Running 21km and learning to get out of my own way

I want to tell you something I don’t always say out loud: I almost talked myself out of this before it even began.

That voice, the one that whispers “that’s not for you” or “you’re not built for that”; I know it well. And I suspect you do too. It speaks up just before we try something real. Something that might cost us something. This year, I decided to run toward it instead.

Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support the work Kairos Consulting is doing.

I wanted to run 21km for my birthday and raise R21 000 for charity. It felt big. Slightly unreasonable. Exactly the kind of dream that requires faith.

Birthdays have always been a sacred kind of inventory for me; a moment to ask: did I stretch? Did I grow? Did I leave things better than I found them? This year, the answer I felt called toward was a half marathon. Not because running comes naturally to me. Quite the opposite.

When I was in primary school, a teacher signed me up for a 5km race. I barely made it through. Honestly, I did not even finish. I remember the feeling clearly, the exhaustion, the embarrassment, the burning sense of not being enough in front of friends and family and athletes who made it look easy. For a long time, that moment quietly shaped what I believed I was capable of.

I still struggle on runs sometimes. I still sound like a tractor halfway through… just unable to breathe. But I finish. Every single time, I finish. And I think a part of me is running toward that little girl; showing her, finally, that she was never as limited as that one afternoon made her feel.

When God places something on your heart, He also gives you the strength, the people, and the provision to carry it through.

I’ve been having a lot of “God… but Your word says…” conversations lately but I keep going. Because I believe the vision is worth it, not just for me, but for the organisations this run is raising money for.

This is also for every person and every organisation with passion, vision, and purpose, doing meaningful, faithful work in underserved communities; who simply needs support, resources, or someone to believe in them enough to keep going. The people whose sustainability feels uncertain, but whose impact is undeniable.

One of the greatest gifts of this season has been discovering that I am held. I have community. People who pray for me, who show up, who remind me I don’t have to do hard things alone. I don’t take that lightly. And I don’t want to hold it just for myself.

So, here’s my ask and it’s a gentle one:

If you’re in a position to give, even a little: thank you. Your contribution goes directly toward supporting organisations building something real in communities that need it.

If you can’t give financially right now, that’s okay too. Your prayers, your encouragement, and your share of this post matter more than you know. Sometimes the most powerful thing is simply helping the vision find the right eyes.

And if somehow, we reach R42 000? I may have to commit to a marathon in 2027. hehehe

Thank you for being the kind of person who reads something like this to the end. For caring about impact, about community, about the quietly faithful work that rarely makes headlines. Thank you for believing. In this run, in these organisations, and in the idea that ordinary people can do something that matters.

Follow along as I train toward 21km.