Kudzi Nears Finish Line of 365-Day Running Challenge
By: Rachael Kelley
Tags: Inspiration, Perseverance, South Africa, Running, Challenge

Kudzi Nyakudzi, a 22-year-old from South Africa, is nearing the end of his challenge to run every day for an entire year.

Listen to Kudzi’s audio interview with writer Rachael Kelley.

Shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down, Kudzi Nyakudzi decided to embark on a year-long challenge of running every single day. Now, with his 365th run just around the corner, Kudzi reflects on what he’s learned throughout his journey.

Kudzi started his challenge to run every day for a year in April, 2020. He had been going to the gym consistently before the pandemic began, but when the gyms closed down, it was easy to rationalize taking days off.

“I made the excuse like, ‘Oh, shoot. The gyms are closed. I guess I can’t work out!’” Kudzi says. “But I knew that there was something that I could do. And so I said, ‘You know what? I’m gonna start running.’”

When he first told his friends and family about his plan to run every day for an entire year, he was met with mixed reactions.

“If I’m being honest, almost everybody I told in the beginning was like, ‘This is a dumb idea. This is stupid. Don’t do this.’ But I can name a couple people who were really cheering me on.”

Kudzi mentions his friends Samantha and Simon, as well as his parents, as some of his biggest early supporters.

Though he struggled to run two to three miles at the beginning, Kudzi challenged himself to a goal of running five miles a day. His consistent effort paid off, and soon, Kudzi finished his first 10-mile run.

“That was one run for me that was a huge achievement, because I proved to myself that I was improving,” Kudzi says.

To celebrate his birthday, Kudzi tackled an even larger challenge. Since he was turning 22, he invited his friend Ben to run 22 miles with him.

“And Ben being Ben said, ‘Yeah, let’s do it bro!’” Kudzi says. “That was the most difficult run I’ve ever ran, because that’s the most I’ve ever ran. It was very challenging, yet very rewarding in the end.”

As of April 23rd, Kudzi has run a total of 2,114.12 miles during his challenge.

Ben (left) and Kudzi (right) relax after completing a 22 mile run in celebration of Kudzi’s 22nd birthday.

Even with all of the progress he made, there were still some days that proved to be difficult. Kudzi mentioned that within the first few months of the challenge, he experienced an ankle injury. He considered giving up, especially since he hadn’t made his challenge public on social media. However, Kudzi refused to quit.

An unfortunate series of events while traveling from the United States back to South Africa gave Kudzi some strange obstacles to tackle. While he was stuck in the Zurich, Switzerland airport for four days without most of his running gear, he still managed to get in his daily runs. This experience marked a pivotal point in Kudzi’s journey.

“When I ran in that airport, it showed me that mentally, there’s nothing stopping me. I knew at that point that I’m completing this challenge. That’s when it clicked. Literally nothing was stopping me.”

Apart from physical obstacles, Kudzi also faced mental challenges. The news of Ahmaud Arbery’s murder, a young black male who was shot and killed in Georgia while he was out for a jog, was difficult for Kudzi to hear.

“I was well into my running then,” Kudzi says. “Hearing that story — these stories of black people being murdered all across America — I’m thinking to myself, ‘I am doing exactly what Ahmaud Arbery was doing. Running.’ So that story was happening, and that was a very mentally challenging time where I had to really push myself to persevere.”

In those moments where it felt too difficult to continue, Kudzi persisted by remembering to appreciate his blessings.

“What kept me going, and what is keeping me going currently, is realizing just how privileged I am,” Kudzi says. “Just being able to walk — let alone run — is a big, big privilege for me. I think I would be wasting my life if I didn’t use the God-given abilities that I have.”

“It really comes from a place of gratitude. Understanding that it’s a blessing to have all my limbs perfectly working in order. That’s what keeps me going every single day.”

Kudzi out for a run on Nov. 14, 2020.

Though Kudzi is nearing the end of his 365-day challenge, he’s not ready to stop just yet. Kudzi shared that in the coming year, he plans to continue his daily runs while also adding on monthly challenges. He plans to commit to a different physical, spiritual, or mental habit that his social media followers choose for 30 days.

“I will be the guinea pig for the people, and basically try out a different challenge every single month,” Kudzi says.

For those who are looking to start their own challenges, Kudzi has some advice to offer. For the running challenge specifically, he advises beginners to start by running a certain amount of time each day rather than trying to meet a pace or distance goal. The most important thing, Kudzi emphasizes, is to just show up and keep going. But showing up every day isn’t easy if you don’t have a strong reason why.

“Understand that whatever your reason is for doing the challenge, whatever challenge you want to do, your reason must be bigger than all the pain, all of the disappointment, all the discomfort, and all the discouragement that you’re going to feel along the journey,” Kudzi says.

“If your reason is not big enough, you’ll get swept away. So have a big enough reason for why you’re doing whatever you’re doing. That is what’s going to carry you on the hard days.”

Kudzi has proved that his reason for running is bigger than the difficulties he’s faced along the way. Throughout the journey, he’s learned a lot about perseverance, and he encourages others to be bold and persistent.

“One thing that I’ve learned in this challenge is there really are no excuses for anything you want to get done. You have the time. You have the resources. You have the creativity. You just need to get after it. That’s my encouragement to you. There’s no excuses — just get after it!”

This Saturday, April 24th, marks Kudzi’s final day of his 365-day challenge. To celebrate his 365th run, Kudzi invites anyone who’s up for the challenge to run either 3.65 miles or kilometers on Saturday.

“That would just mean the world to me. I’ve been loving everybody that’s been on this journey with me, and that’s what’s really kept me going. So that’s what we’re doing, for anyone who wants to join virtually.”

If you choose to join Kudzi on his last run, be sure to post a photo to your Instagram feed or story and tag Kudzi’s account!