Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 50, September 2013 | Page 15

Changing Lives

As founder of the challenge, and the heart behind the red socks of the ‘I Wear Red Socks on Fridays’ initiative, John says he is totally blown away by the impact the Challenge is having. “I recently read an awesome article by Stephen Granger in the Cape Times and the headline was ‘Spirit of red socks can help change the face of sport.’ I was covered in goosebumps, because that is a really powerful statement to make. I was like, ‘Really?’ I mean, lots of people must be thinking, jeepers, how does the spirit of red socks change the face of sport, let alone the world? However, the simple answer is that it can! I really believe that.” John tells that the 12 participants – A-J Spieringshoek, Bev Davey, Grant Matkovich, Miranda Symons, Andrew King, David Williamson, Joff Gouveris, Michelle van Zyl, Richard Clark, Thamar Clark and Tiago Dionisio – and their 11 support crew members met for the first time as a group less than 24 hours before embarking on the journey, but pulled together under intense physical and emotional pressure, including helping each other through the gruelling Comrades run, especially when Irishman David hit the wall before the midway point of Comrades and was nursed the rest of the way by his fellow Unogwajas. “I will never forget for as long as I live the feeling of togetherness and teambefore-self during Comrades, and how it felt to cross the line with some of my teammates, and seeing that our other teammates before us crossed the line arm-in-arm as well,” says a visibly emotional John. “Also, seeing a little boy outside Lady Frere in the middle of rural Eastern Cape run to the road shouting “Unogwaja!” as the red love train was moving through the country, and hugging our way across the country on our bikes, will always remain with me.”

Running Comrades fueled by Unogwaja spirit.

Sign up for Unogwaja 2014
Applications for the 2014 Unogwaja Challenge opened on 16 August and will close on 13 September, so any runner-riders interested in an incredible opportunity of a lifetime need to get their applications in soon. Last year over 50 applications came in for the 11 positions up for grabs! Applicants for 2014 will undergo a Skype interview with the selection committee between 27 September and 11 October, with the team due to be announced on 18 October, along with six ‘active’ reserves.

The formal entry requirements include:
• • • • Comrades qualification and entry. A R1 000 donation to Comrades Amabeadibeadi Charities with application. Successful applicants will pay a R10 000 entry fee, as per 2013. (This covers full team kit provided, as well as food, drink and accommodation for the entire journey.) A commitment in writing to raising a minimum of R40 000 towards the Unogwaja charity drive.

The Unogwajas caused a ‘flap’ wherever they went.

To read more and to submit your application, go to www.unogwajachallenge.com.
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The Challenge was born in 2011 when John heard the story of Comrades legend Phil Masterton-Smith, who won the Comrades in 1931 at the age of just 19 – the youngest winner ever – and was known as ‘Unogwaja,’ which is Zulu for the Hare. In 1933 he could not afford the train fare from Cape Town to Pietermaritzbug to run the Comrades, so he so he cycled over 1 700km in order to get to the start C line – and then still finished 10th! Tragically, Phil was killed in action in World War M II, but his legend lives on in the Unogwaja Challenge, which each year sets out Y to emulate his incredible feat. But it’s about much more than just the physical challenge. This year the 12 Unogwajas set themselves the challenge of raising R250 000 between them forMY Amabeadibeadi, the official charity drive of the Comrades Marathon, and in the CY end they raised just over double that, which John largely attributes to headline CMY sponsor Etana Insurance. “Thanks to Etana’s support and innovative initiatives K in 2013, we overshot our R250 000 target for funds raised and doubled our donations this year to just over R500 000, and so in 2014 we’ve doubled our goal to R1 million. And I believe it is very much doable!”
CM

Remembering Phil

Pay It Forward

With the 2013 Challenge now done, John and his Unogwaja support team, which includes his equally energetic and upbeat dad Chris, are planning for 2014, concluding sponsorship deals and recruiting the next team of Unogwajas (see above right). “The Unogwaja Challenge is an opportunity to discover, share and infect other people with this spirit and that’s exactly what this year’s journey was all about. Read the blogs and articles by the people involved and you’ll see their accounts do not speak of the physical demands of an endurance cycle and run, but more about an incredible journey of the heart that has had a deep impact on many people’s lives. And the best thing is you don’t have to cycle across South Africa and then run an ultra to discover this and make it happen! Do it now! Take a step towards it, at least, and see what happens.”

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