The Great Wall
Date: December 2006...The Challenge: Run the length of the Great Wall of China non-stop...
The Result: Mission Accomplished
In October 2006, extreme athlete David and life long friend Braam accepted the first Cipla Miles for Smiles Foundation challenge: to run the length of the Great Wall of China in one attempt.
It had never been done before and was deemed humanly impossible, yet three months later the two had achieved their seemingly unattainable goal having run, climbed and in cases, crawled their way across treacherous and weather-battered terrain and into the record books by becoming the first people in recorded history to run the length of the Sleeping Dragon as the wall is often called.
4200 km in 98 Days
'Miles for Smiles'
Unlike other extreme athletes, they didn't do it 'just because it was there' as is often the case.Their mission was to raise enough money for international non-profit organization Operation Smile to perform 55 reconstructive facial surgeries on underprivileged South African children.
While the Cipla Miles for Smiles Great Wall Challenge raised R550 000, the run also saw the achievement of a world first and earned 'Out There Adventurers of the Year 2006' award, however it was the subsequent smiles of the 55 children who recieved much needed surgery that was the greatest reward for everyone involved in this incredible challenge.
