Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 170 July 2024 | Page 49

TRAIL

Images : Courtesy Run For Rangers , Harry Bailey

Run For Rangers is a tough challenge , covering 50km a day in a big five game reserve

Harry was born eight weeks premature , and has been sickly most of his life , due to suffering from a chronic immune-mediated disease , which can be fatal . “ The list of my ailments is long and illustrious ,” he says with a smile . At 13 , Harry became dangerously ill . With lips covered in cold sores and a mouth full of ulcers , he lost 10kg in a week . “ The main issue is that my immune system is highly impaired , to the point where I am constantly fighting viruses , because my white blood cells can ’ t retain memory , which means it ’ s like I ’ m fighting a virus for the first time every time I get something . When other people get the flu a couple of times , it ’ s not as bad as the first time , but for me , it always hits as hard as it can . I therefore take four different meds morning and night ,” he explains .

Unsurprisingly , the COVID pandemic in 2020-2021 was a particularly concerning period for Harry and his family . “ I was at boarding school at the time , in grade ten , when we heard the news that the first person to bring COVID into the country had actually lived right next door to the school ! We were obviously quite scared , because I was supposed to be one

of the people most at risk , so I was shipped home immediately , but my parents were out of the country at the time , so I initially stayed with my grandparents down on the South Coast . I actually did get COVID at one point , but I turned out okay , which I think surprised a lot of people .”

When it came to the Run For Rangers challenge , neither the constant risk of a flare-up , nor the fact that he ’ d never been a runner , in no way deterred Harry . “ I could barely run 5km and trained for only two months . The longest run I did was with my dad , from the Durban Promenade to Umhlanga – about 25km – which we did in four hours . I ’ ve always been held back by my physicality , because I get more exhausted than everyone else , and struggle to keep up , but I managed to excel in basketball . That was an incredible thing for me , and made me realise I could do a lot more than I used to believe I was capable of .”

The seed for Run For Rangers was planted in Harry ’ s first few years at Hilton College . One of the teachers at the school , Chris Kingsley , had started the Sport for Lives Foundation , which asks people to use sport to benefit and empower others , and this led to the Hilton boys launching various fundraising initiatives . “ It started with the first rugby team ’ s Tries For Lives Challenge – for every try they scored , they donated a certain amount of money to an orphanage , which was amazing to see – and it just grew from there , going to all sports possible ,” recalls Harry .

“ Then in 2021 , another teacher and housemaster at Hilton , Mr Kwanda Sibiya , started his own non-profit foundation to raise funds to support learners in his hometown of Manguzi , near the South African border with Mozambique , and he launched the Manguzi 500 run / cycle , from Hilton College to Manguzi . My father and I went as his support team in our old Land Rover Defender , and because I now had my learners , my dad said , right , you ’ re driving . The trip took just over 10 days , and I met some incredible people along the way , who all gave up their time and put so much energy into such a beautiful cause .”

With funding for conservation being drastically cut across the continent , many rangers are forced to work long periods alone , in dangerous circumstances , on low-income salaries , with minimal and often inadequate equipment required to perform their duties , or protect themselves . As such , the statistics do not look good :

• 148 Rangers were killed worldwide in the line of duty in 2023 .

• More than 80 % of rangers have faced life-threatening situations .

• One in seven rangers is seriously injured in the line of duty .

• 50 % of rangers have no life insurance .

The funds raised by Run For Rangers are primarily earmarked for equipment and training aids for rangers , facilitated via Project Rhino , but have also been used to support the dehorning of several rhinos , and covered running costs of Project Rhino ’ s Zapwing aerial patrol and K9 dog unit , both of which are vital support systems for the anti-poaching rangers on the ground .

Some of the rangers who have participated in Run For Rangers

That challenge eventually raised R250,000 and Harry says it inspired him to think about a way he could also make a difference . “ I thought , here I am , going to one of the most prestigious boarding schools in the world , with all the privilege that I have , so it ’ s my turn to do something . Now , my parents are very focused on conservation , especially my dad , so I ’ ve been visiting game reserves and nature reserves from a young age , and I soon found the cause I was looking for .”