BEST OF 2021
“ The original idea was to help other victims of violent crime with money for rewards , investigations , court cases , etc , but over time it morphed into something different , because I realised there is already a system to support with all of that , such as the police , lawyers and the courts , whereas there is a definite need for more help on the so-called darker side of things , the mental aspect . I wanted to help people going through what I went through after Carl ’ s death ,” says Lee .
The siblings , in happier times : Lee , sister Jade with hubby James , and Carl
up . Carl was beaten so badly that he ended up in a coma , and he hung on four days before passing away , but the doctors reckon he was probably already brain dead on the scene ,” continues Lee .
Still in shock , Lee became involved in trying to track down the two aggressors , and he says while it only took a few days to find the one guy , it took about three months to find the other one . “ The first guy actually had a girlfriend in the police , and he was caught when he came into the police station to visit her ! But to catch the second guy , I had to go down some dark holes , because I found out that he was heavily involved in the underground crime scene . We put up a reward of R65,000 for info leading to his arrest , and three months after the attack , we eventually tracked him down to a hotel in Alexandria . Then we had to go through 18 months of the trial , including them trying to appeal their sentence , which thankfully was denied , and now both guys are in prison for life .”
Running for Recovery
With the two attackers in custody , Lee says he used running to start recovering from both the shock of Carl ’ s death and the ordeal of trying to catch his killers , and this included the 2016 Comrades Marathon , which Carl was supposed have run . Lee had taken up running in 2014 and moved up to ultras in 2015 , as well as tackling his first Ironman , and then began planning a really special Comrades in 2016 .
“ I had finally gotten my brother to admit he could run an ultra , as he had been a sprinter in his younger days , and he had entered the Comrades , but then he was killed , so another mate , Luke Taylor , who had also thought he could never run it , said he would take Carl ’ s number and run it with me . In the end we had a group of eight guys – we called ourselves the Carlstrong Army – all running in my brother ’ s memory . Along with Luke and I , we had David and Sean McGibbon , Brendon Bisset , Michael King , Marcel Du Plessis and JJ Bell , and these guys have carried on running together as the Carlstrong Army , along with more that have joined us since then .”
That initial Carlstrong run inspired Lee to create the Carlstrong Foundation , to assist people dealing with trauma , emotional disorders and mental health issues , and through his endurance sporting events , Lee strives to create awareness around these issues .
He goes on to say that the long-term effect of the emotional and mental trauma caused by volent crime is often overlooked , but with the right help , things do get better . “ The ripple effect is huge , as many other people can also be affected negatively , so if you can help one person directly , you are potentially helping hundreds indirectly . That ’ s why I changed focus from helping people to find criminals and put them in jail , to helping people deal with the mental and emotional trauma . As part of that , I have also developed a lifestyle recovery programme .”
Go-ahead Given
Having made up his mind to tackle the three events in one day , Lee set about arranging everything , and found that it would all be determined by the weather , with ideal swimming conditions needed for the swim . Thus the original date was pushed back four times before he got the go-ahead for 9 December . “ That morning , I jumped on the boat at 6:15am to cross to the island , and we started the swim at 6:30 ,” says Lee .
“ I had a partner swimming with me , Ragel , who I had met during an 8km swim event and had invited her to join me . Fortunately , the conditions were flat and calm , with the water about 13 degrees , and I got into a good rhythm and felt OK , even though I couldn ’ t feel my hands , feet or face . We made it across in two hours 24 minutes , and I absolutely loved the swim leg so much , so I will definitely do it again !”
After some food , Lee jumped on the bike and headed in the direction of Newlands , having to do some extra mileage from Blaauwberg before joining the actual Cycle Tour route in Newlands . In Constantia he was
Lee and just some of the many Carlstrong supporters
Images : Courtesy Lee Schoombie
22 ISSUE 147 DECEMBER 2021 | www . modernathlete . co . za