North East Vet Danny de Vries is aiming for a world record in the Great North Run this year – running as a rhino. PETER BARRON challenged him to a race
IT seemed like a good idea at the time. What better way could there be to boost my athletic reputation than to challenge a rhino to a race through the local park?
The 568th Darlington parkrun had been chosen for the showdown. Five kilometres round three laps of beautiful South Park, with more than 400 runners there to witness my triumph.
I'd met North East veterinarian Danny de Vries – otherwise known as Dan, The Rhino Man – at a previous parkrun when I hadn't brought my running shoes.
I'd looked him square in the eyes, set a date for the challenge, and hissed: “Let’s do it!”
But first the background…
Danny, 34, is in training to become a world record-holder at the Great North Run on Sunday, September 7.
His aim is to run the fastest half-marathon dressed as a mammal, while wearing a rhino costume weighing around 13kg.
Danny, a vet with a lifelong love of animals, is launching his record bid in support of conservation charity Save The Rhino International.
Born and raised in Bloemfontein, South Africa, Danny came to England four years ago on a work visa "in search of a bit of adventure".
He works for Clifton Lodge Vets, which has multiple branches including Hartlepool, Billingham, Horden, and Sedgefield. The company is part of VetPartnersUK, which has supported him all the way and pledged to match-fund his target of raising £5,000.
His old school, St Andrew’s, in Bloemfontein, is also fundraising for him, but raising awareness is just as important as the financial side.
“In South Africa, we have white rhino and black rhino, but an average of one rhino a day is killed by poachers," says Danny.
“As an animal-lover, it’s an issue close to my heart, and the crazier the costume, the more attention you get.”
Danny certainly attracts plenty of attention. Hardly a day goes by when he’s not training. It can be a dark winter morning, but it's not unusual to see a rhino out trotting through the snow at 5.30am in Hartlepool.
“The hardest thing is the pressure on my back, so there’s a lot of weight-training needed, as well as the running,” he explains.
The world-record was once held by another rhino – Chris Green, or Rhino Boy Chris, who Danny describes as a "big inspiration".
However, Chris’s record was broken by a gorilla, in Jersey, two years ago. Zoo worker, Will Highfield, set a new best time for someone dressed as a mammal in a half-marathon, clocking one hour 47 minutes, 30 seconds.
“I’ve had good luck messages from both,” smiles Danny.
To break the record, he’ll need to complete the Great North Run at under five minutes per kilometre, and he’ll have friend Jan de Klerk acting as his pacer.
“Once I’m inside the costume, it’s dark and I need to concentrate on holding the head at the right angle, so Jan will be in front and I’ll follow,” says Danny.
It won’t be the first time he’s tackled the Great North Run as a rhino. He did it in hot conditions in 2023, finishing in a respectable two hours 47 minutes and 30 seconds.
“I said at the time ‘never again’ but, in the end, I decided to go for something bigger and try to break the record.
“The heat will play a part on the day and, hopefully, it’s cooler and not too congested.
"It’s also important to go to the toilet before the run – otherwise you run into real problems.”
Rhinos don't fit too well in Portaloos.
And so to our race…
THE clock is ticking down to the 9am start of the Darlington Parkrun, and there’s no sign of my big rival.
Is the rhino a chicken, I ask myself?
With five minutes to go, Danny de Vries turns up with his “biggest supporter” – his wife and fellow vet Lize-Mari.
We exchange a few pleasantries but that’s all. This is serious. Reputations are at stake.
As the runners jostle for position at the start, there are several requests for selfies with the rhino. It's like running with a rock star, but I remain in the zone.
The starter shouts "Go!" and I have the rhino in my sights as we set off . However, within 100 metres, I sense I may have bitten off more than I can chew.
Danny has gone off at a full rhino charge rather than the expected easy trot, and I can't keep up.
He even manages a cheeky little skip-and-a-jump as Lize-Mari takes a picture. More gazelle than rhino, if you ask me.
After another 200 metres, I can still just about see him up ahead, skilfully weaving in and out of other runners, including a startled man with a toddler in a pushchair.
"Rhino coming through," I hear Danny shouting.
Don't worry, there's no way he can keep up that pace, I tell myself.
OK, I'm no Mo Farah – I'm a 63-year-old wheezy, tubby grandad – but surely I can beat a bloke in a heavy rhino suit. He's bound to slow down.
"Have you seen a rhino go past?" I gasp to a marshall.
"Yes, he went that way – about five minutes ago!" he replies, matter-of-factly, as if marauding rhinos are spotted in South Park every day.
One lap completed, I'm feeling like an endangered species, and I've lost track of my quarry. There's only one thing for it – take a sneaky short-cut through the trees.
It crosses my mind that I should have worn a camouflage t-shirt and shorts but, luckily, no-one seems to notice my detour.
Cunningly, I hide in the undergrowth, resting, while the unsuspecting rhino does another exhausting circuit.
Then, aware that Danny has restricted visibility inside the rhino costume, I rejoin him as he passes the lake on his third and final lap.
"Hey Peter, you're doing well," he shouts. "Nearly there!"
There's a personal trainer holding his regular exercise class on the bandstand, and Born To Run happens to be blaring out of his sound system.
I can hear Springsteen on his last line – Tramps like us – as we climb Squirrel Hill, and I'm still on the rhino's shoulder.
But then he puts on a spurt up the home straight, and sprints effortlessly clear.
The records will show that he finished in a time of 24 minutes 39 seconds.
As for me, I've been rumbled: "No way! I saw you take a short-cut," shouts experienced volunteer marshall Lee Morris, as I line up for a finishing token.
"You're nothing but a dirty, rotten cheat, Mr Barron!"
Good job I've got a thick skin.
- To support Dan, The Rhino Man, in his record-breaking quest, please go to: https://ajbellgreatnorthrun2025.enthuse.com/pf/daniel-de-vries
- To find out more about Save The Rhino International, go to: www.savetherhino.org
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