We all know that cheetah can run at speeds reaching 112 km/h (70 mph) over short distances. By comparison Olympiad cyclist Chris Hoy only managed to reach 73 km/h (45 mph) over a 200m sprint. On April 21st Hugo Du Plessis, Operations Director at the Cheetah Preservation Foundation, will attempt to beat Hoy’s record speed and catch a sprinting cheetah by the tail while doing so – and on a mountain bike too!
OK, so the above intro is a tall tale. Hugo Du Plessis will in fact be cycling the 36ONE endurance mountain bike challenge over 361 kilometers across strenuous terrain, day and night, from 21 – 23 April 2017, and aims to complete the race in 30 hours to raise funds for the Cheetah Preservation Foundation (CPF).
The CPF was founded in Oudtshoorn, South Africa by the Cango Wildlife Ranch in 1988, with the principal aim of ensuring the survival of cheetah and other endangered species, as well as educating visitors about the plight of the these animals. This Foundation has since been registered as a non-profit organisation (NPO) and the 36ONE MTB event just happens to coincide with the Cango Wildlife Ranch’s 30 year anniversary – hence Du Plessis’s 30-hour race completion target.
But Du Plessis also has an altruistic target. To raise R60,000 for the CPF through pledges and donations.
According to Carmen Ellis, CPF Manager at Cango Wildlife Ranch, funds generated from this event will be used to construct more cheetah camps at the Jill Bryden-Fayers Private Cheetah Reserve, and a portion of the funds is to be donated to the Madagascar Fauna & Flora Group, Endangered Wildlife Trust, Cape Leopard Trust and Vulpro.
There are two ways to support Hugo Du Plessis’s sterling effort for the Cheetah Preservation Foundation fundraiser:
Pledge: Email [email protected] with an amount that you/your company would like to pledge per kilometer which is only payable after the race takes place.
Donate: Click on this link – www.activitybridge.com – and follow the prompts to donate to this worthy cause.
Or simply call Carmen Ellis on +27 (0)44 272 5593.
