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By Adele Wickett
THEY RAN 100 marathons across Africa. In the process,
Reuben Jentink and Erin Van Wiltenburg travelled through Namibia, Zambia
and Tanzania.
On August 18, the Victoria students were able to plunge
into the Indian Ocean, only 126 days after dipping their toes in the
Atlantic. Behind the runners, a support team paved the way for success.
Erin’s sister, Anna van Wiltenburg, served as
nurse – whose roles included general caregiver, nutritionist, water
girl, camp setter-upper, cook, massage-giver and acupuncturist. She rode a
bicycle alongside the runners, medical kit at the ready.
Drew Beiderwieden, Anna’s husband, was official
logistics man for media relations, and camp, water and bicycle support.
Patrick Donker was the relief runner, who occasionally ‘subbed’
if either of the others was unable to make the day’s journey. Patrick
actually ran the width of the continent as well.
 | See how they ran . . . and ran . . . and ran . . .
University of Victoria students Reuben Jentink (right) and Erin Van
Wiltenburg are seen with relief runner Patrick Donker, during a huge trek
across Africa. |
Syd Woodward filmed the experience, as well as helping
with set-up, cooking and cleaning.
Cesar owned the guiding company. He accompanied the
group for the first week, keeping them “in good spirits and away from
lions,” and cooking for them. David Basson, also a Namibian, took the
group safely the rest of the way.
The trip was not without its glitches. As Reuben wrote
early in the journey:
“Heading over to the vehicle we found our guide
Cesar in a heated discussion over his mobile. It seems our luggage has been
lost . . .
“After the assurance of Frankfurt Cargo that our
luggage would arrive safely and shortly after we would, our efforts of the
past two weeks have come to their close. It seems that somewhere in the air
between Jo-burg and Windhoek our luggage mysteriously vanished; one claims
that, ‘yes, indeed the luggage was sent’ while the other claims
it was never received.
“Although we were all greatly anticipating the
hidden treasures of our bags – clean socks, new shoes, a sleeping
bag, energy bars – it seems we’ll have to make do for awhile
longer now, before we decide on the best course to take. The next big town
we hit we’ll have to do some creative revamping. Perhaps candy bars
instead of protein bars.”
The parents of the runners joined in for parts of the
journey. “It was overwhelming, heart-wrenching to see what it took
out of them,” says Erin’s mother, Wilma Van Wiltenburg.
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“I found it easier to run with them than to
watch, so I did 10 kilometres in the early mornings. The heat was
incredible.”
Readings from The Lord of
the Rings enlivened the evening campfires with
the tale of a journey which seemed to parallel the African experience.
Thus, one of the blogs is titled Lothlorien:
“We battled the trucks and potholes for the last
two days and arrived in Kalomo as a very dusty team! The hard Zambian
roads, the hilly terrain alongside the traffic-weaving has left our legs
extra sore this week. But we’ve hardly noticed.
“We’ve been welcomed by the extremely
hospitable Calder family, who run an orphan program here in conjunction
with the very committed Steve and Joan Mann (also from Victoria). Here we
are able to refuel mentally, relax – as well as enjoy the company of
24 little tots who also reside in the house!
“The luxuries of this spot at first seemed
overwhelming. The thought of being inside has become foreign to us campers,
thus couches, beds and a bath seem outrageously lavish! We did the math a
couple days ago and figured we actually haven’t sat on a couch since
we left home! And even being able to walk around with socked feet has
seemed extraordinarily blissful.”
Motivated not only by the challenge and the adventure,
the runners are raising donations for three important projects in southern
Africa:
Room to Read supports
libraries, schools, and education for girls in Zambia.
Engineers Without Borders,
also in Zambia, provides practical education in engineering. (Could this be
prompted by a close encounter with those African roads?)
Africa Medical Research Foundation is concerned to get basic medical education to women living
in poor conditions in Tanzania.
It’s not too late to donate, and gifts are
welcomed through the website – which features blogs, pictures and
videos:
seethemrun.wordpress.com
October 2008
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