Personal message

Dr Julie Reid will run the Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon, or KAEM, to raise funds for the care of baby rhinos who have been orphaned as a result of illegal poaching.

The KAEM is a 7-day, 250km, self-supported trail running race which takes place in October 2018 in South Africa’s Kalahari Desert. Considered one of the most extreme forms of ultra-distance running, this will be Julie’s first attempt at a race of this distance and difficulty.

Why baby rhinos?

Many people who know me will find it strange that I am raising funds for an environmental cause. That’s because I have spent the largest part of my academic career, and time as a social justice activist, advocating for a more just society and a better world for, well, humans! But just this once, and in regard to my sport (ultra-distance running), I will do something a little different, and emphasise injustice as it is meted out on our fellow creatures – something which is also very close to my heart.

Injustice is injustice, whether it impacts people or nature, societies or animal populations, cultures or the planetary ecology. Everyone counts.

Human cruelty toward other living beings takes on innumerable forms, but the abhorrent brutality involved in rhino poaching reveals perhaps one of the darkest metaphors of human character, and the way in which we practice injustice on our fellow creatures. The hacking to pieces of a living creature’s face, in the presence of its desperate and traumatised offspring, for the purpose of an illegal trade motivated by greed, happens at the expense of an entire species. This year the last male Northern White Rhino, Sudan, passed away. His species is now gone forever. If we cannot tolerate the same outcome for all rhinos, we have to realise that now, every rhino counts. And, baby rhinos, who have witnessed their mothers’ murder, deserve a chance.

The Kalahari is a magnificent and beautiful region, stretching across the 3 countries of Namibia, Botswana and South Africa, and covering 360 000 square miles. Hundreds of thousands of rhinoceros used to live in safety in the Kalahari and many other regions across the African continent. Somehow, it does not seem right that a small group of trail runners should have more freedom to roam across one of South Africa’s wildest regions than the creatures who really belong there.

To preserve the rhinoceros, we have to recognise that now, every baby rhino counts. By making a donation you will be supporting the care of orphaned baby rhinos whose mothers have been lost to illegal rhino poaching, and contributing to the preservation of these beautiful creatures. The Rhino Orphanage is the first specialist, dedicated, non-commercial center that cares for orphaned and injured baby rhinos with the only aim of releasing them back into the wild. It was created as the result of a lack of a specialized place for rearing baby rhinos who have been orphaned as a consequence of the current poaching crisis which feeds the illegal trade in horns.

About the KAEM

Taking place in the Kalahari Desert in the proximity of the Augrabies Falls on the Orange River, South Africa, the KAEM is a 7-day, 250km long, self-supported trail running race. Occurring each year in October, and founded in 2000, the KAEM is now in its 18th year.

Participants must not only cover 250kms on foot through the desert in searing heat, but must also carry all their supplies, such as food, clothing and safety equipment, with them for the duration of the 7-day race. Known as the ‘Big Daddy’ in the South African running fraternity, the KAEM is one of the most prominent extreme marathons on the International Trail Running calendar.

Races of this format are considered one of the most extreme forms of ultra-distance running, and this will be my first attempt at a race of this distance and difficulty.

 

• Follow my KAEM journey on Instagram @ julie.reid.796
• For more information about the KAEM click here or watch this video
• For more information about the Rhino Orphanage click here or watch this video

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