'I gave poor Comrades Marathon runners trust-based loans for entry fees'
Only one runner didn't pay him back. The Money Show's Bruce Whitfield interviews marathon runner Stuart Mann.
FILE PHOTO: Rafiq Wagiet/EWNSport
Runners rich and poor take part in Comrades each year.
Some of them are unemployed.
At R800 an entry, it’s a prohibitive expense for many.
After seeing anxious posts on social media from runners worried that all 25 000 entries would be gone by payday, 'compulsive marathon runner' Stuart Mann had an epiphany:
Why not help a few fellow runners, and do a bit of a social experiment?
His idea was to provide interest-free, trust-based loans.
Mann would pay an applicant’s entire entry fee, and the runner would then pay him back once she or he had the money.
Responses to his offer came in thick and fast.
He did not harass people for payment but sent only one message with his bank account details.
Only a single runner failed to pay him back.
Click here to read about the experiment on runningmann.co.za.
The Money Show’s Bruce Whitfield interviewed Mann (on 10 June 2019) - listen below: