Hello Everyone Welcome to my story and hope you will find it interesting and motivational to donate to a greater cause.Since I have decided to run for a charity during my 2021 Comrades Virtual Half Marathon.I will tell you how I started running. Growing up, I had stories that my mother was an exceptional 100m sprinter and she used to collect medals during inter school competitions.When I started attending school, athletics was big in my primary and High school. I drew inspiration from the stories my mother used to tell me.I realised I was not a fast sprinter but had endurance to finish 400meters at a good pace.400m became my race of choice and I competed individually as well being part of the relay team.I also ran 800m and 1500m during inter school competitions but they were not regarded as cool .Around the age of 14 , I attempted the my 1st 15kms and surprisingly won the race in my age group.Once in Varsity/College was demanding that I totally forgot about running and exercising.I never ran until I started feeling heavy to carry my self.Around 2008, I was weighing around 90kg. I started running socially and would compete in the social races around Gauteng and the buzz around Comrades Marathon was huge.I then became an avid follower of the Comrades Marathon, I would wonder why people would run the whole day and not win anything. I found that to be craziest thing one can ever do.Talk about crazy, after watching the Comrades Marathon in 2016, I decided to enter for the 2017 Comrades. I ran my 1st Comrades 2017 Up Run from Durban to Pietermaritzburg, what an experience it was. I struggled from Drummond all the way to PMB. I managed to complete the race in 10:55Hrs. The running bug had hit hard ,and now I was one of the crazy ones. It was definite that I would go for the back to back medal ,which meant I would then run the 2018 Down Run from PMB to Durban. 2018 was a great year for my running.I ran sub 5 Two Oceans (https://www.twooceansmarathon.org.za) to achieve a SAINSBURY Medal. I would urge anyone who read this to attempt at least running Two Oceans Ultra, it is the world most beautiful race.With a great Two Oceans result, a Comrades BR was guaranteed.However it was not to be, I made some blunders and missed Comrades Billy Rowan medal (https://www.comrades.com ) by 4 seconds. This left a big hole in my heart ,I was disappointed in my self, how could I be so close yet so far away. I questioned why I was running, what was the reason I was on the road for so long but still left the race feeling this empty, it is from these thoughts that the idea of running for charity was born.There had to be a purpose why I should run this longer purpose beyond my personal glory. Now that 2018 was done and dusted,I started training for 2019 Comrades but I had this recurring pain in my hip.I went through for an operation to try and resolve the issue.I was out of running for a couple months and still trying to recover fully.The recovery period has been slow and painful. It was during this period, that the idea of running for charity was cemented ,if I can run for 8 - 11 hrs , just for personal glory/fun and the smallest medal, why don’t I use that time to send a positive message and also raise funds for the needy. I have realised and experienced how powerful running is, how it has affected my family, friends and colleagues. Since 2021 is going to be a virtual run, I will be running for a charity called Community Chest.(www.communityrunners.co.za).I hope my run will help raise funds that will be used for a better cause. The run is meant to make the the Community, South Africa,Africa and the world a better place to live. So please help and support my run for Charity by donating any amount that you can afford and that will be greatly appreciated.. Let me leave you with a few running motivational quotes “Runners don’t do drugs, they make their own … naturally.” E. Neil Culbertson “Running is like breathing, I don’t think about it , It just happens.The decision is already programmed in my sub conscious mind” DN13477 “Running to me is a prayer, it is a spiritual dance with those who have gone before me, its a Mantra, it is a meditation, it’s poetry , it is a way of life,When you see me running,Im not running away from anything,I am creating art, painting pictures with feet.” DN13477 “Running has given me the courage to start, the determination to keep trying, and the childlike spirit to have fun along the way. Run often and run long, but never outrun your joy of running.” Julie Isphording “There are clubs you can’t belong to, neighbours you can’t live in, schools you can’t get into, but the roads are always open.”NIKE “The reason we race isn’t so much to beat each other,… but to be with each other.” Christopher McDougall “You ran to eat and to avoid being eaten; you ran to find a mate and impress her, and with her you ran off to start a new life together. You had to love running, or you wouldn’t live to love anything else…We were born to run; we were born because we run”  Christopher McDougall “If you want to run, then run a mile.  If you want to experience another life, run a marathon.”  Emil Zatopek