Mike Sewell was four days into his 1800km run to raise R1 million for CHOC when a car pulled him from the running in a freak accident; thankfully, Mike is recovering well and refusing to give up on his goal of raising funds for the charity.
South Africa (22 August 2022) – Mike Sewell set a goal to run 1800km from Cape Town to the start of the Comrades in the hopes of raising R1 million for the CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation.
He was planning on running with The Cows, and the journey would take around 20 days to complete. The Cows were started in 2008 by a group of eight enthusiastic cyclists keen to make a difference and raise funds for the CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation of South Africa. Since then, many athletes have joined the Cows in the hopes of raising funds for CHOC.
Mike’s journey would have been the equivalent of twenty back-to-back Comrades Marathons. This was not his first attempt at this challenge. He and five others tried in 2018 but were unsuccessful. Mike, however, did manage to get the furthest in the challenge, completing 1,100km in 20 days. He had spent the last four years preparing for what they call “The Long Road to Comrades”.
Sadly, his dream was dashed once again, this time a mere four days into the challenge. Speaking to Mike about what happened, he was upbeat and hopeful despite having to miss out on the milestone run yet again.
Four days into the challenge, just before dark, Mike and his support team were completing the final kilometres of the day. The sun had just started to go down, so the team were heading to a spot of safety to put on their visibility gear for the final stretch. In a moment that can only be described as a freak accident, a car overtook a truck on the road, and the driver’s wing mirror clipped Mike’s arm.
It broke and swung around into his view before he could register what had happened. Mike shared that as soon as he saw his arm, he realised, and then the pain set in. Thankfully, the responsible driver stopped immediately and helped call for medical assistance. He was taken to a nearby hospital, and it was confirmed that his humerus bone had been broken. Thankfully, the break was a clean one and would be easier to mend. The doctor explained that Mike would need to give up the run entirely and that his priority would need to be healing.
Mike is committed to continuing his fundraising efforts. While he is unable to run, he and his girlfriend had planned to stop at the various CHOC houses along the route to meet the children and staff the R1 million would be supporting. Now, they are travelling to each one via car. Mike is sharing the trip on his social media to keep encouraging people to support his cause.
Mike is challenging each Comrades runner to donate R1 for the kilometres they run (a total of R90 per runner). It would really help him reach his goal. So far, Mike has raised R209,120.00 towards his R1 million goal.
Lastly, while he isn’t allowed to run the Comrades, he will be at the event to support the other runners as well as assist at the CHOC stand, where there will be raffles for incredible prizes. You can head over to the stand to meet Mike and the CHOC team.
Anyone keen to support Sewell can make a contribution via his fundraising account here. More information about The Cows can be found at www.thecows.co.za
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