So, I start with why Ironman. I had always been a pretty active person. From school, there was rugby, volleyball, kung fu, even running. Running started with... like all young boys, a crush. Trying to impress the neighbours daughter, I started entering fun runs because it's what she was doing. Being someone to learn from life's lessons, even when nothing materialised from the young girl, I learned something valuable about myself... I had stamina. I would play a couple games of rugby, followed immediately by some basketball then volleyball, and still have energy to go partying afterwards.After college, I discovered my first true passion. Kung fu. Until now, I had never really enjoyed the pain of sport. Until now, I had never pushed through that pain to get the results. Once I did, everything just fell into place. To be entirely honest, I had never really stood out from anyone else in sport. I always did just enough to make the team. In kung fu, I was getting noticed. I was good. I was more than good, I was exceptional.Not to blow my own horn or anything, but it just came naturally to me. I was strong, fast, and above all... I had stamina. When everyone else was at the point of breaking, I was getting warmed up.
Having been through that transformation to kung fu, I naturally started looking for other ways to he origins, my first blog. After trying my hilarious first triathlon, I was hooked. In it for the long haul. I could never look back after the phenomenal experience of my first Ironman.challenge myself. I tried snowboarding, Scuba diving, cycling, anything I could think of. Every one that I tried, as amazing as they were, just did not push me as I had hoped. It never tested my limits, and i was craving that challenge. Which is why the idea of doing an Ironman was so appealing to me when Zaids mentioned it. You can read about that in t
I started doing research on Ironman, and I found something interesting. Ironman for the kids. Ironman donated money to different foundations. This made sense to me. You doing the race, why not do it for a cause? Until I discovered the costs. I could barely afford normal entrance fees, let alone 4 time the amount. I tried raising funds and getting sponsorship, not very successfully. I even started acrowdfunding campaign that, as you can see, was also not very successful.
Time to try another route. Looking at the different causes, left me with a very difficult choice. Which one to support? The answer was children. For so many reasons, children. Want to do something about crime? Teach the next generation a better way. Want to find a cure for a disease? Educate a child who could possibly be the future genius to discover the cure. Animals? Future vets. No matter which way I thought about it, children was my answer. The thing is, future generations dictate the quality of the human race in time to come, and judging by the examples set by current leadership, the human race is in serious trouble. The way the state of the world is, Quality leadership is seriously lacking.
Showing the younger generations that with hard work, anything is possible. Teaching them that dreams are only the beginnings to endless possibilities was the only way I could think of to make a change. Leading by example was the only way I could make any kind of difference. So, of course, I started looking up orphanages. I first tried a few religious ones, but they seemed more interested in personal gain, or weren't interested in providing me with relevant documentation. After a few weeks, I eventually stumbled on Kids Haven.
They replied almost instantly. Provided me with relevant documents without me even asking for them. They were friendly and sincere, more than willing to help in any way. Overall, I was impressed with them from the get go. It turned out, Kids Haven was a rehabilitation centre for abused and abandoned kids, and that got me thinking... consider this... Everyone in life has a hard time getting by. Paying the bills, putting food on the table, electricity, clothing, the list just never ends. Now imagine having these same problems, with no way of settling them, with the added fear of being beaten... physically, emotionally, mentally...the worst kind of abuse you could imagine. When having to live with that kind of torture, the last thing you should be concerned with is mundane expenses. As far as I'm concerned, a child's only concern should be playing, learning, ice cream, basically sugar and spice and all things nice.
So I get everything started with Kids Haven, making sure they are aware of my intentions, and get
everything going official when I check my records and realise something... I had been providing them with old clothing, niknaks and everything else we generally donate to charities all along. I had been helping them, without even realising it... this was a sign. Sealed the deal for me, etched it in stone. I was going to help them in any way I could. So i started tri'ing for Kids Haven and haven't looked back since. Without a doubt, it has been the single most spiritually, emotionally and physically rewarding experience of my life.
I, for the life of me, cannot figure out why more people don't do it. Don't get me wrong, I am not expecting everyone to go out and start doing Ironman, but I am suggesting you find something to be passionate about. Find something you really enjoy. Something that will leave you with a ridiculous smile on your face at the end of the day. If that something can be good for your overall health, even better. It helps getting some exercise, endorphin release and all that, but it helps more if you can do all that while making a difference in the world.
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