ROAD RUNNING
100 marathons in 100 days meant a lot of time alone on the road for Chad
If it wasn ’ t for Kyle , I would never have been able to get through those marathons , because seeing him fighting his battle every day , that gave me the strength to conquer mine .
Do What is Hard
Not too many people can say they have run a marathon , never mind 100 marathons in 100 days . That will probably sound like climbing Mount Everest to the average person … but that ’ s what 21-year-old Joburg student Chad Markgraaf did last year . And now he ’ s getting ready for his equally long but much bigger # RUNSA2024 challenge . – BY RICHARD LASKEY with SEAN FALCONER
On the first of July 2023 , Chad Markgraaf laced up his running shoe , headed out his front door and ran a marathon . The following day , he did it all over , and the next day , and the next , until eventually on 8 October , he had 100 marathons on 100 consecutive days , completing an incredible 4220km challenge . His motivation for this mammoth task was to help a dear friend who was struggling with a life-threatening disease , and through donations , Chad was able to raise a considerable amount of money for his cause . Now he says he is ready for his next challenge at the end of this year , and he has found a new cause to run for , as we found out when we sat down for a chat with Chad .
MA : Hi Chad . So , kick things off by telling us a bit about yourself , what you ’ ve done , and the crazy stuff that ’ s still on the cards . I mean , you did 100 marathons in 100 days last year . That ’ s probably a good place to start ...
CM : Cool ! So , I ’ m 21 , still quite young . I was studying to be a chartered accountant , but I failed one of my modules , and as a result , I had to repeat it . This allowed me a whole bunch of free time in 2023 , which I knew I wanted to utilise for making a difference , while growing myself as a person and trying to help others in the process . It was during one of my long runs in February of last year that I decided to run 100 marathons in 100 days . At the time , I was running a lot – usually 10 kays in the morning , and then going to the gym at night and running another 10 – and I realised I was running pretty much a half marathon most days , so why not go full out and run a marathon ?
But I wanted to run for somebody , not just for myself , and I knew my good friend Kyle Dally was fighting cancer , and was in urgent need of financial assistance for the daily medication he needed to keep his cancer at bay . His medical aid was unwilling to cover the full costs , and he couldn ’ t cover the rest of the costs by himself , and so he needed to find private financing , and I am extremely grateful to say that through the grace of God and the many efforts of those around me , I was able to complete my 4220km goal while managing to raise over R240,000 for Kyle ’ s cancer treatment .
MA : If I may ask , how is Kyle doing these days ? CM : Unfortunately , he isn ’ t doing the greatest . He was looking to get married in September , to his beautiful fiancée , Bianca , but about two months ago , he went in for his annual scan and they saw that the cancer has spread to his brain , and to other parts of his body . So he ’ s not doing too well at the moment , but he still inspires me every day with his courage , perseverance and faith , and to just trust the process , I think .
MA : Really sorry to hear that , and sorry to then launch into this next question , but is a challenge made easier when you have a reason to do it , like raising money for Kyle ?
CM : Definitely ! Something that I realised while running the marathons was how important it is to run for something that ’ s close to your heart , because when you get to day 20 and realise there ’ s still another 80 days to go , you need that something extra to get you out of bed and putting on your running shoes .
MA : Were there any times during the challenge that you thought you might not make it to the 100 days ?
CM : That happened as early as the third day – I talk about it in one of the videos I made , about how I literally had to walk the entire third marathon because my feet were so swollen , and it took me over 11 hours ! I also remember somewhere between day 50 and day 60 , I hit a dip in terms of motivation , and I was asking myself , why am I doing this ? It was just so monotonous , and we had hardly raised any funds yet … but at that time , Kyle was very sick , and I knew I had to keep going . Then I ran one day with Keith Boyd , who just finished running from Cape Town to Cairo to set a new Guinness World Record of 301 days for running the length of Africa . I remember that run , because it was with someone who was in just as much pain as me , just as mentally fatigued , and experiencing just as much struggle , but I think we were able to inspire each other .
MA : Of course , a huge running challenge involves a lot of gear , nutrition , logistics , etc . For starters , you need more than one pair of running shoes ! So , did you have that all lined up when you started your 100 marathons ?
CM : No , I pretty much had nothing . Two weeks before the 100 marathons started , I still was looking for sponsors for shoes ! But I feel like that ’ s just a great message , that you shouldn ’ t wait for the perfect time . You should just go for it and let things figure themselves out on the way . I feel that sometimes we get this analysis paralysis , like we ’ re so focused on analysing things that we just don ’ t do anything , so I believe in just starting and things will figure themselves out .
Chad ( left ) tackled his marathon challenge to raise funds for good friend Kyle Dally ’ s medical costs
Images : Courtesy Chad Markgraaf
40 ISSUE 170 | www . modernathlete . co . za