Oak Valley
4Oak Valley Private Estate06 October 2024
Freshly designed race routes on the hallowed trails of Oak Valley Estate play host to the final race in the 2024 TSSL.
Smooth, fast and super diverse as we enjoy exclusive access to the magnificent mountain bike trails that have made Oak Valley so famous.
KIDS UNDER 10, who have been pre entered online, can run for free.
REGISTRATION is on the day of the event, from 06h00 - 08h00, at the venue.
Short
Long
XL
Long
In this brand new rendition of the Oak Valley Long course, we kick off with an undulating opening 2km on farm tracks before we hit the single track. It's fast and furious to the 3.7km mark, and the first hill to get you up to the winding switchbacks of Harrier Hawk trail at 5km. Up and over the hill using Snake Snatcher and down to Burtondale Dam at 8.6km, then onto Sound of Silence (10km), and finishing up with the beautiful Poplar Forest and Fountain of Youth before the short dash to the finish.
Short
A brand new 5.5km romp that opens with an undulating 1.8km of farm roads before you hit the GreenHouse Effect single track. At the Double-Dam trail at 2.7km you have hit the high point and it's (mostly) downhill from here. We finish this fun, fast route with the Poplar Forest and Fountain of Youth trails before the last dash to the finish line!
XL
After a short stint to spread the field, we tuck past the Boneyards trails through some lush forest. After connecting up with the Cemetary trail we turn out of the forest for an open and fast trail at 4km heading East. It's relatively flat and fast to 9km where we tuck into a small fun Harrier Hawk trail through a pine forest. Then it's up and over Cows Trail to the Oak Valley's Burtondale dam, pausing at the aid station at 11km. Then we connect up with the Sound of Silence at 14km and begin the haul up to the highest point at 16.7km. Then it's down Vissies magic trail, through the Poplar Forest single track before the turn into the finish.
WILDRUNNER TRAIL RUNNING GRADING SYSTEM (WTG)
Download the WTG here.
The Wildrunner Trail Grading system (WTG), was developed in 2009 and designed to help you make informed decisions on trail running events around the country. Unlike road running, trail running routes and races have many more facets to them, making them either harder or longer (in time) than you may expect.
Every race/event should give you the total distance and accumulative ascent, but using road running sense to work out your time based on these factors alone would be a mistake!
The three primary 'trail factors' affecting your overall time and effort on a trail run are as follows:
1. Terrain difficulty (easy or tricky?)
2. % single track/off-road to on-road (how much on difficult terrain?)
3. Route severity (how steep?)
HOW DOES IT WORK?
The three factors mentioned above have been expanded into an easy three part grading system. Each trail factor is listed below with the descriptions. Look out for races with a WTG and use this guide to make informed decisions.
DEFINITIONS:
'Technical' terrain = trail that is ‘busy’, that requires extensive concentration and trail running technique - for example a rocky hiking path, or a 4x4 track.
'Off-trail'= Describes sections that do not have any obvious or established route, for example a river bed, grass field or a section of beach.
'Single-track' = Describing a trail that is narrow and typically only wide enough for one runner to run on at a time and in single file. Examples of typical single track would be a hiking trail, mountain bike trail, game trail, livestock trail
FOR EXAMPLE:
Cape Winter Trail Series® - Tygerberg Nature Reserve: YELLOW 8B
Gauteng Summer Trail Series® - Leeuwenkloof: ORANGE 7A
Jonkershoek Mountain Challenge 36km: GREEN 8B
Skyrun 100km: RED 9B
All Wildrunner events (www.wildrunner.co.za) carry this grading system - look out for the grading on the event listing.
PART 1: TERRAIN DIFFICULTY
YELLOW = Easy, non-technical terrain, all on established trails and tracks
ORANGE= Moderately easy terrain, short sections of ‘technical’ terrain but largely easy running, all on established trails and tracks
GREEN = Moderate challenging terrain, with a mix of ‘technical’ and ‘non technical’ terrain, mostly on established trails and tracks but may or may not have extended sections regarded as being ‘off-trail’
BROWN = Moderately difficult terrain, more ‘technical’ terrain than ‘non-technical’ terrain, challenging but mostly on established trails and tracks although may or may not have extended sections regarded as being ‘off-trail’
RED = Difficult terrain, majority ‘technical’ terrain that is extremely demanding, may or may not have large sections on un-established trails and tracks
PART 2: % SINGLE TRACK/OFF-ROAD
1 = 1-10%
2 = 11-20%
3= 21-30%
4 = 31-40%
5 = 41-50%
6 = 51-60%
7 = 61-70%
8 = 71-80%
9 = 81-90%
10 = 91-100%
PART 3: ROUTE SEVERITY
A = Mostly runnable gradient
B = Mostly runable gradient, but has some steep ascent and descent that may require walking
C = Lots of steep ascent and descent that may require walking