Bridgetown resident Denver Van De Bergh will be running the Comrades Ultra Marathon as part of his mission to help drug addicts get into rehab.
Before even lining up at the Comrades Marathon start in Pietermaritzburg on Sunday June 8, Mr Van de Bergh will be running from Cape Town to KwaZulu-Natal.
A former drug addict himself, Mr Van de Bergh knows the struggle of trying to get sober and relapsing again after battling with his drug and alcohol addiction for 25 years.
It started back when he matriculated in 1994 but his parents couldn't afford to send to him to university.
He felt extremely disappointed and started working at a restaurant in Camps Bay to earn some money. There, he got sucked into the nightlife and made the wrong friends.
Soon he was addicted to all sorts of drugs and alcohol, and often slept on the beach as he didn't have enough money left to go back home.
Denver Van de Bergh, 48, from Bridgetown, will compete in the Comrades Ultra Marathon in June.
Image: Supplied
He remembers feeling alone, lost, and sad. He feels his drug addiction stemmed from three painful encounters in his life: the death of his beloved grandfather when Mr Van de Bergh was only 8 years old; not being able to study further; and being robbed on his way to church one day.
This made him lose faith in God, and everyone else. As his drug use continued, his life spiraled out of control quickly and he ended up not pitching up for work. His boss at the time reached out and got him into a rehabilitation clinic where he got better. Throughout his stay there, his support system was his brother, mom, and dad.
The 48-year-old's father was an avid runner and he often ran with his dad.
"I even went overseas to try to get away from my addiction but it didn't work. When I came back in 2019 I thought that I put the drugs behind me but the alcohol was still there. I fell right back into it and my addiction got worse. My go-to drug was cocaine. Looking back I don't even know how I afforded it. If I couldn't afford it I would get something cheaper, anything," he said.
His turning point was when he tried to stop but couldn't and realised that he needed help. By then he was depressed and started drinking alone, doing drugs alone, and hit rock bottom. He tried to take his own life, but ended up in hospital.
"I got a second chance. I am doing this run to raise money for addicts to pay for rehab. I know the struggle. It's the unregistered rehabs who give the registered ones a bad name. I decided in rehab that I had to change because God gave me another chance," he said.
He now holds a degree in business administration, and is determined to inspire others to believe that "change is possible".
Mr Van de Bergh will be starting his quest from Rondebosch Common on Thursday May 1 and running to Pietermaritzburg where he will start this year's Comrades Ultra Marathon down run to Durban. He will run via the N2 for 35 days. He encourages residents to run a few laps around the Rondebosch Common with him. For each kilometer he runs, the running club he belongs to, Celtic Harriers, will donate R10. He hopes that more sponsors will come on board. To support his cause visit his BackaBuddy link: www.backabuddy.co.za/campaign/serenity-run