The Southern Storm presented by HI-TEC

The Southern Storm 2011 – Postponed to 2012

It seems crazy that just at a time when the Southern Storm is reaching iconic status and when our offices are inundated with enquiries about the next event, that we would decide to postpone the event.  We have made the very painful decision to postpone the next Southern Storm and permanently uncouple the event from the Otter Run.

We realise that this will come as disappointing news for many who have planed the year around participation in this event. We hope that those of you who were planning to enter The Southern Storm will be at least in part consoled by the fact that the Otter Run 2011 is very definitely on the calendar. But unless you are a 2010 Otter or Southern Storm participant and with that get prerogative entry - make sure you put your name onto the priority list to secure your entry to the OTTER.  With over 200 persons already registered on the priority list, and 300 eligible past participants, these entries are becoming increasingly hard to secure.

http://www.entrytickets.net/ms/otter-priority-list/

The uncoupling of the two events does mean that the Otter Run, as such, will form no part of future Southern Storm events.  Whilst this may come as unanticipated news to many of you who have regarded the Otter Run as one of the pillars of the Southern Storm, it may  open this event to others that saw the Storm with the OTTER included as too tough. For us as organisers this is an inevitable and very necessary step in securing the future of both events. The Otter Run has established itself as one of the most sought after events on the trail running calendar and as such has carved itself a future as an Iconic standalone trail run.

Whilst the Otter may have been perceived as an anchor part of the Southern Storm, it became in many ways an Achilles heel for our organisational team. With its fixed time, date and proximity to the organisationally intensive stand alone trail run, it inhibited our creativity resulting in us compromising our route and schedule of events. Ultimately it was the cause of us leaving out many beautiful wild sections which we believe will define future Southern Storms.

The Impossible Race

What is the Southern Storm?

The Southern Storm presented by Hi-Tec has been dubbed “The Race of the Gods.” It is a 6 day, staged, full service, offroad duathlon featuring Mountain biking and Trail Running that traverse some of the most spectacular natural and wilderness regions in Africa. The Storm follows a new path every year. Participants are accommodated in tented race camps which are moved daily.

What is the History of The Southern Storm?

The inaugural Southern Storm was staged in September 2009 and ushered in a new era of staged Storm Racing (Sport Traversing Oceans Rivers & Mountains). The first Storm, which attracted some of the best endurance athletes in Africa, was described by hardened multisport competitors as the most physically challenging event ever. The combination of two of the fastest growing trail sports into one staged event of an individual format provided a race of strategic intrigue for followers and proved exceptionally popular with competitors.

The 2009 Storm started in the Tsitsikamma section of the Garden Route National Park and, over six days, completed a full traverse East to West of the park finishing in Ebb and Flow at Wilderness. In its second year in 2010 it again started in the Tsitsikamma section by running the full length of the OTTER Hike, and finishing with a Grand Finale in Plettenberg Bay’s Main Road.

What is the format of the Southern Storm?

The Southern Storm is divided into 6 daily stages. Each stage comprises of one or a number of Legs. Each Leg is completed either by Mountain Biking or Trail Running. Distances of the Legs vary from 4km to 42km for the trail running Legs and 10km to 100km for the mountain bike Legs.

Leg, Stage and Overall Times are recorded and presented on a Race Leader-Board each day. Leg winners, Stage winners and overall Race Leaders are acknowledged in a daily ceremony held in the evenings in the Race camp. Competitors are ranked on the leader board according to their overall times and the leader at the end of every stage is presented with a yellow jersey.  The number one ranked competitor at the end of the final stage is declared the winner of the event.

Races can be run in a “time trial, “chasing” or “straight race” format. Transition times will be included in overall race or stage time however some transitions many have a set minimum time allocation or be neutralised.  Bonus times may be awarded for race wins and or hotspots. More information on the race format will be provided in the Race Rules and Competitor News Letters.

Timing is done electronically with a bi-directional chip-based system.

Race rules will be strictly implemented. A copy of the rules will be made available to all competitors.

When will the 2012 Southern Storm happen?

The exact dates will be announced soon.

What is the Path of the 2012 Southern Storm?

Because  “The Impossible Race” follows a new path every year and traverses many sections and areas not normally open to public access, the exact route of the Southern Storm is kept secret until the final race briefing. Access to many of the sections of the route is exclusively negotiated for the duration of the event and to honour agreements reached with land owners, these routes are kept secret. Certain sections however are open for public access and may be made revealed closer to the event in a series of competitor news letters.

Distances, elevation gains, route profiles and technical grading will be sent out in the competitor newsletters in the build up to the event. Total distances will be between 100-120km of trail running balanced by 250-300km of mountain biking.

In 2012 Southern Storm participants can be expected to be challenged by additional “exploration traverses”; sections of ultra intense adventure interwoven into the trail running and mountain biking routes. This might include short rope traverses, swims, boat ferries and possibly kloofing or caving.