MULTISPORT |
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Memories of the National Three Peaks Challenge in 2020 |
An emotional Rehan finishes his 300km Expansion Challenge in 2021 |
Heading to Heathrow to begin the TriChallenge adventure |
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Images : Courtesy Rehan Greeff |
Stepping it Up
The following year , Rehan tackled a 100-miler in the Brecon area in Wales , and says it was a really tough challenge : “ I had never seen so much elevationchange in my life !” he recalls . “ Then in 2020 , for my fourth challenge , I brought people in to run with me for the first time , and we took on the National Three Peaks Challenge , which is a popular hiking challenge to climb the highest peaks in Scotland , England and Wales .”
The three peaks in this challenge are Ben Nevis ( 1345m ) in Scotland , Mount Snowden ( 1085m ) in Wales , and Scafell Pike ( 978m ) in England . Most people drive the 740-odd kilometres between the three peaks and then just hike or run the actual peaks , which makes the challenge around 37km of hiking with a total ascent of 3064 metres . However , Rehan and his running mates decided to also run the sections between the peaks .
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“ We wanted to chase the FKT for that particular challenge , which was set in the 1980s by a team of five pro runners that crushed it at about five minutes per kilometre , so we set out to run from peak to peak in a seven-man relay ,” says Rehan . “ We were doing well initially , but when we realised we were going to miss the FKT , we decided to drive the last section to Snowden . We still ran about 670 kilometres , and most importantly , we raised 28,000 Pounds !” |
Marathon Mania
In 2021 , Rehan once again took on a solo challenge , this time to run the equivalent of seven consecutive marathons , a distance of around 295km , hence he called this one the 300 Expansion Challenge . It would be the furthest he had ever run , so he chose a route closer to home , the so-called Smog Graham Round , a 300km loop around Greater London . “ The name is a play on the Bob Graham Round in the Peak District , which chases all the highest peaks in that area . This one around London chases the 32 highest ‘ peaks ’ in the boroughs of London , visiting all 150km of green areas plus the roads and areas that link them ,” says Rehan .
He also decided to give the FKT a go . “ The previous record was 55 hours , so my goal was to beat that . I planned to finish in 48 hours , and ended up running 49 hours 17 minutes . What slowed me down slightly was the rookie error I made around the 120-kilometre mark . I ate oats for breakfast , which I never do during a race , and for the next 80km I couldn ’ t keep anything down . So , the second 100km was horrendous overall , but after 200km I could finally get electrolytes in again .”
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Another goal that Rehan set himself for this run was once again to get others involved in the challenge , not only to run but also to raise funds for ForAfrika , so he came up with a novel idea . “ My longest run before that had been the 200km FKT attempt on the North Downs route , so because I was going further than I had ever run before , I challenged my friends , |
family and colleagues to also run further than they had ever gone before , be that 10km , 100km or anything in between . I eventually got 66 people to run ‘ with ’ me , some of them in other countries , and with quite a few being based in and around London , we also organised a small run in Biggin Hill on a 21km loop , so that about 40 of them could physically run with me on the day .”
In the end , Rehan and his support runners raised a massive 50,000 Pounds ( almost R1 million ) between them , which was donated to ForAfrika ’ s # zerohunger campaign . “ That was inspirational !” says Rehan . “ It brings hope when people pull together with a vision to impact thousands . That takes commitment , sacrifice and intentionality .”
First Triathlon Leg
That brought Rehan to 2022 , and his decision to tackle the Run Forest Run TriChallenge ” in South Africa , Uganda and the UK . He says he chose these countries because he was born in South Africa , where malnutrition rates are on the rise ; Uganda , because ForAfrika is working with refugees there whose lives have been devastated by war and climate change ; and England , because it ’ s his new home . The start date of the challenge , 27 June was significant , too , as it marked the one-year anniversary of the passing of Rehan ’ s father , and the finish line of the SA leg would be at the NG Kerk Moedergemeente Wellington , the church where Frikkie started and completed his ministry . He had retired back to Wellington and still ministered part-time until his passing .
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