Serengeti Girls Run
Rhonda’s involvement in the Serengeti Girls Run began while she was traveling around Africa on vacation in early 2018. When asking her camp managers in Tanzania the best route for a training run, they told her she was the first woman to ever request an outdoor run. Rhonda’s run started with a security guard on the lookout for dangerous animals and grew in size the next day as a group of locals was inspired to join her for her. She became even more aware of how often we take access to safety and exercise for granted when her running companions commented on how they rarely have the opportunity to enjoy exercise given the risky circumstances of their environment.
As word spread about Rhonda’s runs in Tanzania, she was asked to participate in the inaugural Serengeti Girls Run, a 55-mile run over three days. In October 2018, she joined the first-ever women-only run across the Serengeti wilderness and returned in 2019 for the second annual run — which received coverage by CNN and included a feature of Rhonda. After missing 2020 due to the pandemic, Rhonda returned to run a third time in 2021.
During each race, she ran 18 miles across three days accompanied by the Singita Grumeti Fund anti-poaching scouts.
As part of the community support programs, each year Rhonda speaks to a crowd of hundreds of local high school girls and then they go on a fun run in solidarity. In 2021 Rhonda’s crowd included 1050 schoolgirls!
The Serengeti Girls Run is part of a fundraiser for female empowerment programs hosted by the Singita Grumeti Fund and BRAVE. The run aims to raise funds and awareness about the challenges facing girls and women living in nearby communities and seek sustainable solutions. The main focus is on opportunities for women to become leaders in conservation in their communities and countries. Singita Grumeti Fund programs include secondary school, vocational studies and university scholarships, life skills and enterprise development training, environmental education and internships.
As part of the community support programs, each year Rhonda speaks to a crowd of over 620 of local high school girls and then they go on a fun run in solidarity.
While running, Rhonda and the other participants are able to witness the wildlife in the plains – running with zebras and passing lions, buffalo, and more in the bush.
As seen in
The run in October 2018 was the first of its kind, combining a physical challenge with a luxury safari experience, all for a good cause. This inaugural year saw the participation of nine women runners of all levels, and each day the group set out running with the freedom to choose their pace and distance, the standard being 30 km per day.
Beezie Burde, Singita Grumeti Fund
