Rhino Run grabs poaching by the horns

More than 100 runners crashed into Sugar Rush Adventure Park on Sunday, September 20 for this year’s Rhino Run and secured another successful fundraiser for the event’s three beneficiaries.

Since the event’s launch in 2012, a total amount of R345 000 has been raised for Outraged South African Citizens Against Poaching (OSCAP), the Chipembere Rhino Foundation and the Kariega Foundation’s ‘Help Save Our Rhino’ project.

Starting out as a dream shared by husband and wife, Sian and Sheena O’Keeffe in 2012, the Rhino Run is now a global phenomenon making international mileage in the war against poaching.

The event was triggered by the tragic poaching of three rhinos in the Eastern Cape’s Kariega Game Reserve, nearby to the O’Keeffes’ home in Port Elizabeth.

One rhino died initially, but two survived and won themselves the names Thandi and Themba, which means ‘love’ and ‘hope’ in Xhosa. After a few weeks, Themba succumbed to his injuries, but Thandi is still alive and well and has become the symbol of the Rhino Run.

A whopping R90 000 was donated last year, which went towards the buying of rhino ambulances, tracking collars and support for anti-poaching units around the country.

The Rhino Run now has a presence across the country in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Gauteng, Kenton in the Eastern Cape, Ballito and Mpumalanga. The event has gained so much momentum since its creation three years ago that there is now also a race held in the US state of Mississippi.

“My dream for this event is to make it the biggest single day trail running event on the planet with one single objective to raise funds and awareness of the war on rhino poaching,” said Sian O’Keeffe, who noted that his dream is to have people all over the world running for the same cause on the same day.

“The only way we will win this war is to all band together, no matter where in the world you are – you can help,” said O’Keeffe, who hopes to spread the Rhino Run to every country in the world in the fight to save the rhino from extinction.