Dusi paddlers do it for Faron-Mae
Either donate into Faron-Mae's Trust with the reference 'Dusi', or contact Ross on 082-827-0465 to pledge per kilometre.
Toti Canoe Club members have pledged to paddle next weekend’s Dusi Canoe Marathon to fundraise for Faron-Mae Fisher, a four-year-old girl living with Glycogen Storage Disease type 0.
It is suspected she could have another genetic syndrome and needs to have DNA testing done in America.
Accompanying them will be long-distance trail runner, Alister Black of Durban, who will run the 120km route along the uMsindusi and Umgeni river banks to help them fundraise.
Alister, who was approached by Toti paddler, Gary Albers to assist, is an accomplished paddler himself, having completed 20 of the marathons from Pietermaritzburg to Durban and eight or nine of the non-stop marathons, which paddlers complete in 11 hours or more.
“The last Dusi I paddled was with my late brother Andrew, so this run will also be done in memory of him,” said Alister, who has also completed 15 Comrades Marathons.
He will run unassisted, but is hopefully he will find support along the way.
His plan is to complete the 40-odd kilometres on the Thursday and Friday in under seven hours, the cut-off time for paddlers.
“I think day two will be the hardest, but it will be nice to spend some time in the valley. The main aim is to garner funds for this little girl.”
Gary, Ross Fountain and Matt Collins have already pledged to paddle the non-stop Dusi in March and Alister has taken up the challenge to run it.
“This is also to fundraise for Faron-Mae and raise awareness of her situation,” said Ross. “We need the Toti public to get behind Alister and the Toti paddlers to help us raise the funds needed for this little girl. Alister has already pledged R2,000 for the cause, so we need everyone to donate, even if it’s only R50.”
If local runners would like to run with Alister on the last day, contact Gary on 082-877-7719, Ross on 082-827-0465 or Chris Stange on 083-301-3632.
Either donate into Faron-Mae’s Trust with the reference ‘Dusi’, or contact Ross on 082-827-0465 to pledge per kilometre.
Banking details: The Faron-Mae Fisher Trust: FNB, It number: 933/2012 (Durban), business account, account number: 62382573783, branch code: 250655.
