Date:  December 2006...
The Challenge: Run the length of the Great Wall of China non-stop...
The Result: Mission Accomplished

In October 2006, two extreme athletes David Grier and Braam Malherbe accepted the first Cipla Miles for Smiles Foundation challenge: to run the length of the Great Wall of China in one attempt.  It had never been done before and was deemed humanly impossible, yet three months later the two had achieved their seemingly unattainable goal having run, climbed and in cases, crawled their way across treacherous and weather-battered terrain and into the record books by becoming the first people in recorded history to run the length of the Sleeping Dragon as the wall is often called.

Unlike other extreme athletes, they didn’t do it ‘just because it was there’ as is often the case.
Their mission was two-fold.  Firstly to measure the length of the Wall using sophisticated GPS equipment, and secondly, to raise enough money for international non-profit organization Operation Smile to perform 55 reconstructive facial surgeries on underprivileged South African children.  

“Our other motivation behind the run was to show these and other youngsters, including our own, that everyone can do anything if they put their mind to it,” said Malherbe. “The only limitations we impose on ourselves are those in our minds.  It has been a very humbling experience for me and I am extremely grateful to everyone who supported us, and the children, in this arduous expedition.”

While the Cipla Miles For Smiles Great Wall Challenge raised R550 000, the run also saw the achievement of a world first and earned Malherbe and Grier the ‘Out There Adventurers of the Year 2006’ award, however it was the subsequent smiles of the 55 children who received much needed surgery that was the greatest reward for everyone involved in this incredible challenge.