A South African inspired by his moms diagnosis, signed up to participate in the top endurance race in the UK to raise funds for Cancer research in SA.
Race to the Stones is not an event that many South Africans are familiar with but it recently became a familiar name amongst the Keel family when the youngest brother, Gareth Keel, decided to enter the 100km ultra-marathon, a race that was voted the best endurance event in the UK in 2016.
He’s not a runner at all… so what would possess someone to do that, you may be asking? Well, his sister, Lauryn Keel, sat down with ‘Good Things Guy’ to tell us all the inspirational story behind the race.
It began back in September 2016 when their Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. As a family they were shattered by the news but Lauryn could never even begin to imagine how her brother felt being so far from home and not being able to physically be by their Mom’s side.
“I think for the first few months he lived in denial in order to cope.”
At the beginning of this year, after returning to the UK from a much-needed family holiday in South Africa, Gareth shifted gear slightly and decided he needed a challenge, something to keep his mind focused on and so towards the end of January he entered the Race to the Stones.
Participants have the option of entering the race over two days, yet Gareth decided – even as a first-timer – to race the 100km ultra marathon non-stop!
“He began training in earnest, started going out much less than usual – lest it interfere with his early morning running and was happy to have found something he could be so dedicated to.”
The cherry on top was that he registered with JustGiving and set up a donation page in order to raise awareness and collect funds for PinkDrive whilst training and by running Race to the Stones.
“After living in the UK for over ten years, his charity of choice was still a South African charity and this was his way of supporting my Mom and her fight against cancer.”
On Saturday, 15 July 2017, at 07:45 (UK time) he set off on his path, while his South African family stayed in constant contact through the day, regularly checking for updates on Facebook and other social media.
In a time of 12h53m, he crossed the finish line with friends cheering him on and a smile on his face.
“I’ve seen people cross the finish line at the Comrades looking worse for wear than what he did and I’m not just saying that because I’m his big sister!”
By the end of the weekend, Gareth had managed to raise an amount of £1600. That is approximately R27 000.00 (dependant on exchange rate) for PinkDrive.
“I cannot recall there ever being a time in our lives when I have been more proud of my brother. In the weeks leading up to the race, his training was thrown off track due to work commitments and there were some people who had concerns that this may affect his performance.”
“Honestly, I didn’t ever have a smidgen of doubt that he would finish.”
The fact that he completed this challenge for such a good cause reminds Lauryn of the famous quote by our late, former president, Nelson Mandela “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.”
“I know that by running this one race and raising this money, my brother has made a huge difference in many people’s lives and that makes him a superhero in my eyes!”
If you’re as inspired by Gareth’s story as we are and would like to add to his donation page, please visits his fundraising page here.