joined her for a swim . I don ’ t know how far we swam , but we did about 30 minutes , and she gave me advice and taught me about swimming at an angle . One time she tapped me on the head , pointed out a dolphin just five metres away , and told me I am very blessed .”

Learning to swim in open water was initially hard

Images : Courtesy Rehan Greeff

Rehan undertakes his challenge to raise funds for the vulnerable kids of Africa

In fact , he challenged himself to do it three times , in six days , in three different countries ! The plan was to do the first ‘ Ironman ’ in South Africa on 27 June , in his former home town of Wellington in the Western Cape , then fly to Uganda and do the second event on 29 June , followed by the third and final one in London on 2 July . That would mean covering a total distance of 678km - swimming 11.4km , cycling 540km and running 126.6km – on top of all the travelling mileage in flights and road travel between the three ‘ race venues ,’ but as Rehan explains , “ My thinking was that by doing three disciplines instead of just running , I could get more people involved , plus I could expand my own horizon and grow as a person .”

“ I had only swum for leisure in the sea and pool , and had never swum laps before January . My first open water swim was in PE during a family vacation in SA in April , which was at the same time as the IRONMAN SA event . I just watched those triathletes in awe ! My father-in-law had introduced me to a local woman who swims regularly , and the next morning , at 6am , I

Rehan also did his first open road cycling after that holiday , buying a bike upon his return to the UK . “ Before that , I was only spinning in the local gym . It was my first gym membership since moving to the UK in 2017 , because I love running in the outdoors , and I just tried to put time on the saddle , even though spinning is not the same as proper biking . I also did ‘ brick ’ workouts – like run to gym , spin , then run again , or swim and then ride , and I made sure to train all three disciplines in the six-month lead-up to the challenge , but I had only done about two months of proper cycling by the time I started my challenge at the end of June ,” he says .

Problem Knees

Before we get to the actual story of Rehan ’ s triple triathlon challenge , it is essential to explain the journey that got him to the start line in Wellington . Rehan was actually born there , as his father , Frikkie , worked as the dominee ( minister ) of the local NG Kerk ( Dutch Reformed Church ). At age three , his father transferred to Burgersdorp in the Free State , and that ’ s where Rehan attended school .

From an early age he experienced problems with his knees , and after an operation at age 13 , he wore metal-plated knee braces for the next three years , much like a young Forrest Gump does in the famous Hollywood movie . However , this did not stop him from playing sport . “ I played rugby and cricket with the braces on , more for safety , for those first few years , but what I really loved was athletics , and later in high school , after the braces , I did well in the 400 and 800-metre events ,” he says .

After school , Rehan continued running while attended the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein to

study accountancy , and went on to set personal bests of 52 seconds for 400m and 1:58 for 800m , but he says his knees were not coping with the demands he was placing on them . “ I was using anti-inflammatories just to get out of bed , due to not doing proper rehab when it was needed , so eventually I called it a day ,” says Rehan .

Rehan Greeff , nuts about running