fbpx Wildrunner | Trail Series

Wildrunner

The opening race of the Trail Series® Super League 2023, in partnership with WWF South Africa, didn’t disappoint.  But there was definitely a collective sigh of relief when the sun dipped down behind Table Mountain’s Nursery Buttress, and cast its long shadow over Kirstenbosch Gardens and the TSSL race village  - and wow what an evening it made for this exclusive race around these most treasured gardens and surrounding mountain estate.  

Billed as a sunset run meant that those fast enough could race without a supporting light to shine the way, but those making the most of it needed a Petzl headlamp or similar to catch the reflective trail markers guiding the way forward! Running through the gardens in the dying light, under huge tree ferns and towering forest canopies is a truly rewarding experience.

Katjiri defends 

As the gates closed to the public, the XL runners were first out of the blocks on their relatively short 14km.  A trio of elites made up of defending 2022 Super League Champion Wano Katjiri, Iain Peterkin and Joshua Blackshaw quickly set a blistering pace.  At the 10km mark Katjiri had a 15 second lead on Peterkin, with Blackshaw following on not far behind.  The final loop wasn’t enough for Peterkin to catch Katjiri, who romped home in 1:04:35 - 37 seconds clear of second place Peterkin.  The course record still stands, set by Llewellyn Groeneveld of 1:01:37 in 2022.

The ladies race in the XL was won by Emily Djock in 1:19:57, which also saw her break into the top 10 AND better her time from 2022 by just under 3 minutes!  Second place was Mila Gendenhuys in 1:20:44.  The course record of 1:16:23 set by Leanda du Bruyn in 2020 still stands.

Notable top 20 performances in the XL League categories included a 1:15:52 5th place overall finish for Veteran athlete Pete Calitz; and a 1:23:00 16th place overall time for Master athlete Trevor Jacobs.

Keeling owns the show

Brandon Keeling was simply on fire in the 10km long course race, totally dominating his competition with a 43:42 winning time and over a five minute margin on second and third.  Keeling’s consistency is remarkable, with just 21 seconds being the difference between his 2022 time of 43:21 and his winning time this year.  Siviwe Nkombi’s course record of 39:38, set in 2020, still remains untouched.

The battle for second, third and fourth was a 27 second affair however, with Warren Black stealing the second step from Wilson Finley by a relatively comfortable 23 seconds, and leaving Gus Farara just 4 seconds off making the podium.

Joanne Golding ruled the ladies race with a 13th overall and a winning time of 55:36.  In second place was Renee Cheary in 59:42.

Notable top 20 performances in the Long League categories included a 52:34 7th place finish overall for Veteran athlete Daniel Jubert.

A junior rules the roost

Junior athlete James Lyster (pictured) claimed his first win in the Super League 5.2km short course, in a time of 26:06; a mere 8 seconds ahead of second place Ashraf Moosa. This is the second year in a row that Moosa has had to accept second place, despite improving his time by over a minute and twenty seconds from 2022 to 2023!.  Minimee category (11-14yrs) athlete Zackery Day claimed the last step on the podium by a mere 4 seconds from fellow minimee CG Volschenk, finishing in 27:45 and 27:49 respectively.  

Morgan Volkmann won the ladies race in 32:08 and notable top 20 performances in the Short League categories included a top 10 finish for Peewee category runners (6-10yrs) Griffin Volkmann with a 29:38 (7th) and Oliver Tait 29:58 (10th).  Also breaking into the top 20 were Master athletes Shabeer Ebrahim with a 30:23 (11th) and Gordon Spenceley in 32:31 (15th).

Race results: TSSL23 Race 1 Kirstenbosch Results

Next up, Ida’s Valley

After pioneering the Ida’s Valley Nature Area’s first trail race in 2022, we are returning to this very special area for the second TSSL race in 2023.  

On offer is a 7.6km short, 13.5km long and a 21.5km XL race course.

For details and to enter: Race 2 Ida's Valley info and entry

A huge thank you to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens for hosting us again, and to our partners WWF South Africa, Elemental Outdoor, Keep Moving Socks, Steenberg, Petzl, Bluewater Africa and Finish Time for their continuing support. 

