Meet the Save the Rhino Atacama Crossing team!
Seven intrepid runners are taking part in the 2006 Atacama Crossing for Save the Rhino, taking it in turns, of course, to wear one of the famous rhino costumes.
Brett Bader
Brett is a teacher of PE and Science at the Grange School, Christchurch, Dorset, as well as being Head of Year 11, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme and Combined Cadet Force. Brett works in the local community in promoting physical activity and improving health. A First Aid instructor with experience in sports and remote expedition medicine, Brett is also a Territorial Army Officer having recently served in Iraq. He is a regular fundraiser for charity, and has completed the London Marathon six times (including twice in rhino costume).
Brett is undertaking the Atacama Crossing as an opportunity to push his limits and demonstrate a commitment to other people’s needs as well as his own, to give a greater awareness of other people’s lives, the needs of society and his own capacity to play a part in addressing them. As well as doing the Atacama Crossing in 2006, Brett is also tackling the Great South and North Runs, London Marathon, UK Half Iron Man, Polar Challenge, the majority in rhino costume!
To sponsor Brett, click here.
Cathy Dean
Cathy Dean studied art history at the Courtauld Institute of Art, before spending nine years in art book publishing and retailing, and writing books on Cézanne and Klimt. She then had a terrific time working on the capital campaigns for Tate Modern and Tate Britain. The experience of a life-changing wildlife trip to Madagascar led Cathy to the conservation world. In October 2001 she joined Save the Rhino International as Director.
When Cathy started work at Save the Rhino, she was only dimly aware of the charity’s extraordinary history of undertaking extreme physical challenges. Not wanting to let Save the Rhino’s hard-earned intrepid image go fluffy (and despite having been a bit of an idle slob all her life), she decided she’d better join in. Cathy ran – or more accurately walked – the 2002 London Marathon in rhino costume, cycled 80 miles from London to Port Lympne Wild Animal Park, did the 2002 New York City Marathon (running this time), did the Marathon des Sables in 2003 and, by way of training, the London and Edinburgh Marathons in 2006.
There’s a very real reason for participating. Rhinos need saving, and to save them we need money. By putting herself through pain, misery and uncharted territory, Cathy hopes to raise some much-needed funds for rhino and community conservation projects in the field.
To sponsor Cathy, click here.
Kenneth Donaldson
Kenneth was born in Scotland, works in England and until 2002 showed absolutely no inclination to keep fit, do exercise, run about or generally undertake any form of sporting endeavour whatsoever, with the notable exception of playing pool, testament to which is the reconditioned pub table in the attic of his house. His disinclination to join in any type of sport probably dates back to a rather puritanical Edinburgh schooling where rugby was to be played at all times and in all weathers. This “character forming” upbringing meant hours spent hiding in the music rooms, faining illness and practising the violin, with the unexpected side-effect that he is now really rather good at the fiddle.
University at Durham meant impressively large “student loans” or debt, as it is rather less fashionably known, and entailed getting a job pronto, rather than the planned aesthetic lifestyle of artist, dreamer and thinker. Hence to London in response to an advert: “Be an Actuary – Impress your Friends – Dazzle your Acquaintances – Earn £££s – The Very Interesting World of the Actuary can be Yours Today!”
Then, as now, Kenneth barely knew what an Actuary does, but has somehow managed to muddle by, largely through the love and support of Cathy, his three cats, two tortoises and his friends and family.
Kenneth accepts that there is an almost endless list of good causes that also have valid claims for support. However he genuinely believes that we have a moral obligation at some level to take steps to ensure rhinos, these 40 million-year-old animals, aren’t utterly destroyed in one generation. Saving rhinos is also about saving large chunks of habitat in all its glorious diversity, and about education, and about commercially viable alternative methods of sustainable farming and land management. And if saving rhinos means enduring mile after mile of knee-pounding misery, in order to raise money for Save the Rhino, then so be it.
To sponsor Kenneth, click here.
Sam Lipscombe
Raised in Newbury Berkshire Sam found ultramarathon running at 18 years old after weighing 19 stone and needing some massive goals to aim for. After achieving his goal he has set himself another, to run at least a marathon in every cotenant on the planet (including the north pole!). By the end of 2006 he will have achieved success in Africa, South America and Europe.
To visit Sam’s website, click here. To sponsor Sam, click here.
Stephen Robins
Stephen has run many (nearly 10 now) half marathons in his native city of Glasgow. Having moved to London a few years back, last year he finally fulfilled a long-held ambition to run in the London Marathon (and would thoroughly recommend this to anyone - you could even consider doing it in the famous rhino suit). He would have been happy to leave it there, but a certain colleague (Kenneth Donaldson - see above), just mentioned in passing that he thought the Atacama Crossing would be 'fun'. As soon as this idea had been planted in Stephen's very small brain (rhino-sized), he could think of little else, and hence has ended up entered into the event.
The things he most fears about the event are the heat (he likes it cold), the altitude (scared of heights), and getting giant blisters and/or losing toenails. On balance though, the good cause makes it all worthwhile, and he is hoping to dine / drink out for many a day on outrageous and entertaining stories from the event (and he'll make them up if he has to).
To sponsor Steve, click here.
Dominic Silk
Dominic is 33 yrs old and works as a physiotherapist for the NHS in London, in care of the elderly.
"The Atacama Crossing will be the biggest challenge of my life so far. I'm kinda hoping it'll put an end to crazy events participation and I'll want to settle down. Some chance! My main sport is rowing and as a sideline I like to run. I started running seriously in 1996 and my first marathon was in 1997 in London. Since then I've completed 11 marathon distances - including one on cross-country skis and one on a rowing machine. I've run nine marathons - five London and one each in New York, Sydney, Manchester and Dublin. I ran the 2005 London Marathon in a rhino suit and it nearly killed me so why I've elected to do 150 miles in one at altitude in a desert I really don't know! Best time is 3 hours 20 mins in Manchester. Worst time - 5 hours 10 mins (in the rhino suit!).
"Most looking forward to the scenery and isolation of the Atacama. Least looking forward to the prospect of blisters on blisters! Roll on the 22nd July..."
To sponsor Dominc, click here.
Oliver Tovey
Oliver Tovey is 30 years old and is a recruitment consultant based in Oxford Circus. He has been passionate about wildlife since the age of 6 and has been involved with Great White Shark Conservation in a volunteer capacity in South Africa since 1998 where he worked as crew for both the research and commercial ventures of an operator for three-month periods at a time. Oli has traveled across Southern Africa including the Okavango Delta in Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe and was lucky enough to track on foot a large white rhino in the Timbavate. Oli says “Save the Rhino for me is not just about the species but general wildlife and surrounding environments and eco-systems involved.”
In his teens Oli was very fit and enjoyed playing school rugby, athletics and also amateur boxing for fitness. He let his fitness go at the age of 22 and really only discovered it again when 27 when he started running and walking. He has run 13-mile and 16-mile distances but never entered a marathon although he has completed the Tough Guy race for charity twice. “The team are a great bunch of people all from different backgrounds and have been brilliant in the build up to this – I am sure we are going to have a challenging but fun time.”
To sponsor Oli, click here.