'Rhino Vet' Danny is a record breaker

VET Danny De Vries has earned his place in the Guinness World Records – by running a half marathon dressed in a rhino suit.

Danny clocked 1hr 46 mins 01 secs in a race in Darlington to achieve a world record for the fastest half marathon while dressed as mammal.

He beat the previous record of 1hr 47mins 30secs, which was held by a man in the USA who ran in a gorilla suit.

Danny - whose suit weighed 10kg, was hot inside and limited his movement and vision – also raised £3,065 for Save the Rhino International, a charity committed to tackling poaching.

Passionate about rhino conservation in his native South Africa, he wanted to highlight the plight of the endangered species as well as raise money.

Driven by demand for their horn in Asia for Traditional Chinese Medicine or as a status symbol to display wealth, a rhino is poached, on average, every 15 hours in Africa.

Danny said: “As a vet, it is natural to want to help those who can’t speak for themselves.

“I don’t want the rhino to become extinct and the money I raised will go to a charity trying to protect rhinos and reduce the illegal horn trade.

“I was honestly gutted when I didn’t manage to break the record at the Great North Run. It’s the biggest half marathon in the world, there were so many eyes on it, and I desperately wanted to do it there.

“The conditions on the day, particularly the wind, added huge resistance to the suit, that part was completely out of my control.

“I knew I couldn’t just give up. I’m doing this for the rhinos, and that meant booking another race and giving it another go, no matter how hard it was. On the day itself, I decided I’d just give it my best shot.

“When I realised halfway through that I was about two minutes ahead of the record pace, I knew I had to dig deep.”

Danny, who lives in Stockton-on-Tees, works at Clifton Lodge Vets, which has branches in Hartlepool, Billingham, Peterlee and Sedgefield.