FEATURE
All paths lead to the finish … just some of the pics Gaven took during his most recent adventure
… But it got there eventually !
The bike required many repairs on the way to Cairo …
which would form the second leg of a three-way challenge he had set himself . Having cycled the length of Africa , he now wanted to run 4000km across four African countries , once again to raise awareness and funding for Missing Children South Africa , and that would be followed by swimming to Madagascar , a distance of some 400km ! “ I wanted to do the longest and most extreme triathlon ever attempted ,” says Gaven .
In 2018 he set out on his run challenge , starting in St Lucia and running through Mozambique , Botswana and Namibia , then making his way down through South Africa to finish at the V & A Waterfront in Cape Town after another seven months of adventure and discovery . “ I really took my time , absorbing myself in the different people and cultures I met on the trip , having fun and creating content that I knew would bring my trip to life .”
However , even with his relaxed attitude , he still had to overcome massive challenges , notably running through the seemingly endless sand dunes of the Sossusvlei in Namibia . Thankfully , many people along the way opened their homes to him , having followed his journey on social media , and Gaven says that really gave him a lift when the going got tough .
Plans Temporarily Derailed
With the run completed , Gaven went full steam ahead to get ready for the swim challenge in 2019 , aiming to cross from Mozambique to Madagascar . He and his support team had decided he would need to use flippers in order to cover an average of 12km a day , with a catamaran following him so he could rest between daily shifts . In the build-up to the challenge , he completed a 5km swim from Ilha de Moçambique
( Mozambique Island ) to the mainland , to generate some PR coverage for his longer swim , but a week before his scheduled departure , he received the devastating news that his funding had fallen through .
“ It really took the wind out of my sails ,” says Gaven with a sigh , but then adds it may have been a blessing in disguise . “ I can ’ t actually swim – I splash , I don ’ t swim – and I would probably have been chomped by a shark … but in this line of work , that is something you need to deal with . You need to accept that you may not come back one day . It ’ s a very real reality .”
In spite of the failed expedition in 2019 , Gaven came into 2020 full of renewed optimism for his next challenge , but when COVID -19 hit , all plans were put on hold . Gaven continued life in Mozambique , where thankfully , he was able to continue with some normality doing daily runs on the beach , keeping his sanity firmly intact , while it seemed the rest of the world was going mad . And eventually , he was able to hit the road again as he set out from Gqeberha , destination Cape Town
Looking ahead , Gaven says he has further challenges that he would like to take on . “ I would love to run across the Arctic – solo and unsupported , of course – or maybe break the land speed record on a motorbike on the salt pans . There is so much out there , people ’ s concentration is literally milliseconds , you constantly have to ask yourself how do you create interesting content , that is entertaining and challenging , but I always want to keep it real and make it a challenge , keeping it true to being solo and unsupported . I am just trying to be positive in life and inspire people , and if you believe you can do it , you can .”
One man , alone on the road , in the middle of Africa
Images : Courtesy Gaven Sinclair
62 ISSUE 147 DECEMBER 2021 | www . modernathlete . co . za