They were part of a crowd of thousands of participants, but to a young East London boy a group of seven Round Tablers are heroes without capes.
The seven men left a mark on the youth’s life when they completed the Ironman 70.3 challenge on Sunday.
The group of novice and experienced athletes came together last year to raise funds for 10-year-old Ubuko Mpotulo’s ongoing medical costs through a campaign launched on donations-based, crowd-funding platform BackaBuddy.
The seven Round Tablers are Jethro Penny, Toby Nzuza, Daryan Rowe, Warren Bigara, Ruan Jordaan, Bazil Frewen and Ryan Baisley, who raised R28,000. The money will cover the youngster’s medical needs through his prosthetics specialist, Marissa Nel.
The Mdantsane-born child was diagnosed with meningococcal septicaemia – a sudden infection of the bloodstream and inflammation of blood vessels – when he was three years old. As a result, he had to have both his legs and some of his fingers amputated as the lining of his blood vessels became damaged.
The obstruction to his narrow arteries eventually cut off his blood supply completely.
On Tuesday, Baisley said the triathlon challenge had been “wildly exhilarating and absolutely horrible”.
He said four of the seven participants took up the challenge for the first time.
The 1.9km swim was reduced to 1km due to strong winds, followed by a 90km cycle before finishing off with a 21km run.
“I’m not sure if there is a word that can mesh [the two] together. If there is such a word, it wouldn’t do it justice. I don’t think any of us expected it to hurt quite so badly.
“From the swim in the ocean in the roughest conditions we’ve ever experienced, to a headwind on the cycle course that forced us to pedal downhill. With the sun coming out as we hit the 21km run, it made for a really tough day,” he said.
Baisley said completing the race was a twofold achievement as the race was far out of their normal realm of projects.
“As Round Tablers, we commit to trying to assist in our community where we can. This was out of our comfort zone. But I think that is what makes it so special.
“The fact that we made a dent in Ubuko’s needs means we achieved something. We might not be able to fix the world, but we can try to fix his world.”
He said meeting Ubuko for the first time made the weekend extra special for them all.
“It was certainly a life-changing moment for all of us. Once the nerves had cleared from both sides, it was clear that Ubuko had made an impression on the team. A highlight of the day was sitting in the finish zone eating some lunch when Ubuko saw [amputee] Xolani Luvuno run past on his crutches to finish his first Ironman.
“If ever a seed was planted in this young man’s heart, this was the moment.”..