A South African and Western Province runner has completed a half marathon inside his home in less than two hours, to show support for victims of the Coronavirus.
On March 30, Youseff Kanouni, 46, went live on his Facebook page with his challenge to run 22km, back and forth from his passage to his front gate, at his home in Woodstock.
With the help of his wife, Mushfiqah, who filmed the run, Youseff reached his goal in one hour and 53 minutes.
GOAL: 22km run completed
He began running at the age of 15 while living in Morocco, and moved to South Africa 26 years ago.
He is a businessman as well as a crime fighter and member of the Woodstock Community Policing Forum.
He has done the Two Oceans Marathon several times and was set to run his 10th Comrades Marathon this year.
RUNNING IS IN HIS BLOOD: Youseff holding a few medals
But since lockdown began, Youseff has been unable to hit the road.
So he set up a water station in his kitchen with energy drinks.
“I decided I don’t want to just sit on my couch,” he says.
“I thought to myself, let me do a half a marathon inside my home where the distance is 25 metres from my passage to the front gate.
“I did it to show my solidarity for us as South Africans and for those affected by the virus and to motivate the runners.”
Youseff says running is in his blood and showed the Daily Voice bags filled with medals, from races run around the world, which amount to close to 200.
RIGHT OF PASSAGE: Youseff Kanouni in Woodstock home
He is also a pace-setter for Western Province
But with the pandemic, his sport has come to a standstill.
“The whole world has been shut down,” he says.
“Now for us to continue what we love, I made a suggestion to myself, let me just start running at home.
“It is a message from me as a runner.
“To all the South Africans, to those affected by the Coronavirus, it is not easy, now we need to be very careful where we are, washing our hands.”
He has now set another challenge for himself and wants to complete a 56 kilometre marathon, like the Two Oceans Marathon, before lockdown is over.
Follow Youseff on Facebook.