First Run For Rangers
Flashback to 2022
Let ’ s Do It All Again
TRAIL
Given his history of illness and medical concerns , Harry says he was greeted with some surprise when he announced his plans to tackle a long run . “ It does sound a bit crazy , when you think about it , but the whole point was that it needed to be a real challenge , where I would have to go past any limits I had . The original idea was to run 80 kilometres through a different game reserve , which had a main road that was 80 kilometres long , but when that plan fell through , Chris Kingsley got involved , and he said , oh , let ’ s just make it 100 kilometres , because that ’ s a round number !”
First Run For Rangers
With help from his father and Chris , and in conjunction with Sport For Lives and Project Rhino , Harry arranged for the run to take place in Thanda Game Reserve . Word soon spread about the initiative , and that saw former Springbok rugby player Keegan Daniel connect with Harry to offer his support , as did Rory Steyn , who famously worked as Nelson Mandela ’ s chief bodyguard during his presidency . They agreed to join the run , as did Don , Chris , Rory , and a few others , and most importantly , Siya , Vusi and Ntombi , three of the rangers working at Thanda . Everybody would run what they could , but the goal was to do the full 100km .
Ten runners started the first day ’ s run , and Harry says it was quite a shock to his system . “ It took us nine hours to do 50km in the bush , although that included a stop at the local school , but it was amazing to see the bond growing among the runners as we all hit rough patches , and pushing each other to keep going . Day two was even tougher – another eight hours in the heat – with everyone ’ s bodies a bit broken , and blisters make things much harder … but this is the life of a Ranger . You need to get up every day and serve .”
Thankfully , the runners didn ’ t experience any serious issues with wildlife , but Harry recounts some incidents that kept the team on their toes . “ We had two support vehicles with us at all times , one in the front and one behind , just making sure we were always safe . The first animal we encountered on the first day was an elephant . We were running down a road and someone called on the radio that they ’ d spotted something , and then suddenly this giant mass just emerged out of the bush . All of us scrambled to get on the back of the vehicles .”
By the end of day two only Harry and two other runners out of the 10 starters managed to complete the full 100km . He says the run was both physically
Harry had to overcome concerns about his medical condition to tackle the Run For Rangers
Flashback to 2022
Check out this vid that Harry made in 2022 shortly before the first Run For Rangers . While it is now time for the third Run For Rangers to start , the motivation remains the same !
and mentally painful , but all his health challenges had actually helped him develop mental toughness he needed to get through the challenge . “ Life is full of these complications , it ’ s what builds character . Without them , you will never fully develop . So , while it was one of the most challenging things I had done in my life , it was also a life changing experience , because I learnt that I can go further and endure more pain than I ever expected . But the most amazing thing was meeting and running with the rangers , getting an idea of how tough things can be for them in the bush , and seeing that having the right people around you how you can push through .”
Let ’ s Do It All Again
The success of that first Run For Rangers led Harry to ask himself the question , what next ? He believed that his experience could be shared with others , and that more people could be brought in to join the run , and so Run For Rangers 2023 was born . The idea was to allow 20 people to run with Harry , each raising their own funds towards the cause , and Babanango Game Reserve offered their land as the venue .
Babanango is a relatively new game reserve that is busy re-wilding a large part of KZN , with a full house of the big five animals now roaming that area for the first time in some 150 years . “ It ’ s situated in the heart of Zululand , so it ’ s a bit of a drive to get there , but it ’ s a beautiful place , with rolling hills and incredible valleys ,” says Harry . “ They recently became a big five reserve , and that ’ s why it was big for us to get in with them last year , as we were both still in the early phases of our projects , so we worked together incredibly well . They also have some incredible people there .”
The second run proved even more successful , with more runners completing the whole challenge , and substantially more money being raised , bringing the Run For Rangers overall tally up to nearly R700,000 . This meant that Harry and the team behind the initiative had no hesitation in organising the run again
Today Harry is inspiring a new generation of boys to care about conservation
in 2024 , and the fundraising target for 2024 has been increased to a target of R2 million overall . Therefore , each participant was set a minimum target of R40,000 , but Harry is hoping much more will come in , as last year ’ s ‘ top raiser ’ brought in R125,000 .
Harry is quick to acknowledge that it is not an easy challenge , given the terrain , heat , and other factors , and says the runners have been briefed that it ’ s a personal challenge as much as a fundraising run . “ We ’ ve told them the whole point is to challenge themselves , so try to do the full 100 kays , but it ’ s okay if they want to hop on the vehicle a bit , then hop back off and continue running ,” he says .
“ I just hope that everyone really pushes themselves , for themselves , similar to how I challenged myself in the first run ,” he continues . “ For me , overcoming all my medical issues was one of the big challenges in the first run , and I may have been held back by this , but I said screw it , I ’ m pushing on . That ’ s what I want for other people , because I know it was so empowering for me , and since then , I felt a lot more confident about my body . I want other people to experience that as well .”
For more info , visit www . runforrangers . net , and you can follow the 2024 Run For Rangers at www . instagram . com / runforrangers .
Images : Courtesy Run For Rangers , Harry Bailey
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