King’s High School year 13 student Zak Chisholm, who is running the ultra-marathon to fundraise for I Am Hope’s Gumboot Friday, watches TikTok videos to keep his mind occupied.
Zak will run the distance as a part of his school’s annual K24 challenge where senior students collectively run for 24 hours in a 300m loop within the school’s campus.
Last year, he ran an impressive 73km during the 24-hours challenge.
He plans to start at 3pm today and hopes to complete his 100km run by 3pm tomorrow.
Most students contributed by running for as long as they could, but Zak wants to go until "the wheels fall off".
His technique — to "just keep going" — took a lot of mental strength, but raising money for a mental health charity was a good motivator, he said.
Year 13 dean Jeremy White said the run was a great metaphor for mental health as well.
He said there was a bit of suffering involved in the running, but every runner knew that it passed.
"The longer you run, you have these horrible moments, but then you come right again."
