It was Hot…
Race 3 at B’Sorah was an absolute scorcher. The heat hit the crew during set up, and did not abate on race day. A sneaky storm hit on Saturday night, and lasted around 30min. Just long enough to do some proper damage to the race village. Spur's gazebos got tossed about and came down in many little bits and pieces. But, with some critical crisis management and the usual amazing crew, we had the race village cleaned up without a trace of the storm before the first runner arrived.
The long course runners set out on 1km of foresty jeep track just to spread the field a bit before making their way down into 3km of stunning single track between the river and canals and through some lush forests. After that, they had a tough 1km climb out of the valley, but just before they wanted to give up...
It was Hennops with a difference this year, as the XL Race has been moved to Leeuwenkloof on 26 November. But there was no less buzz, and certainly plenty of beautiful trail for runners to enjoy on both the Short and Long Courses.
As an appropriate mark of the onset of summer, a massive thunder storm rolled in the night prior, leaving the Wildrunner team without power and somewhat nervous around what would be waiting at the venue the following morning. But by 5am, a beautiful sunrise welcomed runners, and blue sky peeked through.
Michael Farreira came out on top in the Long Course in a time of 1:04:19. He was followed by Sean Fietjie in 1:05:18, and Leon Scholtz was third in 1:10:16. It was great to see Ezra Ferreira, regular short course winner, stepping up to the Long this year. In the women’s race, Marelise Retief, winner of the recent...
Every season brings with it a new reason to get out and maximise time on the trails. A Gauteng summer is the perfect excuse to put your hand up for either the Short Course Challenge or Long Course Championship at the popular Spur Gauteng Summer Trail Series®. The Wildrunner crew is taking you back to the “Hennops Beast” on 22 October, to game spotting paradise at Segwati Game Ranch on 29 October, to the beautiful B’sorah Tented Camp in the heart of majestic Magaliesberg on 5 November, and to a truly memorable finale full of surprises at Leeuwenkloof on 26 November. A few of the well-received route changes applied to the winter Series® will be included, which has enabled an increase in single track and some great trail variety.
As part of the celebration of the 10th Spur Trail Series® the PeeWee (10 years or younger) division can enter at no...
In a move that serves to concentrate their focus in other provinces, Wildrunner has announced the cancellation of the 2017 Spur KZN Trail Series®.
The KZN Trail Series® launched in October 2011, with 619 participants supporting the inaugural event. In 2016 Wildrunner partnered with KZN Trail Running to grow the Series® through increased participation. Unfortunately, the projected growth has not occurred, and so with great regret Wildrunner has had to cancel what has become an unsustainable Series®.
Wildrunner wishes to thank all those that have supported their events in KZN, and will be refunding in full all 2017 online entries that have come in to date.
Wildrunner founder and owner, Owen Middleton outlines future plans, “The Spur Trail Series® remains a popular and entirely sustainable concept in both the Cape, and Gauteng over winter and summer. The team will be working on a fresh look for the new season, with some exciting developments...
Kleinmond was our final destination, and what a grand finale it turned out to be. Sunday 12 August promised some much needed rain in the Cape, which came down in buckets in regular intervals. Well over 100 runners took off to run the XL route, and they were the only group with a truly “dry” start. This didn’t last long, and they were treated to a course full of puddles, mud and the stuff that trail runners love the most.
All three courses offered runners the best of both worlds; with a mountainous route that boasted beautiful ocean views. A rocky single track next to the shore early on in the race was followed by a steep climb. A technical descent to the finish caught a few by surprise, and those with speed on this kind of terrain finished with big grins. Kleinmond is definitely the most technical of the four...
With one race left in for the Spur Cape Winter Trail Series, we’ve had no lack of action at the past two events. The weather at Tygerberg and Paarl Mountain Nature Reserves fooled many in to thinking spring had sprung, and there was definitely plenty of springy running out at both races.
Tygerberg Nature Reserve covers 388 hectares of land, and is the protected home of 562 different plant species. It is also a deceptively tough trail running venue! While some might have thought they were getting a hill, truth is there is more climbing on that route than at Paul Cluver and over 680m of elevation on the long course. We brought the Duiker loop back for Race 2 this year, which increased the single track and included two culverts which runners ducked below on the way out, and on their return. A steep, fun downhill took the long course...
Paul Cluver Wine Estate was the picturesque venue for Race 1 of the Spur Cape Winter Trail Series® and it marked the 10th anniversary of the Cape Winter Series® in style. After a chilly start to the morning, the sun rose and winter was temporarily forgotten.
The Long Course A Batch flew out of the start at 9am, with some of the Cape’s well known speedsters setting a cracking pace straight up. 3 more batches followed, some to run the 16km route for a personal best, and others just to enjoy a perfect morning on the trails, take a few Instagram-worthy shots and connect with like-minded mountain lovers. Nearly 300m of new single track was added to the route this year, and the infamous ropes and a steep and tricky descent rounded out a challenging course with a little bit of everything for everyone.
Raydon Balie set the tone and his intent for...
We know you have way too much fun out there, and we want to see it...so snap an image out on course and post it during the run and you can stand the chance of winning R1,000 worth of prizes courtesy of our friends at Spur Steak Ranches!
What exactly do I have to do you ask? The Spur Trail Series® is for the joy of trail running. Show us fun, show us adventure, show us why you are up early and capture it. It could be a selfie, it could be you and your mates, you and your kid - but it must just reflect fun and adventure!
So then you have the image, what now? Most importantly you must post it during the event, and before prize giving... You must post it with the the following hashtag and twitter handles: #MySpurTrailSeries @SpurSports @wildrunnerza
Then what happens? Our social media guru on the...
Our family is growing and we're offering the next generation of trail running champions a chance to compete for FREE!
In the last 10 years we’ve seen the Trail Series® grow exponentially, becoming the country’s biggest and only national short course trail series. A series that is fit for all types of runners, whether a racing snake or a leisurely stroller. It has become a fun outing for the whole family and as we’ve watched our family grow over the years at the Spur Trail Series® we’d really like to include them in our celebrations.
So as part of our 10-year anniversary, Wildrunner is offering all kids under the age of 10 the opportunity to run the Spur Cape Winter Trail Series® for free.
Please email info@wildrunner.co.za with your child’s name, age and school and we’ll send you a promo code for them to enter.
Race information:
Please follow the link for more information.
T’s and C’s (Terms and Conditions)
1. Applicable for any child 10...
You know what they say, don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened! And it will happen all over again, soon. Leeuwenkloof was the grand finale of the Spur Gauteng Winter Trail Series®, and what a place for it. The start / finish venue lay within their tented camp area, with our start chute beneath the looming rock face that watches over the field, braai area and lapa.
The course offered a great mix of forestry single track, open dry high veld along the koppies, some rocky jeep track and, for the long course runners, a cool mine shaft that leads to a cave which ultimately shoots runners out higher up on the mountain.
The Long Course started at 9am, with a sneaky little hill to wake everyone up right near the start. Tranquil Gumbo once again took top honours, in a time of 01:01:50. It was the first time he...