Images : Jetline Action Photo & courtesy Joanna Maingard |
Dream Big . Those are the words that Joanna Maingard lives by in everything she does , including when she tackles long distance running and triathlon events . Dream Big is also the name the 25-year-old industrial psychologist from Durban chose for her 2020 World Marathon Fundraiser plan , which would see her run the Tralee , London , Prague , Amsterdam , Helsinki , Stockholm , Midnight Sun and Hamburg Marathons , in Ireland , the UK , Czech Republic , Netherlands , Finland , Sweden , Norway and Germany respectively . And she would do this to raise funds for the Coshulwazi Crèche in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands , to honour the memory of her late cousin , Jenna , who passed away aged just 12 . “ It was going to be a fairly hectic schedule over three months . The plan was for me to stay in Ireland for the first few weeks and run the first marathon , then head over to London ,” says Jo . “ Actually , the original plan didn ’ t include London , but when my aunt got an entry , I decided I wanted to run with her , so I wrote to Save the Rhino International and told them my story , and somehow I got in , too , on a charity entry . As a result , I was going to run London to raise money for rhino ’ s , while also raising funds for the crèche . The trip was going to finish with Hamburg , followed by two weeks in Portugal with friends , with the sole purpose of resting and eating as much as I liked as I recovered !”
“ Besides the fundraising angle , I wanted to do the eight marathons so close together because I wanted to strip myself down to the core and see what I can achieve . I believe that you are capable of more than you can conceive , so you need to push your limits . Also , like Zac Effron in the Down to Earth series on Netflix , travelling the world to see how people live healthily , I planned to do something similar , to build
Jo ’ s late cousin Jenna
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my wellness library and experience as part of learning for my job . But the main reason was to raise funds in memory of my cousin , so when the trip had to be called off due to the pandemic , I had to go through a sort of grieving process ,” she says .
Taken Too Soon Jo tells the story that even though Jenna was nine years younger than her , they were quite close . They also had a strong familial resemblance , and sometimes were even mistaken for each other . “ In April 2016 , Jenna was on holiday on our family farm in the Midlands when she caught what we all thought was normal flu . When she didn ’ t get better , my aunt and uncle took her to hospital , where she spent a month in ICU , but she just kept deteriorating .”
“ I was in Stellenbosch at the time , busy with my studies , and I used to send her voice notes that her mom would play to her . On 17 May , I ran the FNB Cape Town 12 ONERUN , and later that day , I just had this feeling I needed to go home , so I phoned my mom and told her I was flying home to see Jenna . She was on a ventilator and we weren ’ t sure if she could hear us , but the doctors said she could . Two days later she passed away . She was only 12 , and had no previous health issues , so it was a massive shock for the whole family … but we also took a lesson from it , to live life to the fullest at all times . Now everything I do is in Jenna ’ s memory .”
This saw Jo decide to dedicate part of 2020 to raising funds for the Coshulwazi Crèche , an informal township school situated about 3km from the family
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farm . “ It ’ s a cause very close to my heart , as my family adopted the crèche in 2016 after the passing of my cousin . We decided as a family to take the crèche under our wing , so we ’ ve built a new roof , erected a new ablution facility – because they had no running toilet – and put in a Jojo tank to collect water . Every Christmas and Easter we also give gifts to the kids ,” she says .
“ I ’ ve always wanted to use my passion for running for something bigger than myself , so when I decided in December last year that I wanted to run eight marathons in eight different countries , I thought this would be a great chance to see more of the world and give back . My goal with the challenge was to raise R90,603 – Jenna ’ s birthdate was 9 June 2003 – in order to build another classroom for the crèche , which caters to around 60 children aged two to six . They have too little space in just one building for all the kids to learn in .”
On Hold , For Now … With the trip to Europe cancelled , Jo says she found herself looking for a new running challenge . Having run the Soweto and Sani Stagger marathons last November , which were just three weeks apart and had prompted her to dream up the eight-marathon challenge , she had kept her training up in preparation for the big trip . But when lockdown began and level five restrictions meant that running could only be done around one ’ s house , Jo says she made the most of it . “ I was house-sitting for my parents in Mount Edgecombe , and I gave it a try by running loops around the house . It wasn ’ t great , but at least I could still run .”
Jo is raising funds for the Coshulwazi Crèche
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