Roodepoort man aims to complete 72 half marathons in 72 days

For many, running one marathon is a big deal, but Morné Basson, 43, is planning to run 72 consecutive half-marathons – in as many days.

When asked why he would be attempting to tackle this big (and maybe crazy) task, he answered, “Yes, Ido realise that people think I am crazy and am doing this for personal gain, but I’m actually doing it for a very good reason; to create awareness for people who suffer from Motor Neuron Disease (MND).”

He decided to undertake this challenge after losing a family member to this disease many years ago. “I ran quite a few Comrades Marathons, but, in 2015, I was not able to do so after my contract on a cruise ship was extended. So, while I was working on this ship in Alaska, I decided that I wanted to do something to create awareness for MND, and that I would run the marathon on a treadmill, at the same time as they were running in Durban,” said Morné. He shared the video of his ‘race’ on the ship on social media, and his campaign began to take off.

“In 2016, I decided to run 160km on a treadmill at the SA Rugby Museum in Cape Town for the same cause. In 2017, I became the first person in the world to run 31 full marathons in 31 days on a treadmill at various shopping malls in Gauteng. The plan was to do a crazy event in 2018, but my fiancèe passed away on 12 March 2018, and it became a very challenging and difficult year for me.”

Morné believed that he should continue to create awareness for this disease, which still has no cure, and explained, “There are very few companies or individuals doing anything for MND patients, and that is the main reason I will continue to create awareness and put pressure on companies to do more for this crippling disease.”

So, on 15 July, Morné will kick off his Guinness World Record attempt, which will be done at various Planet Fitness branches throughout South Africa. He shed some more light on what his training looks like, “The biggest challenge when taking on something like this, is to train your mind. I do most of my training on a treadmill, but also do a lot of core and own body weight exercise. I am very grateful to Planet Fitness for offered their amazing facilities for my training as well as hosting this event. I also want to thank Talent Africa for giving me the platform I need to promote this campaign.”

He added that he needs some assistance from the community to succeed with this initiative, and said, “The entire challenge is very costly, as I will have to travel twice to each Planet Fitness Club across South Africa and petrol, accommodation and other expenses all add up, and I’m self-employed. Any support would be great.”

Morné said that he believed in living life with no regrets, and always making the best of every day, as tomorrow is not guaranteed. “I always tell people that we cannot help everyone every day, but every day you can do something to help someone. And that is what this initiative is all about. I am also urging the community to support this initiative by taking a video or photo when you are doing something active (like mowing the lawn, hitting a golf ball, cycling, swimming, or any other activity) and posting it on social media, using #goingblue4u. It is not always just about the money – every share and like on social media also contributes to creating awareness.”

He is also a motivational speaker, and he said, “I visit schools on a regular basis to talk about MND. I do not ask money for this, because I want to get this information out to everyone, as people do not always know exactly what it is all about.”

For more information on this initiative and how to help, visit his Facebook page or his Back-a-Buddy page.