Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 122, September 2019 | Page 21

There is so much happening, whether in the world
that I am running through, or inside my head. It is very
exciting to see what is around the next corner. Also,
when I run, I don’t listen to music, because it serves
as a distraction. My big motivation for running is
travelling, and I want to be present in the environment
that I am passing through, so I don’t want to intrude
on that experience with music. Also, from a safety
perspective, I want to be able to hear approaching
cars and bicycles.”
CHALLENGING UNDERTAKING
Even though this was not his first running project,
Dave says it was by far one of the toughest. “The
lowest point of the project came on days 19 and 23. “I
am not a big fan of cities, but ironically I went through
a dark space because I could not participate in and
enjoy the city life that I saw everybody else immersed
in. Being in Cape Town and not being able to go to a
Kirstenbosch concert, for example.”
three months leading up to the start of it, travelling
around SA and Lesotho, looking for hills to run up and
scenery to photograph.”
He used the Sport Science Lab at Loftus Versfeld in
Pretoria for his base during his training, and focused
especially on strengthening his core during this
conditioning phase. He also had to work on his mental
preparation for what lay ahead. “I seem to always
learn – or perhaps re-learn is more accurate – that I’m
an idiot. Mostly in a charming, naïve way, thankfully,
but still. The repetitive nature of running the same
route for 50 days, through a city, was interesting from
a psychological perspective. It’s certainly opened my
eyes to looking at different ways to approaching future
projects.”
He says that he is lucky to count on a supportive
family to back him up during his running adventures,
although he says that it is a challenge trying to live
up to his two sisters. Both are accomplished ultra-
distance athletes themselves, having completed
iconic races such as Comrades, Maraton Des Sables
and IronMan, and Dave says they are a tough crowd
to impress. “I am sure they were impressed at the
beginning of my running exploits, but I think they have
become used to it now.”
LOOKING WITHIN
Given his apparent dislike of running, it comes as no
real surprise that Dave did not really enjoy running
when he was younger, either. “I was at an all-boys
school and sport was always a part of the culture
at the school. It was used as a tool to promote
participation and a chance to try out different codes,
but for me it was just a way to pass the time and
nothing really stuck. I never developed a passion for
any one particular sporting code.”
He may not have found a passion for running back
then, but somehow it found him again some years
after school. “My first running project was motivated
by the need to catch a boat at the southern tip of
Argentina, before it sailed, but since then these
challenges have morphed into finding a way to travel
cheaply, while supporting conservation, and also while
fulfilling a desire to understand human psychology.
Finding someone to be my ‘crash-test dummy’
seemed like a tricky undertaking, so I decided to
‘experiment’ on myself.”
One of the other challenges he faced was getting
himself out of bed in the mornings. “Once I was at
the start in Newlands and began running, I was fine.
I think that it helped to not have a reason not to do it.
In much the same way that many people don’t have
a reason not to go to work, in spite of the rush-hour
traffic that they know awaits them.” And when running
became hard and the pain and discomfort felt like
it may overwhelm him, Dave would remind himself
that “This too shall pass.” He uses this phrase as his
“reminder to endure the bad times, enjoy the good
times and to embrace life, because they are all just
transitory.”
But no man is an island, and even though he was the
one running solo most days, the support of others
helped to carry him through. “You can’t do these big
runs without some much-needed support from others,
and I was lucky to have some very good friends who
live on Constantia Nek, so I could get sandwiches to
nibble on and jump into the pool to refresh. I was also
‘adopted’ by Harfield Harriers as an honorary club
member, and their support meant the world to me. All
the help just meant that I only had to focus on doing
the actual running and not much else.”
Doing such long distances by oneself can appear
to be a lonely experience, but Dave enjoys the time
spent in his own mind. “I never get lonely on my runs.
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