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A Rhino in New York

Remember the rhino who came to our Countryside Day? Robin Chambers, the man inside, writes...

Many thanks to everyone who contributed so generously on 9th September to the "Save the Rhino" fighting fund. We collected £98, a tremendous help in reaching our final total of £1,540.

The New York Marathon was to be my first ever marathon and after September 11th I decided I wanted to try and run it in the rhino suit. Those of you who have seen the suit will agree that running the marathon in it is a daunting prospect. Spectacular but cumbersome, it weighs 25lbs with a head which needs holding firmly the whole time, and you don't want to know how hot it gets inside.

November 4th dawned cloudless and bright and at 7am I was queuing in Manhattan with 30,000 other runners for coaches to take us out to Staten Island, the start of the race. We got underway around 11am in a fantastic atmosphere of solidarity and mutual support. Three million New Yorkers turned out to cheer the runners all the way from Brooklyn to Central Park and they gave the rhino a rapturous reception. Probably never again will I hear so many thousands chanting "RHINO! RHINO!" and "ROBIN! ROBIN!" over a 5 hour 43 minute period. The fire trucks turned their sirens on when I went past and the cheering is still ringing in my ears. Without the suit I'd have been so much faster but it wouldn't have been the same. People were just amazed that anyone could be daft enough to run 26 miles in a costume like that but they certainly seemed glad to have seen me doing it.

It was an unforgettable experience which has made me determined to run the London Marathon in it in April. Thank yo again for your support and let's hope that between us we may actually have helped secure a place on the planet for a truly magnificent creature.

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