Another on the long list of reasons I love running. It can help lift some people out of poverty and affect everyone they know. Click the link above to watch this Salomon TV video on Youtube to learn more about the inspiring story of Thabang Elias Madiba of Ga-Rankuwa and how taking up running at a young age improved his life.
At age 35, Madiba currently lives in Pretoria, works at a running store called The Natural Runner and lives with his partner and their son. He has been sponsored by Salomon since 2013 and is pursuing some big goals on difficult courses. He recently won the Heritage Trail 55km trail race on the island of Mauritius, a UTMB qualifying race, finishing the difficult mountain course with 3200 meters elevation gain in a time of 5:58. Upcoming races include the 4 Peaks Mountain Challenge this weekend which Madiba won last year , Cappadocia Ultra trail 38km in Turkey in October, and Ultra Cape Town 65km in December.
The 4 Peaks is arguably the toughest 24km in South Africa with a vertical accent of over 1800m.
This is a self-supported and self-navigational race and as the route is circular it makes it a good entry level event for those that are looking for something more challenging than running on the trail. The 24 Km should not fool you into a false sense of security as this is Extreme Mountain running and is the equivalent to an ultra-marathon. https://4peaks.co.za/4-peaks
Achievements
2013: South African Long Distance Trail Running Champion
2013: 22nd in 10th World Long Distance Mountain Running Challenge (Poland)
2014: South African Long Distance Trail Running Champion
2014: 2nd Otter African Trail Race
2015: Two Oceans Marathon Trail Race Champion
Skyrun African Champ 2nd
2016: Racing Madagascar Champion
2017: Dodo Trail 50km 3rd
Heritage Southern Peaks 40km 2nd
Run The Burg 50km Multi Day Champion
2018: 4Peaks 24km Mountain Race Champion
4Peaks 24km Mountain Race and Classic Route Record
2019: South African 40km Trail Running Champs 3rd
Nissan 40km trail seeker leg1 Winner
Nissan 40km trail seeker leg2 Winner
Blue Skies and Green Pastures 
Sheesh; that’s fast!
Golly!