KNYSNA NEWS - Just over halfway through his campaign to raise awareness on mental health, Henry Cock broke the world record for the most consecutive half-marathons run by a man.
His goal is to spend 133 consecutive days running one half-marathon (21,1km) every single day. He passed the men's record on the 76th day.
Cock (34) is a businessman from Johannesburg who is setting out to make his mark on the world by raising awareness of the mental health struggles that people face in South Africa.
He also aims to smash the stigma/s that surround mental health conditions, and with his campaign he wants to raise R4-million for the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag).
The start
The campaign started on 8 July in Manguzi, a small town in KwaZulu-Natal, just 20km south of the South Africa/Mozambique border. While the campaign's focus is to raise funds for and awareness of Sadag, it comes with a major by-product - a new world record.
The world record for the most consecutive half-marathons run stands on 101, run by South African Sharon Jessop who set the record on 31 December 2020. But, before he could reach that milestone, Cock first had to cross the record for a man, which was 75*.
World record
Cock's world record run came in the Slow Town of Sedgefield on Tuesday 21 September, day 76 of his campaign. The record run took him around Sedgefield, with a brief run on Cola Beach.
While chuffed to have broken the men's record, this is not why he's taking on the challenge. "To me this journey hasn't been about the record. The record is a nice medium to get people excited," he explained. "I was excited on the day, but that excitement soon faded when I realised I still had two months of running to do! I think when I'm done on day 133 I'll have a bigger feeling of achievement when I can stop and look back at the entire journey!"
Support
Runners and residents of Sedgefield joined him on this run for support, something he's been grateful for along the way.
"I've received overwhelming support from people, I've had about 400 runners join me so far and plenty more are planning to join me."
Cock is also a hockey player and captains the men's Southern Gauteng Country Districts (CDs) team. He has received major support from the hockey fraternity too, with players from Old Oaks Knysna Hockey Club joining Cock for one of his runs in Knysna on Sunday 19 September.
"I love CDs. The districts and people you meet through that tournament will be with you for life, and it has been in places like Knysna and Pennington that these guys and girls have really rallied for me. I was really touched by their show of support. A lot of them hadn't run in ages, but came out nonetheless," Cock said.
Own mental battles
Cock decided to embark on the 133-day, 2 800km long journey after battling his own demons with mental health last year. "I was in a bad space last year - my businesses had suffered because of Covid. I lost the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I had illness-related family issues. It all really took its toll on me," he explained.
"My experience opened my eyes to how prevalent mental health problems are, how few people understand them, and the obstacles people have to face when getting help. Stigma, fear, affordability. They're all very real."
While Cock's journey is still far from over, he has already learned a lot about himself on the road to mental health. "My capacity for resilience, and how strong I can be mentally. It's been incredible," he said.
"I've learned tons about South Africa. South Africans are incredibly resourceful people, friendly, passionate, and very loving of their communities. Each community has its own idiosyncrasies - and I've learned there are so many differences between places, yet each place is so unique and amazing in its own regard."
Henry Cock during one of his Knysna runs. Photo: Blake Linder
What remains
If all goes according to plan, Cock will surpass Sharon Jessop's record when he completes his 102nd consecutive half-marathon on 17 October in Cape Town.
Further up the West Coast, Cock aims to wrap up the journey after 133 half-marathons on 17 November in Alexander Bay, which is a stone's throw away from the Namibia/SA border.
"I'm very excited for the remaining runs - I just hope I can raise more cash toward the goal for Sadag." At the time of writing (Tuesday 28 September) Cock had raised an astounding R749 575 for Sadag which, while a long way off the goal of R4-million, is still a large amount for the organisation. Cock's crowdfunding campaign can be found on BackaBuddy under 'Mentally Aweh'.
* KPH was unable to ascertain the previous holder of the men's record. Cock himself could not find out, even after inquiring at the Guinness Book of World Records.
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