Extreme endurance athlete Jamie Marais, who rode up and down a mountain inside the Kariega Game Reserve for 36 hours, has managed to raise more than R400,000 for two causes as a result.
Marais managed to pull off the extreme feat during the last weekend of August, with the money raised for the Kariega Foundation anti-poaching unit and for community food relief for people in nearby areas.
Kariega Game Reserve is an 80-minute drive from Port Elizabeth and is a family-owned business.
During his 337km cycle, Marais recorded a vertical ascent of 9,000m which is slightly more than the 8,845m elevation of Mount Everest.
“These heart-wrenching causes pushed me to press on through brutally cold conditions on a treacherous route to reach the summit of a gruelling gravel circuit 40 times and cycle 337km in the heart of the Kariega Game Reserve,” he said.
“Knowing the defenceless animals and starving locals needed help inspired me to soldier on through the night as temperatures plummeted to near freezing and snow fell on high-lying area.
“The heartfelt donations gave me the strength and perseverance to ride alongside wild animals, including an ever-present bull elephant nicknamed Charlie.”
Marais made history in 2016 by ascending more than 16,000m as he summited Cape Town’s Table Mountain 22 times in 28 hours over two days.
His latest idea came after he contacted Kariega Foundation director Lindy Sutherland to see how the reserve was doing with the Covid-19 lockdown.
This telephone conversation quickly turned into a plan with an international team of people donating their time to run the event and co-ordinate online donations.
These included legendary cycling commentator Phil Liggett, three-time winner of the Roof of Africa off-road endurance motorbike race Louwrens Mahoney of KTM, Mountain Bike SA magazine editor Paul Ingpen and filmmaker Fergus Clark, who aims to use the footage for a documentary.
Ingpen said he was deeply moved by the cause.
“When a team shares a genuine, selfless common goal, the result is pure poetry to witness,” he said.
“No egos, no agendas, just sharing the unfolding story with the world, and that we did.
“The results speak for themselves.”
Sutherland said Covid-19 had shown people that they needed to do more to assist.
“Raising funds to ensure the safety of our endangered species and keep our neighbours and friends fed has become our priority,” she said.
Kariega Foundation trustee and Kariega Game Reserve co-owner Graeme Rushmere said they were blown away by the support and the money raised.
“We are hugely grateful to everyone who has contributed and donated,” he said.
“We hope that Jamie’s cycle and the collaborative event will inspire others to face the fear, stress, and hardships of the Covid-19 epidemic, and find similar motivation to build unity and help others in need.”
HeraldLIVE
Jumbo cycle for hungry people, endangered wildlife
Image: GRAEME RUSHMERE
Extreme endurance athlete Jamie Marais, who rode up and down a mountain inside the Kariega Game Reserve for 36 hours, has managed to raise more than R400,000 for two causes as a result.
Marais managed to pull off the extreme feat during the last weekend of August, with the money raised for the Kariega Foundation anti-poaching unit and for community food relief for people in nearby areas.
Kariega Game Reserve is an 80-minute drive from Port Elizabeth and is a family-owned business.
During his 337km cycle, Marais recorded a vertical ascent of 9,000m which is slightly more than the 8,845m elevation of Mount Everest.
“These heart-wrenching causes pushed me to press on through brutally cold conditions on a treacherous route to reach the summit of a gruelling gravel circuit 40 times and cycle 337km in the heart of the Kariega Game Reserve,” he said.
“Knowing the defenceless animals and starving locals needed help inspired me to soldier on through the night as temperatures plummeted to near freezing and snow fell on high-lying area.
“The heartfelt donations gave me the strength and perseverance to ride alongside wild animals, including an ever-present bull elephant nicknamed Charlie.”
Marais made history in 2016 by ascending more than 16,000m as he summited Cape Town’s Table Mountain 22 times in 28 hours over two days.
His latest idea came after he contacted Kariega Foundation director Lindy Sutherland to see how the reserve was doing with the Covid-19 lockdown.
This telephone conversation quickly turned into a plan with an international team of people donating their time to run the event and co-ordinate online donations.
These included legendary cycling commentator Phil Liggett, three-time winner of the Roof of Africa off-road endurance motorbike race Louwrens Mahoney of KTM, Mountain Bike SA magazine editor Paul Ingpen and filmmaker Fergus Clark, who aims to use the footage for a documentary.
Ingpen said he was deeply moved by the cause.
“When a team shares a genuine, selfless common goal, the result is pure poetry to witness,” he said.
“No egos, no agendas, just sharing the unfolding story with the world, and that we did.
“The results speak for themselves.”
Sutherland said Covid-19 had shown people that they needed to do more to assist.
“Raising funds to ensure the safety of our endangered species and keep our neighbours and friends fed has become our priority,” she said.
Kariega Foundation trustee and Kariega Game Reserve co-owner Graeme Rushmere said they were blown away by the support and the money raised.
“We are hugely grateful to everyone who has contributed and donated,” he said.
“We hope that Jamie’s cycle and the collaborative event will inspire others to face the fear, stress, and hardships of the Covid-19 epidemic, and find similar motivation to build unity and help others in need.”
HeraldLIVE
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