KZN#36

Sports
Reilly up for
Rhino Peak
debut
Underberg - Having
missed out in
2016, Cape Town
ultra-trail runner Kane Reilly
will make his Rhino Peak
Challenge debut this year
when the event takes place
on World Rhino Day 22
September in the Southern
Drakensberg. The 24 yearold
Salomon athlete has
been very aware about the
plight of the environment
but admits that he has never
specifically targeted one
event as a means to grow
awareness and through his
participation in the Rhino
Peak Challenge he hopes
that he can play his part by
raising funds through his
personal pledges.
"I spend so much of my
time outdoors that I have
developed the belief that it is
important to conserve what
we have," Reilly said.
"Whether that conservation
be for endangered species
or for heritage sights,
it's vital that we do our bit.
“I wasn’t able to take
part in the event last year
and Spurg (Flemington) has
made sure that I am involved
this year and I am really
excited to be giving it a go
for such a worthy cause.
"The Rhino Peak Challenge
provides me with an
easy opportunity to promote
conservation through doing
what I love."
Despite being based in
the Western Cape Reilly
has made the trip up to the
Drakensberg on a handful
of occasions, and says he is
looking forward to this being
his first time tackling the
21km round trip to the Rhino
Peak.
"We have such incredible
mountains in the Western
Cape that we often don't
travel, but I have been to
the Drakensberg before for
a few training runs while on
holiday.
"I am excited about running
through the Drakensberg
because it is much bigger
than anything we have
here and I have heard that
the views from the top of the
Rhino are awesome.
"It will be competitive
once we get going but I think
that the whole theme of the
event is getting like-minded
people together for a good
cause," Reilly commented.
The event is based
around the public placing
pledges on the athletes that
they want to support. These
pledges are then linked to
the runner’s cut-off or goal
time by means of a multiplication
factor. So for example,
if someone pledged R10
on a runner and that runner
then ran 20 minutes under
their goal time then the
pledge would be multiplied
by a factor of 20 meaning
the donation would equal
R200. The multiplication factor
is capped at a maximum
of 45.There are numerous
ways in which athletes are
able to spread the word
to garner pledges for their
efforts at the 2017 Rhino
Peak Chal
lenge and Reilly will be
tapping into his social
media following to
increase his pledge numbers.
"I spend a lot of time
on Instagram documenting
my life and racing and
people will be able to follow
me there to learn more
about how to pledge.
"This will be my main
focus but not a lot beats
word of mouth and I hope
that I can spread the word
through sponsors, friends
and family," he added.
One of the innovations
introduced by the organisers
Running Man Adventures
encourages the invited participants
to put up a unique
prize as an added incentive
for people who make
a pledge on that particular
participant.
This year Kane will be
offering a prize from his
sponsors Salomon, Fresch
Lifestyle Cafe as well as his
friends at Red Bull.
For more information, visit
www.rhinopeakchallenge.
co.za.
Western Cape
ultra-trail runner
Kane Reilly will
make his debut
at the 2017 Rhino
Peak Challenge on
World Rhino Day on
22 September 2017.
Martin Valmossai/
Gameplan Media
Kzn Lifestyle Magazine • Issue 36
33