Please like, follow & share the stories & fantastic photos on our social media pages with the hashtag #TSSL23

Overnight rain and a cool westerly breeze made for perfect trail racing conditions at Oak Valley Wine Estate, the final race venue in the 2022 Trail Series® Super League.

First out of the stable were the 22km XL competitors…

Katjiri, Cronje & van den Heever give no quarter

The pace was electric from the get go, with Charl Cronje putting the foot down early in a last ditch attempt to unseat Wano KatjiriChristian van den Heever made up the leading trio that smashed through the 4km mark in just 16 minutes.  

The relentless pace continued to the 12km mark, but by this stage Katjiri had stretched a 2 minute lead on Cronje, with van den Heever close on his heels.

By the 16km mark, van den Heever had leapfrogged Cronje and so began his unrelenting chase of the race leader, who was at this stage still holding onto a 2 minute lead. 

By the finish however, van den Heever had reeled Katjiri in to within striking distance, but Katjiri was not going to let this one get away and held on to take the win by a mere 6 seconds. The winning time 1:36:38

With five wins out of the six races, Wano Katjiri secured himself the 2022 Super League Senior Men’s XL title by 8 points, with Charl Cronje 2nd and Kyle Maij 3rd respectively. 

Mohr-Holland leads the charge, van Sittert takes the League

Erika Mohr-Holland, Daniel Feldmann and Cornel Stander all finished within the top 20 overall, which gives you some idea of the battle that raged in the ladies race! 

The trio went through the 4km mark within shouting distance of the overall race leaders.  But in the end, Mohr-Holland proved to be relentless, and slowly but surely extended her lead to just over a minute at the line over Feldmann, finishing in 1:54:15. 

Kathyn van Sittert had an unassailable lead over Candyce Hall going into the final race for the Super League Senior title, and so it was no surprise that her fifth place at Oak Valley was all she needed to secure her the 2022 Super League Senior Ladies XL title.

Moosbrugger owns the XL scoreboard

Special mention needs to be made of the three highest points scorers in the XL Super League.  Over all six races, Michael Moosbrugger averaged 13th overall, with his worst position 17th and his best a 10th.  This consistency ranked him number one overall in the XL Super League with 2,322 points. The only other two breaking into the 2,000+ scoreline was Kathyn van Sittert and Wano Katjiri respectively. Moosbruggers' consistency won him his first Super League XL Veteran Category title. 

Records tumble in the 13.5km

Just under six minutes was slashed off the course record set by Lambert Brink in 2021.  Michael Ellis tore around the course in 54:16, putting over a minute and half on 2nd place James Montgomery at the line.  

Caitlin Snethlage followed suit in the ladies race, slashing over a minute and half off the previous course record set by Mila Geldenhys in 2021.  Snethlage finished in 1:01:42, and with a comfortable five minute lead on second place Rozelle Meier.

Master runner shines overall

Master runner Trevor Jacobs needs special mention in the Super League Long Course.  Jacobs never finished outside of the top 10 overall in any of the six races in the TSSL - in fact his worst was 8th! That consistent performance places Jacobs as the top scorer in the Long course Super League with 2,369 points.  Gregg Torr placed second overall and Caro Jordaan 3rd.  Each of these top three overall won their respective Super League Category titles.   

Minimee dominates the 5km

Youngster and ‘Minimee’ competitor (age 11-14 yrs) CG Volschenk smashed the 5km out of the park, finishing in just 21:14 - 29 seconds ahead of second placed senior runner Derick Minnie.

Birgit van Niekerk also showed a clear pair of heels in the ladies race, not only finishing 6th overall but just shy of 5 minutes ahead of second place Emily Gray. Birgit van Niekerk won her Super League Veteran Ladies title by over 1,000 points.

Peewee runner (age 6-10yrs) Evelyn Anne Knot had three solid performances to secure her a 12 point victory over Salma Fataar in the Super League Peewee category. 

Reece Finegan had five strong results out of the six TSSL races, winning him the Minimee (age 11-14 yrs) Super League title and also placing him sixth overall.  

