Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 57, April 2014 | Page 15

My Story

Running
Positively
Vuyiseka Dubula and Mark Heywood formed the TAC
(Treatment Action Campaign) Runners for Health group in
2011, to support HIV positive runners and the work being
done by TAC to ensure that people living with HIV have
access to life-saving treatment, which has now helped
to make it possible for 2.1 million people to be receiving
the much-needed drugs. One of the running group’s most
special moments came in the wet, windy 2012 Old Mutual
Two Oceans Marathon.

the uphills it was rather tough to get enough breath to sing it properly. When we got to
Constantia Nek we were all pretty exhausted and the singing didn’t hold up as well, but
when we got to 5km before the finish, we raised our voices and the energy carried us to the
end. It was an unforgettable day and race. I look forward to this year’s Two Oceans.
M: I have been running for 20 years and done 101 marathons, and this is definitely
something that has changed the dynamic of my running. I would possibly have stopped
running if it wasn’t for this exciting group that we started. Running to me means peace. I
find that there is a dignity and equality in running and the more people we can get to join
us, the more lives we can change.
V: The health benefits of running have been amazing. Running makes my mind healthy,
and therefore my body follows the lead. I have found that the running has given me selfconfidence, and a sense of happiness and achievement after completing a race. The feeling
you get when crossing the finish line is so extraordinary! When I am running I think of
nothing – with every kilometre I let go of my burdens. Running has taught me and fellow
TAC members about life, that when you’re running, you have an end goal in sight, and that’s
how you should think about life, too. It also gives us something else to talk and think about
than the disease.

The
unforgettable
finish at
the wet and
windy 2012
Two Oceans.

Our TAC Runners group doesn’t only consist of HIV positive runners. The ‘positive’ in HIV
also stands for someone doing something positive for people living with HIV. There is no
official membership – if you believe in being active, then you are a member of TAC! And it’s
not about how fast you run, but the fact that you are going to finish. We believe there is no
excuse for HIV positive people not to get out on the roads, because we have fought to get
the ARVs and we now have the same life-expectancy as HIV negative people.

Check out the TAC website at www.tac.org.za, and you’ll find the TAC Runners
at www.facebook.com/groups/runnersandwalkersforhealth.
Mark: In 1994 I was recruited by Zackie Achmat, who was living with HIV at the time,
to work for the AIDS Law Project. This is how the journey of TAC began and how I got to
meet Vuyiseka. She was the big inspiration behind TAC.

M: We ar