There’re so many reasons to run. We run for
pleasure, for adventure, for challenge, for fun, for friendship, for
competition. The sheer joy that running brings is pure in its simplicity, and
it’s very real. Running makes our hearts smile, it makes us happy.
Imagine then the sheer joy of being able to
smile, swallow and chew properly when all your life you’ve not been physically
able to. Imagine looking in the mirror, and for the first time ever not seeing
your face disfigured. Imagine always feeling conspicuous in public with
everyone staring at your face and whispering about how you look, and now the
joy of being able to free of that burden, free to look the world in the eye
without being laughed at and teased.
That intense joy is something most of us
can only imagine, and it’s visible on the face of every child, teenager and
young adult whose lives have been forever changed by Operation Smile. For them
that joy will last a lifetime.
Last week a bunch of mad runners here in
Cape Town took part in the Mad Run – the Table Mountain Challenge route (now
40km long, thanks to the wickedness of race organiser Trevor Ball) run every
day for 7 days, with the final day being race day, which happened to be the
TMC’s 10th anniversary. That meant more than 270km of running around, up and
over Table Mountain, raising funds for Cipla Miles for Smiles, a campaign founded
by adventurer and chef David Grier in support of Operation Smile.
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Jean van Lierop and William van Dugteren |
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Andrew Stuart and David Grier |
The Mad Run was the crazy brainchild of
Hout Bay dentist and trail runner Jean van Lierop, who put the plan to David
some months ago. David, with several world firsts under his belt, including the
full length of the Great Wall of China (4 200km in 98 days), the entire
coast of South Africa (3 300km in 80 days), running across Madagascar
(2 700km in 64 days), running across India (4 008km in 93 days), and across
Cuba (1 500km in 30 days), never being one to turn away a great running
opportunity, took up the challenge and the plan took shape.
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Seated: India Baird, William van Dugteren. Standing, L to R: Brett Wood, David Grier, Andy Stuart, Rob Graham,
Chris Allan, me, Jean van Lierop, Ant Rush (photo credit: Stephen Granger) |
There were many of us – most ran the
whole route every day, and others ran most of the days. The week was as tough
as it was fun, and the best part of all was that the effort raised more than
R100 000 for Miles For Smiles. Real money = real operations = real life
changes for more than 20 kids! While we were running, the operations were
happening – the kilometres run were literally enabling future smiles!
Here’re some facts about the
occurrence of cleft palate:
- Every 3 minutes, a child somewhere in the
world is born with a cleft lip and cleft palate, and are often unable to eat,
speak, socialise or smile.
- One in 10 of children born with a cleft will
die before their 1st birthday.
- One in every 750 babies in Africa is born
with a cleft lip or cleft palate.
- Children with facial deformities who don’t
receive reconstructive surgery often have difficulty breathing, drinking,
eating and speaking. As a result, many suffer from malnutrition, medical and
psychological problems.
- Many children with untreated cleft lips and
cleft palates develop permanent and significant hearing loss.
- In just 45 minutes, one cleft lip surgery can
change a child's life forever.
And here’re some random facts I either learned
or was reminded about during the week…
ü Llandudno Ravine never gets easier, not matter how fit you may be.
ü A thick smeer of peanut butter, cheese and Bovril tastes mighty good
in a sarmie (thanks William van Dugteren).
ü Chocolate steri stumpies FIZZzzzz when vrot. And they taste utterly
disgusting in that state.
ü Tuffer Puffer legs really enjoy a rest day in the middle of TMC x 7
(sorry about that, guys).
ü Apparently balls can have blisters too - ?? (no comment allowed from either David or
Alex).
ü Kasteelspoort has undoubtedly THE best plunge pool on the entire
Table Mountain range.
ü Men will always be boys.
ü Polite boys tailor their jokes when running with girls.
ü It only takes 10km, or a quarter of the way around one TMC, for boys
to no longer tailor their jokes in politeness.
ü The quality of jokes deteriorates in direct correlation with the
number of times around a mountain.
ü The level of laughter at even the lamest joke increases with the
number of times around a mountain.
ü The dubious white mould on a banting chef’s cabanossi salami grows
impressively more furry with each day it lurks in said banting chef’s pack.
ü Dentists are a lot funnier when running then when drilling teeth.
ü Puff adders and Cape cobras believe it’s summer already here in the
Cape – they’re awake from their winter snooze and rearing to go…
Labels: Cipla, David Grier, Mad Run, Miles for Smiles, Operation Smile, Table Mountain Challenge, TMC