Special mention needs to be made of Ashraf Moosa who scored the highest points in any of the Super League distances with a total score of 2,382.  Whilst Moosa never won a race his worst overall result in a race was 5th! Moosa won his Senior Mens category in the short course Super League by over 800 points. 

Below is a list of the Trail Series Super League category title holders for 2022:

 

XL Course 

Wano Katjiri (Senior Men)

Kathryn van Sittert (Senior Ladies)

Michael Moosbrugger (Veteran Men)

Lisa Pennell (Veteran Ladies)

Deemter Avenant (Master Men)

Letitia Smith (Master Ladies)

Long Course

Michael Kwaadsteniet (Senior Men)

Caro Jordaan (Senior Ladies)

Greg Torr (Veteran Men)

Sebnem ER (Veteran Ladies)

Trevor Jacobs (Master Men)

Charlotte Schreve (Master Ladies)

Short Course

Evelyn Ann Knott (Peewee 6-10 yrs)

Reece Finegan (Minimee 11-14 yrs)

Daniel Mark van Reenen (Junior 15-17yrs)

Ashraf Moosa (Senior Men)

Karen Battiston (Senior Ladies)

Steve Finegan (Veteran Men)

Birgit van Niekerk (Veteran Ladies)

Richard Rossiter (Master Men)

Roldah Orrie (Master Ladies)

 

 

 

 

The Super League format to the Trail Series® was launched in November 2019 for the 2020 trail running year, but like many many things, COVID-19 flung the handbrake up on that plan. 

Fast forward two years and understandably at the beginning of 2022 no-one really had any certainty yet over how the first post COVID year was going to pan out.  Likewise, we had no idea if indeed we were going to achieve the full Super League. So like most folks, we simply focussed on getting by, race by race.

Then 2022 took off like a supersonic missile, leaving a trail of loose ends and wish-we-had-time-too’s in its wake. And so it seems that all of a sudden we find ourselves a week out from fulfilling the first full six-race Trail Series® Super League.

And while we hadn’t really been pushing the TSSL theme, the results after 5 races are pretty exciting indeed…

Consistency counts

In yacht racing, consistency is king. You don’t have to win every race, you just have to be pushing at the sharp end all the way through to the final race.  

Similarly, the Super League format rewards participation and consistency.  The more races you run, the more points you get, the better you do.  Simple. 

The scoring starts with 400 for a win, and a point less for every position down the order from there - so 399 for 2nd, 398 for 3rd etc.  

The battles that rage

(Super League results link)

In the XL Super League it’s extremely hot at the top.  Wano Katjiri has just a 6 point lead over Charl Cronje.  If Charl can put seven places between himself and Wano at the line this Sunday, then he will take the crown.  Michael Moosbrugger leads the overall standings, complete with the highest TSSL score of 1936!

Amazingly, Tania Neethling and Robyn Gardener are tied on 1034 points a piece for second place in the XL Veteran Ladies category.  So whoever takes the tape takes the second step on the podium.

Both Deemter Avenant and Marcelle le Roux hold the top spot in their XL Master Categories from otherwise faster individuals, proving the points value of being at all five races!

In the Long course Super League, Jacques du Plessis holds onto a tenuous 18 point advantage over Michael de Kwaadsteniet. Caro Jordaan has an unassailable lead in her category, and is the second highest points scorer of the TSSL 2022 with 1934 (just two points behind Michael Moosbrugger).

In the Short course Super League, we start with the battle in the Peewee category (6-10yrs) where just eight points separate the Fataar sisters and the battle for 2nd place.  

He may have only completed two races, but Junior category speedster Finley Wilson scored a bullet in both races (OVERALL!) leaving him in second place behind Daniel van Reenen.  If he rocks up and puts another bullet on the board, he could well win the Junior Super League in 2022. 

One thing is for sure though, Sithandile Kokolo will be breathing down his neck having himself scored two 2nd places overall, and leaving him just 2 points behind Wilson in the fight for second place - or even first!

