Morningside resident explores to raise awareness for needed causes
Local endurance explorer Gavin Sinclair recently took on the Heel2Heel Challenge, trekking 1 000kms for 30 days along the coastline to encourage the community to prioritise their health and wellbeing.
Did you know that 60% of the country’s population is diagnosed with a chronic disease?
To encourage more people to prioritise their health and take active steps towards improving their well-being, local adventurer Gavin Sinclair took on the Heel2Heal Challenge in partnership with the Syntro-P Wellbeing lifestyle programme.
As part of the challenge, the Morningside resident pushed boundaries by running 1 000km over 30 days along the coastline from Gqeberha to Cape Town to raise awareness for chronic illnesses.
According to Sinclair, even though the plan was to complete the race in 30 days, the end goal was surviving the 1 000km run, similar to how someone living with a chronic disease would approach their challenge in 1mm shifts.
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“That’s a 365mm turnaround in a year and when you do that as an individual, you inspire others to make their own 1mm shifts. The Syntro-P Wellbeing programme promotes quality health and well-being through holistic, integrated and connected technological means.”
The challenge was part of Sinclair’s mission to reinvent himself and focus on a deeper purpose to inspire, motivate and make a difference in humanity. He started these adventurers in 2017 with a solo mountain bike and cycle from Cape Town to Cairo.
“As a kid growing up, I struggled with dyslexia, attention deficit disorder and chronic fatigue [in later years]. The one place I truly felt alive, focused, and in control was when I was pushing myself physically and mentally in endurance and competitive sports.”
He added if he could overcome these challenges and become part of a cause greater than himself, it was important to share this with others so that they too could pay it forward.
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“Hopefully, we one day can all live in a kinder, gentler and more ‘humane’ world.”
Sinclair said one of the significant highlights in all his endurance adventures was the people, locals and travellers alike.
“It’s because of those connections, whether brief or still active, that I remember moments more fondly with detail.
“Beyond mental memories, travel photos are better with the human element. It gives it character and a story. After all, all we have in the end is our memory.”
Next Sinclair has his sights set on either summiting K2, trekking to the South Pole or rowing across the ocean solo and unsupported. He looks forward to forging new partnerships and sponsors to make this possible.
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