James pointed out that the rhinos we saw had been dehorned , but this has unfortunately resulted in more rhinos being executed for the same amount of horn . This was an unfortunate reminder that rhinoceros poaching is a complex problem with no simple solution – it ’ s difficult to fight against the well-organised , wellfunded and well-connected crime syndicates that are behind poaching . The good news is that there are many people doing their best to halt the greedy slide into extinction , and we had the honour of running with three of the field rangers from the anti-poaching unit in our group , Sergeant Orlat Ndlovu , Ntiyiso Mzimba and Thabiso Sekome .
I was told that Ntiyiso and Thabiso did a bit of training for the event , but Orlat , who aspires to become a helicopter pilot , was a last-minute entry to replace a sponsored runner who pulled out , and he relied entirely on his ‘ on-the-job ’ fitness . Chasing down poachers is obviously good training , as Orlat was more comfortable over the course than most of the rest of us . ( Sidenote : I was shocked to see the news headlines a few weeks after the event that Anton Mzimba , the Head of Timbavati ’ s Ranger Services , was assassinated at his home in an apparent hit by the rhino syndicates !)
Surrounded by Wildlife
The support tables were spaced every six to seven kilometres and it wasn ’ t long before we reached the second stop at Sandgrouse Dam , where another bloat * of hippopotami were relaxing in the dam below . This gave us a chance to reflect on a spectacular ‘ solid grey ’ morning filled with elephants , rhinos and hippos whilst we
Some of the heroes keeping our rhinos safe : Sergeant Orlat Ndlovu ( right ), with rangers Ntiyiso Mzimba and Thabiso Sekome on the left
rested and snacked . (* Sidenote : The same collective noun is used when describing a group of aqua-aerobics participants .)
Steady sightings of plains game like giraffe , wildebeest , kudu , nyala , jackal , zebra and another crash of rhino were interrupted by a bit of excitement when a scattering herd of impala was chased by a young leopard in the distance . Meanwhile , during the gaps between wildlife sightings , event founder Grant Murphy ( who was also running in our bus ), regaled us with tales from his training runs through the reserve and the various animals he ’ s encountered .
Grant , who sports a beard similar to that of a sub-adult lion , once attracted the interests of a lonely lioness . Another memorable run resulted in some unplanned
Getting to know the rest of bus number two while watching a crash of rhino
Images : Chad Cocking , Stuart Mann the workout space while we were live , lamps got knocked over , nappies needed changing , and my wife kept shouting at me ! But this was what everyone was going through , and people could relate .”
Morning workouts with the Meintjes certainly resonated with many other families . While the first workout had 80 live viewers , the second attracted 300 , and by day four there were 2000 families around the world joining the Meintjes household for a live lockdown workout . It ’ s fair to say that JEFF went viral during the pandemic . Live viewership had stabilised at around 3000 per workout when Johno had the idea to take things to the next level and end hard lockdown with “ South Africa ’ s Biggest Workout .”
He managed to get in touch with the Discovery Vitality programme , who jumped at the opportunity to partner and promote the Biggest Workout concept . A massive viewership of 27,000 families participated in what was not just South Africa ’ s , but the world ’ s Biggest Workout – and from that platform JEFF Fitness now has over 100,000 active members across 73 countries , many of whom had never exercised before , and many of whom interact with the platform on a daily basis .
Giving Back to Nature
To his credit , Johno has used the success of the JEFF programme to help raise about R5 million for various charities , and his marathon training before the Timbavati Traverse included running in a rhino onesie to raise money for the anti-poaching charities and community projects supported by the event . However , despite all his commercial success , Johno will be remembered as the man who put the number two into bus number two at the 2022 Timbavati Traverse .
We were merrily trotting along , oblivious that we ’ d lost one of the herd , when a radio message came from the sweeping bicycle for us to stop , as a runner needed an “ urgent toilet break .” A few minutes later Johno emerged from the bushes after his down to earth experience , smiling like the Chesire cat as he proudly went into graphic detail about “ How everything just erupted like a volcano .” My definition for what constitutes a ‘ real runner ’ is not how far , fast or which races you ’ ve run , but the simple ability to talk about your bowel movements without embarrassment . I therefore welcomed Johno to the ‘ real runners club ’ and we continued on our way .
Johno pulls out his secondbiggest smile of the day to receive his finisher ’ s trophy
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