Racing Against Poverty

Racing Against Poverty
Computer whiz Mark Michaelis completed the world’s toughest one-day endurance race – to support World Relief’s fight against poverty.

Mark swam 2.4 miles across a lake, cycled 112 miles and then ran a marathon (26.2 miles) back-to-back in the Ironman triathlon in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, in June.

The 37-year-old computer software architect from Spokane, Washington, had been training for the grueling event since last year.

“At that time, I’d never swum more than a mile, never biked 100 miles in a day, and never even come close to running a marathon,” says the South African-born father-of-three.

His remarkable effort raised an incredible $22,000 for World Relief’s lifesaving programs.

“The rest of the world doesn’t have a two-plus bedroom house with a garage, or even regular meals – never mind eating out,” he says. “If I saw a documentary on my lifestyle in comparison to those in most of the developing world, I would be horribly embarrassed. Just because no one has done that documentary doesn’t make the injustice any less ghastly – just less embarrassing.”

Running with Endurance

Ironman – billed as the world’s most strenuous one-day physical challenge – is an utterly brutal contest against exhaustion.

After swimming nearly two-and-a-half miles across a lake, contestants must climb out of the water and bike 112 miles. At the end of that, they have to run a marathon.

Some racers even have ‘peelers’ – people who help them peel off their wet suit to save time as they come out of the lake.

Driven by Justice

For Mark, the issue of justice is a driving force borne out of personal experience.

As a boy growing up in South Africa, his parents took him into black townships – against the law at the time – to show him the injustice of apartheid and poverty.

“What does a parent do on $1 a day when it is time to take their child to the hospital, or buy food for the family?” he points out. “Why is it that, in the last 24 hours, 30,000 children have died due to hunger and easily preventable diseases? This is a justice problem.”

He and his wife, Elisabeth, decided one way they could make a difference is by partnering with World Relief.

“We love World Relief’s commitment to changing the world one person at a time in the areas where the needs are the most critical,” he explains.

You can help, too! Donate here to help the world’s most vulnerable people.