Turning into Cows in the run to raise funds for cancer
SHELLY Beach runner Deborah Berridge, 48, has set her sights on raising R10 000 for the Choc Childhood Cancer Foundation and will run this year’s Comrades Marathon in the colours of The Cows.
The Cows are a group of people on a mission to make a difference to children with cancer and their families, “one paddock at a time”.
Armed with the slogan “Love Living Life”, they run or swim, cycle, canoe, or climb or do whatever tickles their fancy to raise money for Choc.
Joining a field of Cows in this years Comrades, the fleetfooted Berridge has an impressive track record.
From 2011 to 2017 she ran for Pink Drive – which deals with breast cancer education and awareness.
Her passion for running began at school, when she attended Arthur Matthews Primary, Maraisburg, and Florida Park High.
“I ran 800m and 1 600m, from Standard 3 to Standard 8. The best position I got was in Standard 8, when I was third in both races out of all the English high schools on the West Rand.”
She said that while The Cows outfit might look “cool”, it could be stifling to run in.
“I tried it out on a fun run and got very hot, so I will run in my club kit for Comrades, but will write Dean’s Choc number (551114) on my leg or arm, or on my race number,” said Berridge.
The man in question is Dean Ducroq, who was in Standard 2 with Berridge. He got leukaemia and by the time he got to Standard 8, was always off school for tests and in hospital.
“He left at the end of that year and for years I was concerned he had passed away.
“Then I found his sister and, later, him on Facebook. Usually I run for someone, so because I had chosen Choc, I decided to run in honour of him surviving childhood cancer.
“I met him again at 30-year matric reunion October,” she said.
Berridge says she trains every day except Sunday and runs a time trial on a Wednesday, but does not do gym or cross-train to get fit.
“I find this a very sociable sport and have very special friends that are like family to me. I prefer not to run alone. I have a very special Thursday group that runs at the slowest person’s pace.”
While determination to finish always drives her in races – she has never broken down in a race – she once had a nasty fall coming down the Sani Pass.
She got up, determined to continue, but the paramedics advised her not to, because severe pain had caused her to faint.
“My chin took the full force of the fall. Even my inner ears hurt.” At the medical tent, she had three stitches to her chin and discovered that she had dislocated her jaw.
The longest race she has run (other than the Comrades) has been 56km in the Two Oceans and the most difficult but enjoyable, over 50km on Mount Aux Sources. our last
This year will be Berridge’s 10th Comrades Marathon run.
Running certainly runs in the family. Berridge’s sister, Ann Bester, has received 11 Comrades medals since 2000. Her brother, Keith Reynolds, completed his 30th Comrades last year – having only missed once in the 1980s due to Sydney flu. In 2009, all three siblings ran the Comrades.
Their mother, Vera Reynolds, also lends a hand at the Green Number Club at the Comrades Expo.
“She is always finding things to help me with fundraising. She has made blackand-white bead bracelets for me to sell, and helped with bookmarks that I used as prizes for a recent fun run.”
There are four easy steps to becoming a Cow: decide you want to be a Cow; choose how you want to raise money – via a sporting event or anything else that appeals to you (e-mail daisy@thecoswsco.za) and start raising funds.