Tony van Marken is a unique individual. He's an ultra-marathon runner, cyclist, skier and is the first South African to climb the original seven continental summits in less than three years. He's also served on the boards of several IT organisations and now fills the role of executive chairman at alternative telecom operator DataPro Group. Nothing to be sneezed at.

The climbing bug hit in 2002 when Van Marken organised a trip to Kilimanjaro with a group of six university friends. However, by the time the trip was scheduled to kick off, they'd all chickened out due to lack of fitness or pressure from spouses. He flew to Tanzania on his own, bought a permit, found a Tanzanian guide and climbed the mountain.