Rockhoppin' Trail: MAN versus BEAST

Seems I’m on again about beasts - this my second blog in a few months about the topic (read my blog on The Beast 2015).

But this time it’s different. Rather than a bunch of runners trying to run up, over and down a beast of a mountain, this time it’s about two men pitted against three real live four-legged beasts, racing them over a long distance, to see who gets to the finish line first. And, importantly, to facilitate corrective surgery in animals and children with facial deformities that deprive them of a normal life.

It may seem so… until you learn who the two-leggers are. Then you’ll see it’s more likely the four-leggers who should be nervous.

Check out this great clip for the low-down:

David Grier and Andy Stuart are no strangers to challenge. Over the past nine years David has clocked up close to 25 000km running endurance feats for charity:

Together David and Andy have run across India (4 008km in 93 days), the length of Cuba (1 500km in 28 days), and down the UK from John O’Groats to Lands End. They’ve managed to squeeze in a few other smaller, fun feats too, like running the length of Hadrian’s Wall in the UK, and doing the Table Mountain Challenge seven times in seven days.

They take on these challenges not for them, nor for the achievement, but for the difference their achievement can make to the lives of others. In nine years, David has raised over R8.7 million for Operation Smile, providing corrective cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries for more than 2 000 children in southern Africa.

Ok, so that’s the MAN team. They’re pretty confident. But then, so is the BEAST team.

Three Arabian horses with the strength, guts and stamina you’d expect of such lineage will challenge MAN, under the expert eye of world renowned competitive endurance rider and SA champ, Gillese de Villiers. If anyone can manage these studs over distance, Gillese can – she has conquered 30 equestrian one-day 100 milers, and has raced in endurance world championships around the globe.

Taryn Peters and Micah Antrobus make up the team, both highly competitive equestrian athletes with the will to win.

Why this challenge?

David has been raising funds for Operation Smile via the Cipla Miles For Smiles campaign for the past decade. The MAN versus BEAST concept was born when David learned that horses too can be born with cleft lips and cleft palates. Rhinos too can benefit from corrective surgery – Project SAVE THE SURVIVORS was started in 2012 to provide corrective surgery for rhinos that have survived having their horns hacked off. More than 80 rhinos a year benefit from corrective surgery after such trauma.

As Cipla is dedicated to providing healthcare for both animals and humans, the MAN versus BEAST fundraising challenge made perfect sense.

Both MAN and BEAST teams plan to run early in the day to make the most of the cooler hours. David, however, is confident he and Andy will have the heat advantage over the horses, and will be able to press on irrespective of temperatures. The horses will need to break every two hours – that’s about five times a day – to consume about 15 litres of water, and a bale and a half of lucerne a day.

“The horses will have speed, but Andy and I have continuous endurance – we’re fine in the heat and we’ll be able to push on in all conditions,” says David.

Another small advantage for MAN will be being able to hop over fences and run over rocky outcrops, both obstacles that BEAST will have cover distances to get around.

To achieve the challenge within the requisite 16 days, MAN and BEAST will need to average 50km a day – that’s a mighty big ask on sand.

MAN versus BEAST

The challenge:

Why this challenge?

The logistics