Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 102, January 2018 | Page 10

MY GOAL
Athletes with a Cause
We have many athletes in South Africa hitting the roads and trails to raise money for or awareness of important, deserving
causes, and we want to give them the publicity they deserve for their efforts. This month we focus on a group of diverse
runners who all have something in common, they’re running for the animals. – BY PJ MOSES
Where’s Willie? H
e used to dive for diamonds, but now works for long periods on offshore oil rigs, and it’s fair to say
that Willie Richards is a tough-as-nails son of Africa. “I have always loved the outdoors and dreamt of
doing long distance challenges. My wife, Talita, thought it would be good to do it for charity.”
That saw Willie set off on his first adventure in 2013, a 581km trip that took him from Mosselbaai to
Franschhoek, and he was able to complete it in nine days. He self-funded the whole thing, even using his
own vehicle so that two of his friends, Deon Martins and Alfred Benz, could act as his support team. “I used
this first adventure to raise funds for the Tin Can Town organisation, which works in the Delft area of Cape
Town to rescue and sterilise animals. We started a Facebook page to document our adventures and raise
awareness about our campaigns, and called it 500kmplus.”
DUATHLON CHALLENGE
Since then Willie and his team have pushed themselves further and further, culminating recently in the
#WhereisWillie campaign for the African Tails organisation. This was his longest, toughest adventure to date,
completing an astonishing 19 ‘duathlons’ (bike ride and run) in 19 days, all the way from Blouberg in Namibia
to Blouberg in Cape Town, a trek of more than 1700km. “We tried to average at least 100km per day with a
minimum of 21km of running each day. I think the hardest lesson I learnt was that sitting on a hot bicycle seat
for hours on end is not good for your bum. I had terrible blisters!”
Even with that hardship, Willie was successful in his attempt and managed to raise over R62,000 for African
Tails to continue their good work with animals in the Mamre area. “I never entertain thoughts of failure. I want
to show my son, Liam, that if you push hard through the tough times, you will succeed in life. If you give up
because it is hard, then you will never taste success.”
MAKING PLANS
Willie is taking it easy for now, but the next adventure is already forming in his mind. “I think it is time to take
away the safety net and do a solo challenge without Deon and Alfred there to back me up. It will take time to
plan and get it all sorted, and hopefully I can also get some backing to help with the costs, but I want to keep
doing these challenges for charity. This is my way of using my sport to add to the good in the world.”
Comrades 4 Canines
T
his year’s Comrades Marathon will see three animal lovers, Liam
Gannon, Greg Korck and Louis Horn, put their bodies on the line
by running the event in order to raise funds for the Mobile Clinic
Programme of the Cape of Good Hope SPCA (Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals), under the Comrades4Canines banner.
Greg is the most experienced runner of the trio and has done Comrades
before. Not only was he successful in running the race in 2017, but he also
managed to raise R10,000 for the SPCA. “When SPCA fundraising officer
Natasha Johannes asked me if I was interested in joining somebody named
Liam, who wanted to do Comrades 2018 and raise R100,000 for the SPCA,
I jumped – or rather ran – at the opportunity to get involved. Since then
Louis has also joined us.” Together the trio started a Facebook page called
‘Comrades4Canines’ and donations can be done through the GivenGain.
com fundraising platform.
Liam is a lifelong sportsman who only started taking running seriously this
past year, and it wasn’t long before he set his sights on Comrades 2018.
“Running is more rewarding for me than anything else, and I think you have to get busy living or you’ll only be busy dying. My mom used to work at the SPCA years ago,
and I have found combining a love of running with assisting a charity a no-brainer. Being part of something larger than me is a true privilege.”
Louis is just as excited about Comrades as the other two, even though he admits that he is more of a trail runner than a roadie, so all of this is very new. “Doing my first
Comrades is nerve-wracking, but my friends and family have been very supportive. The other guys and I won’t really be training together, because we live far apart, but it
helps to know that we will be sharing this journey. Being able to go out there and do what I love drives me forward.”
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ISSUE 102 JANUARY 2018 / www.modernathlete.co.za
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