Donovan Shirley ran 179km over two days in June, finishing both the down and up legs of the Comrades Marathon route as part of a mental health awareness campaign.
The South African ultra runner began his unofficial down run from Pietermaritzburg at 5pm on Saturday 13 June. He reached Durban City Hall just after 4am on Sunday, covering roughly 92km including route variations, before starting the official 85.777km up run back to Pietermaritzburg.
Shirley finished the full challenge in 22 hours and 22 minutes. He described the effort as part of his Get Back Up initiative, which seeks to raise funds and awareness for mental health support.
“The idea was to start in Pietermaritzburg, run down to Durban and then, metaphorically, be down, exhausted and mentally drained, but still have the courage to get back up to Pietermaritzburg,” Shirley said. He credited support from friends, family and a crew with refreshment stations for helping him complete the distance.
During preparation Shirley had run 288km at the Potchefstroom Backyard Ultra, setting a South African record for that format. He plans to compete at the South Africa Backyard Ultra Championships in August.
