Geoffrey Smith
Age:  38

Geoffrey loves water sports and surfs the waves as well as the Internet. He also swims 8km a week to keep fit, juggling the challenges of entrepreneurial roles as website developer and operations manager of Garth Living SA, a manufacturer of premium outdoor gas barbecues. An audio engineer by profession, he lectured at Middlesex University and the School of Audio Engineering in north London, as well as setting up recording studios and working with musicians like Joan Armatrading. He was project director for the China Great Wall Challenge, a role he repeats with the Cipla Spar Coastal Challenge. He is married to Barbara and they have two young children, Gavin, 6, and Hayley, 10-months.

Geoff Dalglish
Age 59

Geoff is a 4x4 expedition guide and travel and environmental journalist with a passion for wild places and a commitment to protecting our fragile Earth. A qualified 4x4 instructor and former race and rally driver, his recent adventures include leading the Toyota Timbuktu-Table Mountain Expedition and Chana Trax overland trip from China to Cape Town, as well as climbing Kilimanjaro and hiking the Himalayas to Everest Base Camp. Geoff is the author of a 4x4 book, Masters of Africa. He is blessed with two wonderful daughters, Tammy and Bonnie.

Steven ‘Spielberg’ Alexander
Age 36

Steven’s versatility is demonstrated by his role on the Miles for Smiles Coastal Challenge where he is a cameraman, driver and support crew for David during the epic run. A painter and tiler by profession, he is known for his resourcefulness and has crewed on events like the Vodacom Rapport Cycle Tour and Trans-Agulhas rubber duck race. He buys and sells cameras, especially to art students studying photography for the first time. More often than not you’ll see him behind a camera these days, specialising in weddings, school portraits and functions, so it is no surprise that his dream is to open his own photographic studio and indulge his main passion full time.

John Horler
Age 51
 

John’s natural curiosity and urge to explore out-of-the-way places made him a natural candidate for the team, although he was only approached just minutes before the departure for Oranjemund, instantly agreeing to act as Braam’s second. “Just give me half an hour,” he said and was true to his word. A goldsmith by trade, he is the inventor of a magnetic lockable frame display for spectacles that is widely used in South Africa, Australia and the United States, and is part of a family business specialising in wholesale optics. His role on the Coastal Challenge allows him to be close to Nature in often wild and remote places and to appreciate the blessing of living at the southern tip of Africa. He and his wife Karen are the proud parents of David and Jessica.   

Michel Kabasenghe
Age 29
 

Michel is a new and very welcome addition to the Miles for Smiles team, taking responsibility for the nutritional demands of the runners and support crew. A chef who served his apprenticeship in Cape Town restaurants, he hails from Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo and arrived in South Africa eight years ago as an exile. As well as his culinary skills he brings a wonderfully cheerful and enthusiastic nature, and a readiness to share his passion for football and especially his favourite teams Chelsea and Orlando Pirates. He is also a qualified driver.