ALMOST two years after becoming the official Guinness World Record holder, local entrepreneur, wildlife warrior and conservationist, Sharon Jessop, is at it again in the name of rhino conservation.
The 52-year-old and her team plan on starting a 91-day journey of more than 3 000km on World Rhino Day, September 22, to honour the rangers and members of anti-poaching units who are in the field daily, facing real dangers, especially following the recent brutal assassination of ranger, Anton Mzimba.
At the end of 2020, Jessop became the pride of the metro, after she completed 102 consecutive half marathons and became the unofficial Guinness World Record holder on December 31 for the most consecutive half-marathon distances run by a female.
She also raised more than R40 000 for the One Land Love It (OLLI) Foundation for rhino conservation and anti-poaching and the Community Chest of the Eastern Cape.
This record was made official but was later bettered by Helen Ryver from Wales.
According to Jessop, the aim of this running expedition is to raise massive awareness for rhino conservation, tourism and conservation communities, as well as raise much needed funds for credible rhino conservation, anti-poaching initiatives and conservation communities in the three provinces that she will be running through.
It also forms part of the OLLI Foundation’s “Move” initiative, whereby people all over the world are encouraged to move for rhino conservation.
“I would love to raise a minimum of R1 million. We actually [already launched] the official fund-raising campaign live on Facebook. It is just such a cool and novel idea,” she said.
Jessop mentioned that this time she would not be attempting a Guinness world record but has something in store for 2024 going into 2025.
“This will not be a new record attempt but I am feeling quite confident [about the half marathons]. My training and preparation are on point and going really well.
“There is more information to follow about the new record attempt but will be shared at a later stage as this will be super exciting and epic,” she added.
Jessop will symbolically link the rhino-bearing game reserves together in the fight against rhino poaching by requesting each reserve to sign a pledge recommitting to rhino conservation.
A copy of this pledge will be sent to government and other relevant organisations.
“It often happens that the rangers join in the runs and wherever we go, people will be encouraged to run a bit with me– the more the merrier – and while they are running with me I have a golden opportunity to raise the issue of rhino conservation with them,” she said.
Athletics clubs, social runners and even non-runners are invited to do their bit for rhino conservation, as long as they are willing to donate time, money or their efforts and talents.
Jessop said that she believes that ordinary people could make an extraordinary difference to the conservation landscape if they only realised that they are the voices of conservation and hold the power.
Furthermore, the team will engage with conservation communities, schools and other organisations along the way to do conservation awareness talks and encourage others to also “move from caring to doing”.
This year, Jessop will be showcasing her running expedition as a social media reality show. She will start her run from the Donkin Reserve as Wayne Bolton from the OLLI Foundation ends his “Forever Rhino Ride” cycling expedition that is currently underway.
Bolton is cycling with a wooden rhino horn baton to Nelson Mandela Bay and upon his arrival the baton will be divided into four pieces. Jessop will receive one of the pieces and it will accompany the team during the three months on the road only to be joined together at a ceremony in Nelson Mandela Bay early in 2023.
Jessop will finish her running expedition on December 21, at the Lebombo border post between South Africa and Mozambique, outside the town of Komatipoort.
“The finish at the Lebombo border post is significant as a lot of our poached rhino horns exit South Africa via this border post, as it literally shares a fence with the Kruger National Park.”
- For more details on the fund-raising initiatives or to assist with sponsorships, please visit the Run Wild for Rhinos Facebook group or Jessop’s website: www.sharonjessop.co.za. She can also be reached on 061 510 4657 or sharon@sharonjessop.co.za.