Ashraf  Moosa is untouchable in the Senior Mens short course Super League.  Karen Battiston is another who proves the value in consistency, and leads the Senior Ladies Short course category. 

Birgit van Niekerk and Steve Finegan both hold a powerful and consistent scoreline in their respective Veteran short course categories.  

Richard Rossiter has an unassailable lead over Sam Troost in the Master category, with Sam having done enough to hold onto his second place. 

In case you missed the link, here it is again: Super League results link

The final race

The absolutely sensational trails of Oak Valley Private Estate make up the final TSSL race track for 2022.

A short and fast 5km will decide the Short Course Super League, a 13.5km the long and a 22.5km the XL.

Whether you are competing in the overall TSSL or not, come and celebrate the conclusion of the first Super League on the smooth and fun trails of Oak Valley!

For all the race info and to enter click here

Now in its 11th consecutive year, Wildrunner’s popular Trail Series® continues to deliver a top quality, accessible and thoroughly enjoyable trail running experience for every level of runner. This year, the series final on the picturesque trails of the Kogelberg Nature Reserve was a fitting end to one of the best series yet.

On Saturday 11 August, the sleepy town of Kleinmond was bustling by 7 am. With the mountains of the biosphere looking down, the start/finish area above the beach filled up with families, friends, arch rivals and their supporters. At 8:30 am, the XL Course runners set off. A field of more than double the 2017 intake enjoyed 23km of rolling single track, boulder hopping, boardwalks, big climbs and one of the best Protea displays in this event’s history.

At 9:15 am the long course went off in 4 separate batches. The diverse route covered 14km, with coastal pathways, forests and mountain trails complete with spectacular ocean views. The short course crew followed at 9:36 am, to take on their 8km version of the event. No less beautiful, and a fair challenge for many.

It was only 32 minutes and 5 seconds before junior runner Stephen Millard came flying down the finish chute. Stephen, who has battled some niggles in both knees throughout the event, placed 2nd behind Ryan Ball in each of the previous three events, but put it all out there in Kleinmond to take top spot. In the women’s race, the crowd was on their feet cheering a sprint finish between Nicola Wills and Tanya Posthumus-Fox. Nicola finished in 38min 26 seconds with Tanya just behind her. There was impressive racing in the PeeWee and MiniMee categories, right through to the Grand Masters for the both men and women.

In the long course, Emmanuel Dlamini stormed home in 1 hour, 7 minutes and 51 seconds, securing his outright win of the Championship Series. First woman home was Katya Soggot, 8th overall in a time of 1 hour, 16 minutes and 34 seconds.

The XL course was won by Italian Stalian, Andrea Biffi in 1 hour 58 minutes and 51 seconds. First woman, and 5th overall, was 21 year old Bianca Tarboton in a time of 2 hours 21 minutes and 18 seconds.

As the runners poured in off the mountain and the festivities on the finish line leapt up a notch, there was much banter about who had placed were in the final series results. For many, however, their positions were not as important as the experiences that each event had brought. Some took home trophies, others scooped big prizes in the lucky draws. Some just came for the Instagram shots – and they certainly got those!

From the rollercoaster ride at Paul Cluver Estate to the daunting climb at Tygerberg; the granite boulders of Paarl to the ocean views of Kleinmond, the Cape Winter Trail Series® unearthed new talent, created new friendships, reignited the pure joy of running and brought young and old in to some of the Cape’s most beautiful outdoor spaces.

With thanks to partners Raidlight South Africa, Jaybird, Steenberg, and Pepsi for another grand adventure. We only part to meet again!

Full Series Results here.

The Cape Summer Trail Series® is back!

Whether you line up for full on and flat out, or rock up and chill out, the Cape Summer Trail Series® hosted by Wildrunner has something for everyone, even the kids.

The Series®, now in its 11th year, was built on the premise that trail running needed a transition zone, and it became just that. Athletes crossing from road running to trail have experienced this transition in a non-intimidating, fun environment that allows them to test some new gear, and learn from more experienced trail gurus. Equally, the Series® has been the springboard of professional trail running careers, and a place where the sharp end got sharper, using the various races as challenging time trials to increase strength and speed. We’ve seen whole families transition from Sunday morning slouches to fit and fabulous, as they take on a healthy dose of sunshine and trail magic with fellow outdoor lovers.

