What started as a joke has become a tradition for Lieutenant Colonel Mike Henning. A few years ago, Henning wore a genuine Scottish kilt to a trail run and since then it has become the trademark of his athletic career.
This police detective even said the kilt is wonderful attire when it comes to running because it moves easily with his body and keeps him cool.
Photo: Bianca Pindral.
Walking through the police station dressed in the strange yet well-fitting kilt brings smiles to the faces of his fellow police officers – and it’s a great conversation starter. The kilt was made by his mother and Henning goes to every event with it.
He will even take it with him when he does the 2 000km route from Randfontein to Cape Town between 24 February and 11 March, after which he will ride the Cape Argus. The Xtreme for Kids Cycle Tour is part of the Matla A Bana anti-child rape initiative. They plan to cycle an average distance of 180km per day. And considering that Henning has survived cancer, twice, it’s wonderful to know that this dedicated policeman has the chance to help children all over South Africa.
“My doctors told me to never stop training because it would help with the psychical and mental strain of the cancer and it truly did carry me through some tough times,” said Henning. “Even after the cancer was gone, I still used sport as a way to cope with police work and the emotional trauma of the things we see while on duty.”
Henning is not on any special diet and is not really training particularly hard for this race because he lives a healthy lifestyle and is active everyday.
“You can’t really train for something like this,” said Henning. “I ride my bicycle to work often, and sometimes even jog to the office.”
He does not even have to worry about the experience because it’s his 21st Cape Argus and he does trail runs frequently.
He believes that any form of exercise would help policemen be more cool-headed in life-threatening circumstances and give them more energy and strength.
The News wishes Henning the best of luck with his tours.
Some interesting statistics:
• Every three minutes, a child is raped in South Africa
• Most of these children are girls aged between 8 and 12 years old
• In 80 per cent of these cases, the rapist is a family member like a father, grandfather, brother or stepfather
• In 97 per cent of these cases, men were responsible
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