Race 3 was hard to beat in terms of venue and views. The Segweti Ranch is located on the picturesque Northern boundary of the “Cradle of Humankind” World Heritage Site, just 45 minutes from Johannesburg or Pretoria. Unspoilt views of the mountains and open plains along with perfect racing weather greeted the runners.
For the Long Course, there was a lot of big pre-race talk going down between Michael Ferreira and Tranquil Gumbo. Michael had plans to challenge the course record, but Tranquil stated firmly that the win would be his. Tranquil stuck to his plan, and claimed a 3/3 win in a time of 51:10. Kennedy Sekhute came in second, in a time of 54:09. Michael finished third in a time of 55:27, with some proper battle scars after a taking a tumble on the jeep track just before the course split.
Magretha Wang was once again the first female in...
This year the Hennops trails were run in reverse, the inafamously known "Hennops Beast" includes the Spur Gauteng Winter XL course for those wanting something a little tougher. It was an icy start, with a layer of frost covering covering the start/finish area at the start of the day.
Each course had some new additions, most notably was the first river crossing, which took the form of a bridge and some fun stepping stones.
With the course now in reverse, runners took on the Hennops Beast from a whole new angle. Although the elevation gain was on a par and equally brutal as previous years, it was slightly more gradual. However, that respite resulted in a much steeper downhill treat with some technical sections to keep everyone on their toes, or bum sliding. Even well-known Trails Series® Champs like Mike Bailey were tap dancing!
Event manager, Philip Olckers enjoyed the reaction of Ezra Ferreira, a...
Race 1 of the Gauteng Winter Spur Trail Series®
Less than an hour outside of Johannesburg, the B’sorah Luxury Tented Camp is hidden in the bushveld of the majestic Magaliesberg Mountains. As the venue for the first of the Gauteng Winter Spur Trail Series® events, B’sorah welcomed runners with icy temperatures, but the sun, views and great vibe had warmed everyone up by 9am, when the racing kicked off.
It was a fast day out, and with this being a new course, all times have been recorded as the times to beat during the summer series. Challenge set!
The Long Course started at 9am with Batch A. Batches left in 2min intervals, and there were 4 batches in total. This course boasted about 1.5km of jeep track before taking runners in to 3km of single track between the canal and the river. There was a sneaky climb out of the river, before runners...
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 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...
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,...
Receive your medal!
Despite all our careful preparations, human error prevailed on Friday before the final race in the CSTS17! Whilst packing all the necessary equipment your wonderfully hard earned Spur Summer Trail Series® medal was left on the shelves at the Wildrunner offices.
This is our blunder and to make good on this we will ensure we get them to you, so please if you did not receive your medal already at race 3, please tell us where your medal can be delivered and we will ensure you receive it. For delivery we just need a physical address emailed to info@wildrunner.co.za. Alternatively - and only if this is not any inconvenience to you - you are welcome to pop in at the Wildrunner offices and collect in person.
Another spectacular evening of running for the Spur Cape Summer Trail Series® 2017 as runners chased down the sunset through the howling winds, otherwise considered a gentle breeze by all local Cape Tonians, on Wednesday night at Meerendal Wine Estate.
It was a first for the Spur Trail Series® at this new venue and proved to be hit for all who crossed the finish line. The view from the start/finish was a sight to remember as the runners wound their way up the beautifully cut switchback mountain bike trails, with Table Mountain and Lions Head lit up in the backdrop.
Racing kicked off at 19:30 for the long course, with all the racing snakes and serious faces lined up, up front. Current series leader and the hot favourite for podium step number one, was missing from the starting line, meaning there was a first place up for grabs.
Michael Davidson saw the gap...
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...
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 Race 3 and 4 of the Spur Cape Summer 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 for race 3 and 4.
Race information:
Race 3
Date: Wednesday, 08...
This past Sunday saw the trail running calendar kick off with the first race of the Spur Cape Summer Trail Series® at Lebanon Forest in Elgin. After taking a beating from the wild fires last year, it was awesome to have all the fun single tracks back in action. The Cape decided to play along as well and dish out some delicious weather for runners to play in out on the trails.
First light came peeking out at 5:30am as runners started rolling in for registration and number collection. By 6:30am there was an exciting buzz in the air from all the runners getting ready to dust off those holiday legs and kick up some dirt. To add to the buzz was Wildrunner’s own bag of exciting news for 2017. First was the fact that Spur Trail Series® and Wildrunner turns 10 years young this year.
Then the addition of Raidlight as new...