Paul Ingpen introduced Facebook users to Marc Kourie and Rory Whitecross’s inspiring friendship, their story is a heartwarming one.
Paul Ingpen met Marc Kourie while trailing through forests on their mountain bikes. The pair struck up a friendship and chatted along the way. It was during these conversations that Paul learned what a great guy Marc really is. You see, Marc does loads of adventure type sports, sometimes on his own and sometimes with his friend Rory Whitecross…
In a Facebook post, Paul, a Tri-Mag editor, shared the story of how he and Marc met and the wonderful thing Marc was doing at the IRONMAN 70.3 in Durban.
“It’s not every day that you meet a total stranger who makes you smile & laugh for hours. Especially when you’ve been pedalling mountains for 3 days and feeling it. But Marc Kourie is an infectiously upbeat guy.”
“Our laughs and yelps of stoke probably drove other riders nuts as we noisily traversed the echoing forests and valleys of sani2c together. It was his first time so I played tour guide. There’s nothing like witnessing people who suck the marrow out of every day, appreciating the magnificence of life.”
“While sharing our obsession with active life outside Mark happened to mention that he was also doing Durban Ironman70.3 in a couple of weeks. When we inevitably drew swords regarding goal times, Marc humbly suggested that he only intended to finish. When I chastised him for playing dead (an old triathlete mind game) he mentioned for the first time that he would be carrying a 72kg package around the course – say ‘whaaat!!?”
That 72kg package happened to be Rory. Rory was born with Cerebal Palsey and despite his handicap, has a taste for adventure! The pair met one day while Marc was visiting his uncle. It was during this meeting that Marc learned how much Rory loved to do sports and sporting challenges.
“Marc, whose uncle was paralyzed in an accident, met cerebrally handicapped Rory Whitecross on his frequent visits to the home. Rory has been a fighter since he was 6 when he declared to his mom that he wanted to water ski, despite not being able to walk.”
“Fast forward years of pushing boundaries, new besties Marc and Rory joined forces to finish the 94.7, Cycle Challenge. When Mark then dangled the IRONMAN 70.3 idea after being inspired by the Hoyt story, Rory jumped at the opportunity exclaiming “I will do the Batman with you Marc, I can’t let you do all that alone!!”
And so, Team Batman was formed. They trained together and worked hard to complete their first Ironman but were unsuccessful and didn’t make the cutoff. Refusing to give up, the pair set the same goal for this year. This time, however, they planned to do it for charity.
The IRONMAN 4 the kids charity which was founded in 2005 by ex-Springbok Garth Wright and Gary Stephenson. The pair wanted to do the challenge for children in Eastern Cape. In 2005, the pair raised just over R11,000.00 and every year since that, they have done phenomenally well. In 2018, their goal is to raise R2.2 million! They distribute the money to various children-based charities every year.
Team Batman took part in their second attempt at the IRONMAN and was successful. Marc towed Rory in a dinghy boat behind him as he swam for 2kms, then rode 90km on a tandem bike and finally ran pushing him 21km in a wheelchair.
Their results were posted on the IRONMAN 70.3 website. They finished the race with an overall time of 07:35:21.
People have been incredibly proud of their accomplishment and have praised them both for inspiring so many individuals. The team Batman friendship is incredibly heartwarming.
“We need more positive people like Marc. Empathy and compassion for fellow humans is rare, yet massively bonding and rewarding. We can learn a lot about building our country by embracing our differences and lifting those less privileged or naturally talented.” – Paul Ingpen
Marc shared his thanks for all the support and mentioned how it was thanks to people cheering him on from the sidelines, that they managed to beat the cutoff this year.
“Now into you incredible people for following two strangers and being the greatest supporters, we cannot thank you enough! Quick story…while on the bike suffering there were 2 ladies cheering and screaming for Team Batman (no idea who they were) but it sure gave me an extra boost to get to the bike finish with 2 minutes to spare. Now that’s how Important you ALL are.” – Marc Kourie
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