The Trail Series® has grown to enjoy a national footprint, but the Cape is where it has its roots. The 11th edition holds some exciting surprises, but never a shift from its intended place on the trail running calendar.

Entries for the 2018 Cape Summer Trail Series® are now open, and as always we have to limit our numbers per race. Run 3 of the 4 long or short courses to automatically compete in the Championship or Challenge and receive a medal. Or, you can take part in as many of the individual events as you like, and step up to the XL course at the end of the Series®.

Race one is 21 January 2018 at Lebanon Forest. Runners get an exclusive morning of running through the Valley Farm orchards and the Lebanon Forestry mountain bike trails. A trail filled with glorious singe track and picturesque views. A superb morning of running through a mixture of pine, Fynbos and orchards.

Start your 2018 on the trails, and, like us, never look back. 

This past Sunday the grand finale of Spur Cape Summer Trail Series® 2017 (CSTS) took place on the beautiful mountain bike trails of Oak-Valley wine estate. The Elgin Valley dished out some of its best weather it had to offer, making for a perfect morning of running.

Oak-Valley’s epic mountain bike trails are normally closed off to runners, but once a year we get exclusive access for the Spur Trail Series® runners to head out and enjoy these fast, flowy and fun trails.

With this being more of a mountain bike trail as well and slightly less technical mountain running, it meant we were also in for an extremely fast morning of running. Especially after having a look at the start line up for the XL. Race 4 see’s the addition of the Elgin Valley Summer XL. And on Sunday we had some big names line up, the likes of  Nicholas Rupanga, Edson Kumwamba, Jarryd Dunn, Ben Brimble, Noel Ernstzen, Katya Soggot, Annamart Laubscher (Marloth 24,5km winner as well CTM Peace Trail Winner), Ashleigh Simonis, Tish Jones and wildcard Ben Matiso all lining up to take on the XL. Making for one extremely exciting morning of racing.

The XL set off at 6:30 and the heat was immediately turned right up with the front runners setting a silly pace of 3:05 for the first km. It wasn’t long before road running top dog Ben Matiso (top 20 at Comrades) decided to really put the gas down, and came sprinting across the finish line in incredible time of 1:42:50. Nicholas Rupanga came in nearly a minute after Ben to take 2nd place, and 3rd place male was Edson Kumwamba.

In The ladies race top duo Tish Jones and Ashleigh Simonis crossed the line together, with Tish Jones taking the top step in an impressive time of 1:55:22 and Ashleigh Simonis a mere 2 seconds behind her. Final spot on the ladies podium, Annamart Laubscher who crossed the line in a time of 1:58:36, this girl is making some serious noise out on the trail running scene with her impressive CV so far.

Even though the long course missed out on a few of the top runners due to them taking part in the XL it didn’t seem to slow this bunch down at all. Racing kicked off at 7:30 for the A-Batch. With Series favourite Raydon Balie still away on his training camp, Emmanuel Dlamini seized the moment by whipping around this 15,7km course in a time of 1:02:05. Coming in second and 3rd place respectively was Ricardo Jaftha and Enok Jimani.

Svenja Gliem took a clear win in the ladies race, in a time of 1:15:24. Second place, Julie Huckle, came in a good 4min behind Svenja, and claiming the last step in the ladies race was Devon Basson coming in 3rd.

The short course racing snakes came sprinting across the finish line as fast as they set out. First place went to Evan Fortuin in a time of 28:21, second Gershon Aziza and third Llewlyn Jacobs. First to fly over the finish line in the ladies race, after a strategic call to downgrade from the long course, was Chantel Berowsky, claiming her first Trail Series podium. Second place went to Jade Bremner and wrapping up the ladies podium for the day was Josie McCann.

A seriously fast paced and impressive morning of running was had by all and we couldn’t have asked for a more exciting way to finish off this excitement that was Cape Summer Trail Series® 2017.

A big congratulations to our overall series champs (see below) as well as to all who completed the series.

