WHY I DEDICATE MY #WORLDRIVERRUN TO THE ORANGE RIVER.

On the bank of the #OrangeRiver, in the middle of the Richtersveld Desert in South Africa, my life changed.

I was in the middle of running across 7 Deserts on 7 Continents in 7 Weeks. I'd run Tabernas (Spain), Arabian (Jordan), Antarctic, Simpson (Australia) and was a few days away from completing my run in the Richtersveld (South Africa). Until that moment, I'd always thought I'd go back home, pull out my lawyering/investment banking suits and get a "real" job.

But, on that day I stood looking out at a river that had dropped literally meters in depth... A river where the barge carrying our support vehicle sat stranded on a bar of sand, exposed in the middle of the water...

A river that was systematically being drained to grow crops of grapes that stood out like green beacons along its banks - not for consumption in Africa, but to be shipped halfway around the world to tables in Europe and the USA. Grapes I'd probably purchased from the supermarket and discarded because they were a bit brown or soggy....

I was completely and utterly horrified. Despite everything I knew and I'd seen, witnessing the catastrophic impact our consumption was having on the lives and ecosystems of a river halfway around the world literally shook me to the core.

And at exactly that point in time. With my feet on the bank of that Orange River, I knew deep in my heart that this was a cause I was going to fight for, for the rest of my life. No matter what it takes, I want to help solve our water crisis.

It was literally a life-changing moment. And the rest as they say, is history.

This is why I chose the to dedicate my #WorldRiverRun to the Orange River.