ara adventure

2013 is the year of my adventure: LIVE LOVE RUN 7x7 - a marathon on each continent.

I will be undertaking this challenge to drive positive change in South Africa by encouraging and inspiring individuals to live their dreams and passions, to push their boundaries and to take up a challenge and change a life. My vision is to see South Africa RESTORED by having each and every South African living their passion and purpose and reaching their full potential. I wholeheartedly believe that if all 51 million of us make our unique contribution to our country we will make a significant impact & RESTORE SA…1 piece at a time.

Sadly, according to statistics from the Gallup surveys 80% of the global population are not living their passion. Until recently I was one of those 80%; living my life, working my job but not doing the thing that I loved and made me spark. After much reflection and soul searching I came to the realisation that change was needed. It was time for me to stop living the life the world expects us to; one of accumulating more and more for ourselves and to rather start living a truly fulfilling and meaningful life; to become a world

changer, not just a worldly consumer. I had to face the fears that had kept me captive in my comfort zone and take a leap of faith. It was at this time that I challenged myself to come up with a big, hairy, audacious goal, which is seemingly impossible to the ordinary, every day person.



As Sir Richard Branson said, “Dream big by setting yourself seemingly impossible challenges. You will then have to catch up with them”. When passion and purpose drive ordinary human beings, the ordinary becomes extraordinary and the impossible becomes possible!



So in May 2011 I decided to take up the challenge of running the gruelling 89km Comrades Marathon in 2012 to raise finds for LIV village. At the time the longest race I had run was a half marathon, 21km, so this was a daunting undertaking for me which many doubted I would achieve. It took much discipline, dedication, perseverance and persistence, but knowing I was doing it for an incredible cause, which would impact lives forever, made every step possible!

I am so passionate about seeing lives changed that the motivation to keep going never subsided. With passion and purpose, ordinary me achieved the extraordinary Comrades Marathon, with the support and generosity of family and friends we contributed R35 000 to change the lives of widows and orphans of LIV. It was an incredible journey and was just the beginning of many more adventures to come. Living this simple but significant life is so fulfilling that there is no going back.





My 2013 challenge is “Live Love Run 7x7"



• LIVE life to the fullest by embracing my passion and purpose,

• LOVE for others by encouraging them to live a more fulfilling, authentic life and raising funds to enable others’ dreams to come true

• RUN 7x7, run a marathon on each continent in one year

Making my unique contribution to seeing South Africa RESTORED!


My 2013 itinerary is as follows:

1. ANTARCTICA 7th March 2013: Antarctica Marathon
   
   
   
2. EUROPE 14th April 2013: Vienna Marathon
   
   
   
3. ASIA 18th may 2013: Great Wall of China Marathon
   
   
   
4. AFRICA 14th July 2013: Victoria Falls Marathon
   
   
   
5. SOUTH AMERICA 15th August 2013: Inca Trail Marathon
   
   
   
6. AUSTRALIA 22nd September 2013: Sydney Marathon
   
   
   
7. NORTH AMERICA 3rd November 2013: New York Marathon
   
   
   To make this dream a reality, I have given 100% of my focus to planning, funding, training and keeping myself fit. I would not have been able to achieve a seemingly impossible dream without having made some drastic adjustments to my life. Therefore, I have simplified my lifestyle, packed up a successful corporate career and stepped into the unknown to make a significant contribution and to pursue my dream to see SA RESTORED. I am now 100% dedicated to starting an NPO, “RESTORE SA”. RESTORE SA’s purpose is to inspire South Africans to live their purpose and passion and stretch their boundaries to reach their full potential by taking up a challenge to change a life. I plan to document the whole journey and use the material to share the experience and life lessons at schools, churches, corporates and events to inspire people to live a more fulfilling life. Please visit my blog and Facebook page which I update regularly with my photos (see above for details).
   
   
   
   If you are interested in sponsoring this LIVE LOVE RUN 7x7 journey or partering with RESTORE SA, please contact me through Facebook or my Blog.
   
   
   
   Let’s come together and all do our part to see SA RESTORED! Together we can!
   
   
   
8. FUNDRAISING
   
   I will be raising funds and awareness for two charities in which I wholeheartedly believe, LIV Village (www.liv-village.com) & Vision 153 (www.vision153.co.za). Both of these charities have exceptional sustainable models which I believe will significantly impact our country and change the face of our nation!
   
   
   
   LIV's Vision is: To rescue a child, restore a life, raise a leader and release a star.
   
   

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   LIV exists to raise the next generation of leaders in our nation. They place vulnerable, parentless children into a family environment where they receive unconditional love, spiritual discipleship, care and nurturing, and all their physical needs are met. The village is run and managed with absolute excellence and has had buy-in from the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) government who have embraced the model as they see the benefit to the country. The LIV vision is to see thousands of these villages around SA which will hugely impact our country by decreasing the number of orphans on the streets, increasing job creation, decreasing crime, increasing education levels and see the next generation of leaders emerge from these villages! When you are next in the Durban area, I would love to show you around the village. Its truly a special place with remarkable change happening in the lives of the children and mothers on a daily basis.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Vision 153’s vision is to “Make a difference, fight poverty and change a life”.
   
   
   Vision 153 is a North Coast, KZN initiative. I live in Ballito and therefore have chosen to partner with this charity as I would like to support my local community. Vision 153 is still in its infancy, but is feeding and clothing widows and orphans of the North Coast on a daily basis with the vision to start a village on the North Coast using the same principles as LIV village. I will be the first woman on the African continent to achieve this challenge of 7x7 in one year! There are two other women from the African continent who have achieved a marathon on each continent but over a four year period.

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