With a growing foundation doing ever more work , and a running CV that already includes UTMB , Comrades and the New York Marathon , one could forgive Travis for perhaps wanting to take a breather after what has been an incredibly busy last few years , but he shows no signs of slowing down just yet . Besides wanting to someday go back to finish a few events where he was forced to stop early , like the UTD and UTCT , he is also set to tackle one of the country ’ s toughest mountainnbiking events next year , the Absa Cape Epic .
“ We ’ re pretty much doing the exact same thing that we did with UTMB , so I ’ ll be riding it with Luvan Cass , of Grobbelaar & Cass in Durban , the firm that makes
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my legs . There are going to be three teams like ours , featuring riders with a disability , and we just want to take on the Epic and show people that you can do anything . I haven ’ t done any bike races on my prosthetic , but I ’ m fine on a bicycle . I actually do a lot of cycling already , because I can ’ t just run all the time , and need to build stump care and management into my training programme . Also , having raced motorbikes semi-professionally , I feel confident on the trails ,” says Travis . |
Getting back to running , Travis says he is seriously considering a second Comrades Marathon in 2025 , but the big one will be a return to the UTMB in France . “ They have invited me back next year , but they said I ’ m not allowed to just do the 55 again , I have to go up to the 100-kay . So , Bryce and I will probably be |
Travis founded Rejuvenate SA to help others achieve mobility again
heading back to Chamonix for that . I haven ’ t really thought much further than that , but sooner or later I am going to be doing UTD again . I promised the race organiser , Spurge , that his 100-miler will be the first one I finish .”
At this point , Travis says he really wants to say a huge thank you to all the people who have supported him , and worked with him , since his accident . “ I need to thank Luvan and Darryl Grobbelaar , as they have literally paved my way from the start . They were my first sponsor , helped me with my first running leg , and then put me in touch with Össur , who I now run for . I also want to thank all my other partners and sponsors , including New Balance , Harvest Table and Derma Prosthetics , and of course , I wouldn ’ t be where I am today without my wife ’ s love and support .”
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Images : Courtesy Travis Warwick-Oliver |