A North Coast runner is putting past pain behind him in pursuit of a greater good.

On August 1, Andrew Lusk (33) will attempt to raise R100 000 for Rise Against Hunger, a charity that feeds vulnerable children. To do this, he will undertake a gruelling 600km, 10-day run from Plettenberg Bay to Cape Town. He hopes to feed 400 children for a year.

But this is more than just a fundraising challenge. It is a deeply personal mission, born from depression and self-loathing after his dream of opening a restaurant was crushed by Covid.

Originally from Johannesburg, Andrew’s family moved to Durban in 2010, and he has lived in Ballito for the past two years. He began running to escape the grip of substance abuse and suicidal thoughts.

“Things were bad at home and work,” he recalls. “One day, I had a moment of clarity and decided I would rather run for good causes than live the way I was.”

Dubbed South Africa’s Forrest Gump, Andrew has completed eight inter-city runs. His first, Durban to Johannesburg, was brutal. It took 26 days, with no training and minimal gear.

He survived on five Snickers bars a day and Bioplus, often running out of water and sleeping at petrol stations.

Now supported by Asics for gear and kind strangers who offer shelter along the way, he perseveres for his wife Delia and nine-month-old daughter Hunter.

“Every run is life changing. It gives me purpose and direction,” he says.

Each journey is fraught with danger – reckless drivers, near arrests, even gang encounters. Durban to Cape Town took 58 days. Johannesburg to Durban, 14 days. Pietermaritzburg to Durban, in one go.

In one run, Andrew used a hoodie to shield himself from Karoo horseflies. Police mistook him for someone escaping rehab.

“They wanted to arrest me because they thought my crystal salts were drugs.”

He once ran 23km beside a 10-year-old boy wearing jeans and slops, with no water.

“I had to take him to Camperdown police station; he wouldn’t leave me. It was crazy!”

Support Andrew’s cause at @andrewlusk033 or visit riseagainsthunger.org.

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