Ballito runner Harry conquers all seven continents
One of the strangest parts of his story is that Harry only really started running long distances after he retired at the age of 65
They say life only begins after retirement and this is certainly the case with Ballito’s Harry Botha, the oldest man on earth to join the illustrious Marathon Grand Slam Club.
Harry became a member of the Grand Slam Club at the age of 75 when he completed the North Pole Marathon in the Arctic recently. He needed to have run a marathon on all seven of the planet’s continents.
“Fewer than 100 people have completed the Grand Slam and I am one of only two South Africans ever to have accomplished this feat and certainly the oldest ever to have done it,” said Harry.
It has taken him seven years to complete his mission and the last leg in the Arctic was one of the most difficult to get done.
“I was up in the Arctic in 2015 and again in 2016 but between me getting sick and the conditions up there not being ideal I never got to run the marathon.”
Harry finally got the opportunity this year when he completed the marathon in temperatures ranging from -30 to -40 degrees Celsius.
One of the strangest parts of his story is that Harry only really started running long distances after he retired at the age of 65.
“I retired in 2006 and moved to Ballito the next year. After joining the Dolphin Coast Striders I started running more and more.”
Harry has completed the Berlin and London marathons in Europe, has run along the Great Wall of China and a marathon on Mount Everest in Asia and the Boston and New York marathons in North America. He completed the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Santiago Marathon in South America and the Ice Marathon in Antartica.
The marathons on both top and bottom of the world were achievements in themselves.
“In the Arctic we ran around a track and I was soon lapped by some of the younger athletes.
“This meant that near the end of the marathon I was running along all on my own – quite a stressful situation when polar bears were spotted close to our track.”
Harry said it is hard to properly explain just how cold it gets in the Arctic.
“When I found ice starting to build up on the inside of my shoes – while I was running in them – it dawned on me how cold things actually were.”
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