Championship Results:

Open Men

  1. Emmanuel Dlamini

  2. Jarryd Dunn

  3. Ricardo Jaftha

Open Ladies

  1. Sophie Cope

  2. Emily Yeo

  3. Lize Cornellius

Veteran Men

  1. Shaun Gregory

  2. Mogale Piloso

  3. Mark Jacobson

Veteran Ladies

  1. Julie Huckle

  2. Bianca Daniels

  3. Jane Fisher

Master Men

  1. Neil Hermann

  2. Arno Lawrenz

  3. Hans Woermann

Master Ladies

  1. Maxine Reilly

  2. Paola Vignani

  3. Elvera Schwan

Challenge Results:

Open Men

  1. Dino Adams

  2. Evan Fortuin

  3. Llwelyn Jacobs

Open Ladies

  1. Josie McCann

  2. Caro Jordaan

  3. Elmarie Meyer

Veteran Men

  1. Rudi Bezuidenhout

  2. Arno Rossouw

  3. Bill Dunn

Veteran Ladies

  1. Nicolette Herring

  2. Frances Fuchs

  3. Anneke Von Maltitz

Master Men

  1. Leslie Chivell

  2. Richard Rossiter

  3. Gary Green

Master Ladies

  1. Lollos Rodseth

  2. Tania Morkel

  3. Michelle Groenewaldt

Junior Male

  1. Gershon Aziza

  2. Daniel Arendse

  3. Stephen Millard

Minimee

  1. Jethro Dunn

  2. Christiaan Engelbrecht

  3. Jade Bremner

Thank you all for coming out to play on the dirty trails with us this summer. We had an absolute blast with everyone. We look forward to seeing you all at the winter series kicking off on the 23rd of July at Paul Cluver. Until then keep on choosing adventure and enjoy exploring all the wonderful trails this country of ours has to offer.

Shout out to all our sponsors and partners who help make the events just that much more awesome. Spur Steak Ranches, Raidlight, BOS Sport, Steenberg Vineyards and WWF.

For more race results click here, for series results click here and to check out the awesome race day photos click here.

Following the global trail running initiative started in 2011 in the USA, and continuing the trend of trail running organizers undeniable responsibility to tune into as many ways of being environmentally friendly as possible, all Wildrunner Events from the 1st February 2017 will be “cup-less” events. 

“Basically any aid station providing hydration to participants will no longer be providing disposable cups, hence this will require each participant to provide his/her own cup,” says Owen Middleton, Wildrunner founder and MD.  “This will not only reduce our waste footprint in a huge way, but will enhance an environmental consciousness that together we can make a difference”.

In parallel to taking this cup-less stance, Wildrunner has taken the initiative to import one of the leading, BPA free, collapsible cup designs.  This durable cup weighs only 15g, and unlike it’s competition can take both hot and cold liquid.  These will be available for only R80 at the Trail Store on event day, as well as during the entry process.

Wildrunner and the Spur Trail Series® turn 10 years young this year and for this we want to celebrate 10 amazing years of fun & adventure for the whole family, by offering a FREE entry* to race 1 of the Spur Cape Summer Trail Series® to any and all adventurous trail kids aged 10 years old or younger!

With no experience necessary, just a pair of running shoes and a sense of adventure, the Spur Trail Series® is the perfect place to try this amazing sport. There are fantastic prizes to be won from sponsors Raidlight and Spur Steak Ranches!

So pile those kids in the car and unleash that outdoor adventurous running spirit on the fantastic trails of Lebanon Forest in Grabouw, at race 1 of 4 in the Spur Cape Summer Trail Series®! For more info check out trailseries.co.za

Please email info@wildrunner.co.za with your child’s NAME, SURNAME & ID NUMBER  and we’ll send you a promo code.  This offer is subject to the following terms and condition..

*T&C’s

  1. Applicable for any child 10 years or younger on the day of the first race.

  2. Applicable to the Cape Summer Trail Series® race 1 only (Lebanon Forest)

  3. Only applicable to  pre-registered runners.

  4. Registration indemnity must be signed by a parent or guardian