Taariq Stokes: The man running from Joburg to Durban

Loading player...
Taariq will be taking off on the 20th of November with 11 other runners from Walkerville, Johannesburg to Moses Mabhida in Durban. The run will take about 76 hours.

The 25-year-old, along with 11 other runners, is hoping to raise R50,000 to support mental health institutions and establish community workshops to offer support to men who are struggling with mental health issues.

The journey started when Taariq found a group on Facebook called Man of Valour.

The group had a lot of motivational quotes and words of advice for men struggling with mental health.

He scrolled further and saw a post about a run from Joburg to Durban, he DM’d the page admin with “I’m in”.

“There’s officially 19 of us involved with the crew (drivers, medic, chef etc). I’ll fly out on Wednesday morning to Joburg. We starting from Eldos (Eldorado Park). We’ll be using the back route,” he explained.

Phillipa Feher, Head of Marketing at Mr Price Sport, and Zola Phoswa, who handles Public Relations, surprised Taariq.

According to Phillipa, she was going through her social media when she saw Taariq’s story pop-up.

“Men’s mental health is close to my heart,” she explained.

She added that doing something of this magnitude through sports was beyond admirable.

Phillipa and Zola came in with the intent to help Taariq and his 11 team members.

“We came in to talk to Taariq and kit him and the team for their run. We also want to join them at the end at Moses Mabhida,” said Zola.
18 Nov 2024 English South Africa Society & Culture · Personal Journals

Other recent episodes

Bodies, Boundaries and Parenting: Stacey Norman Tackles a Sensitive Topic

Stacey Norman tackled a sensitive topic around parenting norms, privacy and cultural differences. She asked the question: sleeping naked or bathing with your kids - at what age should parents stop, or should it even be happening at all? The discussion explored how some people view it as completely natural,…
19 Aug 11 min

Bizarre AI questions with Stacey and J Sbu

Stacey Norman and J Sbu from East Coast Radio looked into the fascinating and sometimes strange ways people interact with artificial intelligence. Sparked by a story of someone following AI advice a bit too literally, they took a look at the importance of using AI responsibly. You called in to…
18 Aug 9 min

I am the woman I am because...

Stacey Norman and J Sbu invited YOU to reflect on the influential people and pivotal experiences that have shaped their identities, especially in honour of Women's Month and Woman Crush Wednesday. Stacey shares heartfelt stories about her mother’s profound impact and the transformative experiences that defined her journey after turning…
13 Aug 4 min

Kiddies Hotline: Toys at school, what would you take?

Every Wednesday, East Coast Radio’s drive time hosts, Stacey Norman and J Sbu turn into aunty Stacey and uncle J Sbu! Why? So that the kids of KZN have their moment to shine on air. This week, they threw it back to their youth (and the dreams that came with)…
13 Aug 6 min