Kelvin Gower takes on The Rhino Run

I think it was on the Isle of Wight when Rhino Boy Chris mentioned the Rhino Run. Me being me, thought about it for about 5 seconds before mentality entering it. The fact that it was a Canary Trails  race it meant it was going to be a bit lumpy - 4,400ft.

Getting there was straightforward - train - I had decided that the pub was going to be my finishing line.

A relaxed start for the 1st of our 2 loops - 13.1 miles, up past the cars, Mickleham Downs, River Mole over the bridge, over (or not) Stepping Stones, up Box Hill Steps, Broadwood Tower, up Satan's Staircase & back to the start - well nearly anyway.

I did get caught out by the humidity during the 1st lap - fluids & salts were I think ok, but my top was soaking. We made halfway slower than planned & a bigger pit stop made any ideas of a finishing time void. The sun made an appearance in the 2nd lap - making it very hot. Eventually, the miles ticked over, and Chris caught me back up along Mole River. It really is hard to feel tired when you are having so much fun.

We had some fun at the Stepping Stones. The response of folks of seeing a Rhino going up & down Box Hill is just amazing. It really is quite special to see. I felt so fortunate to see this again.

We had already decided to divert slightly off course & visit the Ice Cream Van on this 2nd lap. We didn't have bags of time to spare, but we had thought about those ice creams for about 3 hours..

Like kids, we got to the van already imagining how refreshing those ice creams would be... None of us imagined that 'Back in Ten minutes' sign  Oh how we laughed.

Luckily, after probably about 9 mins, the ice cream man appeared & thanks to Chris, we did discover how refreshing those ice cream were. Thanks again Chris.

We did need to get a wiggle on though, plus we needed to go up Satan's Staircase again. Thankfully, it is all downhill after that.

Time was irrelevant, but we did finish in 7hrs 57mins 39 seconds - a PW, but also a massive PB for fun and enjoyment. Privileged to see how much a difference a Rhino can make to someone's day. I bet those kids haven't stopped talking about their day.

Brilliant event. What running is all about.