Durban - Over the years, a handful of children have taken part in the 21km, 1 000m challenge up the 3 056m Rhino Peak in the southern Drakensberg, on a trail run and fund-raiser for beleaguered, endangered species.
Notably the rhino that is at home in the flatter countryside of the continent and the bearded vulture that is at home in the Berg.
Now, youth participation has become formalised with three schools having signed up teams to take part in the September event, coaxed by Treverton College that entered as a sole school team last year.
Joining the fray, so far, are Grace College in Hilton, which like Treverton has the Drakensberg in eyeshot, sees its snow and feels its winds; and Maritzburg College in the warmer city bowl of the provincial capital.
“After last year’s, we thought it would be ‘cool’ to challenge other schools to do it,” said Travers Pellew, the teacher who made up one of Treverton’s trio last year.
“I hope to beat my time of three hours, fifteen minutes,” said pupil Kai Broom, 18. His chum and peer, Jarred van Alphen, a boarder at Treverton from Johannesburg, hopes to make it under three hours but, significantly, hopes to avoid cramps he suffered last year, an irritation that saw him “flying into a bush” five kilometres from the finish.
Each school team comprises a teacher and two pupils, selected from their pool of cross-country stars.
Grace College’s team will comprise teacher Faye Coverdale, her daughter Erin and Jody Moreno, both 15-year-olds who run for the school.
Coverdale said the trail run would be something of a trial run for the school to diversify its offering of sports activities.
Cross-country is already well established in the plantation lands adjacent to the school, its track having hosted 300 to 400 children at a KZN inter-schools event last month.
“We also plan to diversify to orienteering in the forest,” said Coverdale. “And archery is on the cards.”
The school has also got the ball rolling with awareness with one of the conservation beneficiaries, Wildlife ACT, having addressed the school.
Fund-raising is as much part of the event as the physical challenge and all three schools said they planned to start this drive in earnest next term.
The running careers of the Maritzburg College three began during lockdown.
Teacher Brandon de Lange, himself a College old boy, said that because running was “one thing we could do” during lockdown, the school had focused on it more than usual during that era.
“That reignited my passion,” said De Lange, who had done running “up and down” since leaving school in 2014.
“Trail running is a bit off the mainstream but cross-country has always been big at College. I would love trail running to grow more.”
Lethokuhle Shangase, 16, who was among the top 10 at a KZN inter-schools cross-country event last year, said he had spent lockdown “running around” at his home in Sweetwaters, near Pietermaritzburg.
“I built on that and then I started formally training in cross-country.”
He said that judging by the Treverton runners’ performance last year, he hoped to complete the Rhino Peak Challenge in under three hours.
Riley Kleynhans, 18, a boarder at Maritzburg College from Kokstad, said he had taken up running to get fitter for boxing, which he did as an outside of school activity.
Having run in events in the foothills of the southern Drakensberg, he expects the Rhino Peak Challenge to be more friendly terrain than the 30km Pineapple Express, mostly along the beach at the South Coast.
“It was tough. I am more tuned to mountain running,” he said.
The selected participants are known as ambassadors who this year number 23 so far.
On the fund-raising front, the most successful ambassador is Alexander Babich, who has raised R334 000 over three challenges, said race organiser Spurgeon Flemington.
On the running front, he said that since the first challenge, in 2016, the cream of SA’s trail runners had taken part.
“They have set some incredible times. Current records are 2:15 by Kane Reilly (men’s) and 2:42 by Holly Page (women’s).”
Flemington added that the challenge hoped to have at least six schools represented.
“We hope to really get some competitive spirit going between the schools, both in terms of fund-raising as well as an athletic effort.”
He also said the event viewed the school element as critical.
“It educates the youth about the plight of vultures, cranes and rhino. It gets them outdoors. It hopefully makes them conservation minded for life.
“It’s a continually replenishing resource in terms of fund-raising as we have new kids, with new parents every year. It’s also a big pool to tap into given the size of the schools, their pupils and their parents and networks.”
According to its website, https://rhinopeakchallenge.co.za/, the grand total raised so far is R219 950. Beneficiaries are Project Vulture, Wildlife ACT’s Rhino Conservation Programme, EWT African Crane Conservation Programme and Wildlife ACT’s Vulture Conservation Programme.
The Independent on Saturday