A South African is running 2,800km to raise money and “Aweh-ness” for the South African Depression and Anxiety Group… that’s 21km every single day, for 133 days!
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (15 April 2021) – Remember the guy who ran an ultra marathon in a 15m passage during lockdown to raise money for his restaurant staff? Well, he’s at it again! But this time, don’t expect to see Henry Cock running barefoot up and down the passage – this run is taking place in the great outdoors.
Henry is running all the way from the East Coast of Kozi Bay, South Africa to the West Coast of Vioolsdrift, Namibia.
Yes – that’s 2,800km in total from Kosi Bay, South Africa to Vioolsdrift, Namibia. AND he is going to break a Guinness World Record while doing it – for the most consecutive half marathons run in a row. Henry will be running 21km every day for 133 days straight!
Henry has been training roughly 300km per month and includes a cross-training mix of boxing, Grocox and gym. He participates in as many marathons as he can squeeze in while balancing his work life. He has also stopped drinking alcohol (since December) and is following a healthy, balanced diet. An impressive amount of commitment and juggling for a guy who maintains he is a normal, average guy that simply wants to highlight a cause that is close to his heart.
“Inspiration for this run comes from a man called Terry Fox who, in 1980, after losing his leg to bone cancer, ran coast to coast in Canada to raise awareness for cancer research. To date, his legacy has raised over $750 million towards cancer research.
The pandemic has certainly shone a light on the importance of mental health and how it can affect everyone. People have struggled with isolation, fatigue, illness and the death of loved ones. There has been a new wave of mental health concern and diagnosis. There has never been a better time to be #mentallyaweh and to break the stigma attached to suffering from anxiety, depression etc.”
The goal is to raise over R4 million for the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) and Henry has done the maths. He has worked out that if 8000 people were to donate just 10c per km (including the 300km of training he does per month) to the cause this would equate to R4.8million by the end of the year.
Henry will be paying for the record attempt and all the costs associated with the run out of his own pocket so 100% of the donations collected will be going to SADAG.
How can you get involved? Visit Henry’s back-a-buddy page and make a donation by clicking here.
Henry is also looking for people to join him on one of his 133 runs, as the World Record requires someone to run with him at every stage. To learn more about Mentally Aweh, follow Henry’s journey on social media.
“There has never been a better time to become more Mentally Aweh!”
by 