An award-winning Zimbabwean athlete has run 160 kilometres to raise funds for the completion of a Seventh-day Adventist church in Beitbridge that has stood unfinished for over a decade.

Emmanuel Mandeya, a two-time Comrades Marathon finisher and a member of the Avondale Athletics Club, embarked on the endurance run on Sunday, 26 July 2026, setting off from a point roughly 21 kilometres past Rutenga. The initiative was launched under the theme "Running with Purpose," with a fundraising target of US$12,000.

Mandeya said the approaching rainy season had pushed him to act.

"We are approaching the rainy season, and I thought to myself I should do something about our church," Mandeya said. "Running is what God gave me, so why not use it?"

The Eastlea Seventh-day Adventist Church, part of the South Zimbabwe Conference, began construction in 2013 but has remained incomplete for more than a decade. During rainy seasons, congregants worship at a nearby government primary school. The distance to the fallback venue has discouraged some members from attending, and others stay home when the weather turns.

The fundraising campaign has begun to gain traction. Eastlea SDA Church Building Committee member Nokuthula Ngwenya said the response has been encouraging.

"So far we have raised about US$2,500, and more pledges are still coming in," Ngwenya said. "Today alone we received a US$1,000 pledge from Adventists in the diaspora who saw the flyer. The Avondale Athletics Club, where Emmanuel is a member, is also mobilising support. We are hopeful that we will soon be able to put up the roof."

Local Pastor Petros Muleya described the initiative as a powerful witness of personal sacrifice for the work of the Church.

"This is a good initiative that encourages self-sacrifice for the work of God," Pastor Muleya said. "If someone can put his life on the line for God's work, then we also ought to do our part."

Mandeya's fundraising target reflects the practical needs of the building; the funds are earmarked for the roof, windows, flooring, and other essential finishing work that would allow the congregation to worship in their own sanctuary for the first time.

The athlete is no stranger to endurance racing. He has finished the Comrades Marathon in South Africa twice, earning a Bill Rowan medal, awarded to runners who complete the race in under nine hours, and has participated in numerous marathons over the years, earning recognition as one of Zimbabwe's accomplished distance runners.