ROAD RUNNING |
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Bringing in the Money
The other aspect of the challenge that Rupert chose not to focus on was the fundraising total . In fact , he told the Brain Child Fund not to tell him how much money was being raised , because if the figure was low , he didn ’ t want to start thinking that all his running was worth only so much , or that day ’ s running had not brought in anything . “ I believe that if the ‘ why ’ is big enough , the ‘ how ’ will take care of itself , so I just focused on the Fund and the impact it would have on the children , and trying to raise more ,” says Rupert .
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Even now , months after ending the challenge on 658 marathons , Rupert does not know exactly how much money he helped to raise . “ I prefer not knowing . What I do know is that my Project Run-a-1000 , along with the Voice of the Speechless Challenge and the Brain Child Fund 94.7 Cycle Challenge , have raised about R8 million over the last three years for the Brain Child Fun . But it hasn ’ t stopped there , because my goal was to get people to continue donating even after I stopped running marathons ,” he says .
Priceless memories of a remarkable challenge
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“ My focus was on the long-term impact of making a difference in the lives of others , and I found that many people wanted to help , but often they said that the last two years have been so hard due to COVID , especially related to finances , so I tried to get the message across to them that it ’ s not about how much you give , but that you make a difference in another person ’ s life , even if small . Many donations were therefore small ones , but it all counted . I liken it to preparing for an ultra … you need to put in effort each day to reach the point of being ready to run for five to nine hours . Similarly , we are here to make small difference each day , and when you add them up , they make a big difference .”
Stronger than Ever
Now , just over six months after he ended his challenge , Rupert is still running regularly , and has even taken his total of marathon days up to the 700 mark , with the aim to still try get to 1000 sometime next year , even though it won ’ t be in 1000 days . That said , he admits it was hard to motivate himself to run once he had called it quits on the daily routine . “ My body went into shutdown mode for three months after I stopped doing 42 kays a day , and it was an enormous struggle to get going again ,” he says .
“ On the other hand , my fitness levels are still skyhigh , and I am actually faster than before . My fastest marathon during the challenge was a 2:47 PB … I thought I would get slower from all that mileage , especially after the hard start I had , but I actually got faster . So this past November , I ran the 10,000m at the Gauteng North Masters Champs and I won the gold medal , so now I ’ m doing less kays and am focusing on competing more in the Masters division , and I want to go for a sub-2:30 marathon ,” says Rupert .
“ More importantly , I want to motivate others to run for their own choice of cause , whether it is the Brain Child Fund or any other one . That ’ s why I created the Mile Days Community Challenge , asking people to commit one day a year to assist me with raising awareness and funds for the work that the Brain Child Fund does .
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Fitter and faster than ever , Rupert is now focused on the track
They can arrange a run , or dedicate an existing run to the cause , then invite their friends , running buddies , club members and community to join on the day , with entry fees or donations for the run going to the Fund . If possible , I will join the run .”
Besides the ongoing fundraising side of the challenge , Rupert says the other aspect of his marathon challenge that brings him great joy is seeing more people motivated to run . “ During the challenge I was joined in runs by people with their own problems , including some who couldn ’ t run , so they walked with me . Today some of them are running , I ’ d like to think because I showed them that if an Average Joe can take on this 1000-marathon challenge , so they can also challenge themselves . Looking back , it was a great privilege to represent the Brain Child Fund and to see fellow runners getting inspired by what I was doing !”
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Support theCause |
Images : Courtesy Rupert van Vuuren , Jean Brummer , Groot FM , Abigail Van Vuuren |
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The Challenge is officially finished , but the running goals continue |
If you are interested in supporting the work done by the Brain Child Fund , go to www . brainchildfund . org , and you can also support Rupert ’ s ongoing fundraising efforts at www . miledays . com , or www . facebook . com / miledaysplatform . |