Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 68, March 2015 | Page 31

CHALLENGE Accepted (x12)
Take seven active, motivated women,
throw in 12 half marathons in 12
months run for 12 different charities,
and you have the 12-in-12 Challenge.
Modern Athlete caught up with Stacey
Rehbock, one of the team members, to
chat about giving back by lacing up.
– BY LAUREN VAN DER VYVER

Images: Courtesy Stacey Rehbock

MA: How did the 12-in-12 concept develop, and
what made you choose running half marathons?
STACEY: Personally, after three years of triathlon focus, I
felt the need for a new challenge, and when brainstorming,
it dawned on me to make the entire year a big goal. I
wanted to include a charity element and the idea exploded
from there. The half marathon has the right balance of
toughness, accessibility and fun, and we’re spoilt with so
many choices for quality running races in SA. The half
marathon was also the distance that made me fall in love
with running, and while watching the Two Oceans in 2010,
I decided to run my first half marathon, having never run
5km before!
As a team, we are a diverse bunch: It’s myself, Milly
Rehbock, Kirsten Gerber, Inge Hansen, Sofie Moens, Elze
De Wet and Anna Gilmour. Some of us have completed half
marathons, marathons, half Ironman’s, Argus Cycle Tours,
but there are also some complete newbies to the half.

Home, where we’ve been volunteering for five years and
formed incredible bonds with the children. St Joseph’s
has taught us the importance of time – the greatest gift
you can give is your time, and that is why weekend visits,
soccer days and Christmas parties mean so much. We’re
also planning to get involved with an old age home, an
art project that focuses on bringing colour to sick children,
building houses and more. We’ve set aside August to focus
on a female-specific charity in alignment with Women’s
Day. The objective is to spend time with the chosen charity.
We have a group of very passionate ladies who are excited
to get involved. Along with visits with each charity, we will
feature them on our blog on a monthly basis, with more
information on how to get involved. By shedding light on
these 12 charities, we hope that other people will become
invested beyond the challenge.
MA: How were the 12 races picked?
STACEY: As we live in Cape Town, the races are all based
there with the exception of the Knysna Half Marathon.
It’s a mixed bag of the iconic races such as Two Oceans
and the Gun Run, but also includes others that the team
haven’t done yet, like Milkwood and Jive Slave Route.

My Goal

Ma

MA: What has the response to the project been
like?
STACEY: Really positive! Many people have said that
they have taken the concept to their companies and will
be adopting the philosophy. Our next step is to open a
‘Pledge your 12-in-12’ platform where we will ask people
to officially commit to their challenge. Our hope is that this
becomes a platform for people to spread ideas. The run
challenge is our personal 12-in-12 goal, but people should
see this in the bigger picture. Even something small like
donating R100 to a cause can make a difference.
MA: The project requires you to be properly trained.
Is it also a personal challenge for you?
STACEY: The challenge is a very fulfilling one from a
charity point, but the fulfilment from a personal side is
rewarding. With the stress of general life, doing a challenge
like this forces you to shut all of that away and lace up your
shoes. Keeping focused for a 12-month period is tough,
but that is what makes this challenge one that will see us
become better, happier and fitter by the end of it!
MA: Is this a project that you see growing beyond
2015?
STACEY: Absolutely! It will keep us excited beyond 2015.
The simple premise of one thing each month that
makes a difference is the simplest form of giving
back. Who knows, maybe the challenge next year
will be to do a marathon each month?

MA: Which causes stood out for the team?
STACEY: We thought about dedicating the year
to one charity but we realised that it would be more
fulfilling to help 12 charities and dedicate each
month to a different cause. So for example,
we’ve dedicated February to St Joseph’s ((