SINCE 2016, more than R2.5m has been raised at the Rhino Peak Challenge (RPC), a conservation fundraiser that sees athletes take on a 21km trek in the Maloti Drakensberg World Heritage Site.
Hoping to add to that amount is Glenashley’s Warren Whitson.
The 30-year-old is one of this year’s ambassadors and has set himself the challenge of ascending the famous Rhino Peak (3 056m) in under three hours, while also raising funds for various conservation charities, including Wildlife ACT, The Endangered Wildlife Trust, and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (EKZNW).
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“My dad came across a post explaining the challenge about four years ago, and ever since then, my goal has been to enter. Each ambassador has a profile with a payment link set up on the Rhino Peak Challenge website, and the goal is to raise a minimum of R20 000. As someone who has just started my fitness journey, I love a good challenge, and this 21km trek provided the perfect platform.
“All the money the various ambassadors raise goes towards projects involving vultures, rhinos and cranes, which is just awesome. I’ve set myself the target of completing the race in under three hours. The gradient on the mountain for the first five to eight kilometres is fairly standard, to the point where you can run it, but from then on, it gradually becomes steeper. It is going to be tough, but I believe in myself and the training I’ve been doing to prepare myself for the challenge,” he said.
One of the ways Whitson has been preparing is through obstacle-course racing (OCR).
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Although relatively new to the sport, he has found his feet at Adventure Obstacle Training in La Lucia.
“When I started OCR, I was extremely skinny, so skinny I could fall through a straw,” he quipped. “My wife was the one who urged me to give it a try, and I started training a month before the lockdowns. Since then, I’ve found my footing through my coaches Trish and Claude Eksteen. They have been instrumental in making me stronger, both physically and mentally, to the point where I find I can take on anything I put my mind to,” he said.
Whitson trains six days a week, and his trainings include trail-running sessions. He is set to take on the challenge on September 17.
If you would like to support Warren’s fundraising journey, click here.
