It’s going to be a jungle out there Sunday on the Royal Victoria Marathon route, at least for one of the participants.
Brad Schroder, a 49-year-old South African conservation worker, will tackle the 42-kilometre route in a rhinoceros suit to support the group Save the Rhino International.
Three of the world’s five rhinoceros species are endangered, he said, so a campaign to promote their conservation with a rhino-suit-clad runner was launched in the 2014 London marathon. Up to three of the animals are poached every day in South Africa, Schroder said.
The plan is for the so-called Running Rhinos to complete runs on all seven continents, with Sunday’s appearance in Victoria to take care of the North American leg. That will leave only a jaunt in Antarctica scheduled for next March to complete the quest.
“That should be the swan song if we’re lucky,” Schroder said. “Obviously this whole thing is to create awareness and make sure that people are seeing what we’re doing.”
Schroder will have three people with him for assistance along the way, since his 12-kilogram suit doesn’t have great sightlines and he’ll need plenty of water to keep hydrated.
The outfit isn’t built for speed, with finishing times for the costumed runner ranging from five hours and 45 minutes to six hours and 15 minutes. “It’s a very slow-going event for me,” Schroder said.
Spokeswoman Louise Hodgson-Jones said this will be the first full marathon since 2019 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the turnout has exceeded expectations. “We were thinking probably around 7,000,” she said.
The overall field was at about 7,600 on Friday and organizers believe the number could reach 8,000. In-person only registration is available today from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Crystal Garden, 713 Douglas St., also site of the ongoing Race Expo.
Last year’s marathon weekend featured only half-marathon and 8K events, and 2020 had no events at all.
Traffic will be affected in both Victoria and Oak Bay, but routes have been modified to ensure easier access to major roads out of town and residential streets.
Parking is not allowed along the routes and no-parking signs will be up. Cars will be towed beginning at 1 a.m. Sunday.
Full road closures begin Saturday at 10 a.m. on Belleville from Oswego to Government and on Menzies from Belleville to Quebec. Those closures will continue until 6 p.m. Sunday.
Kingston from Montreal to Menzies, and Menzies from Quebec to Superior will be closed Sunday from 3 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sunday will also have a closure on Quebec from Oswego to Menzies from 3 a.m. to 9 a.m.
The day of the marathon also includes a half-marathon, an eight-kilometre run and the one-kilometre Thrifty Foods Kids Run.
It all gets underway at 6:30 a.m. to give an early start to marathoners, who are expected to take from five-and-a-half to seven hours to complete the course. Next is the 8K at 7:15 a.m., the half-marathon and the rest of the marathon field at 8 a.m. and the Kids Run at 11 a.m.
The start line for the 8K is on Belleville Street between Oswego and Menzies streets, and all other events start on Menzies Street at Kingston Street. The events will be finished by 2 p.m.
One team with a unique approach to the marathon is the Rest Haven Angels, made up of residents at Sidney’s Rest Haven Lodge. Team members, aged from 70 to 90, are logging their kilometres from walking around the facility’s gardens or riding a stationary bike.
Funds are being raised through the marathon’s CHEK Charity Pledge Program and the Broadmead Care Kms4Care fitness event going on all this month. Broadmead Care runs Rest Haven and three other long-term care sites, and also provides care for adults with disabilities at Nigel House and Harriet House.
To donate, visit broadmeadcare.com/kms4care.
A number of other worthy causes can be supported through the charity-pledge program, which has raised over $2 million since 2014.
Go to runvictoriamarathon.com/charities for details.
To donate to the rhino campaign, go to justgiving.com/ fundraising/running-rhinos1.
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