The Otter – African Trail Run
The Otter-African Trail Run presented by Hi-TecDid you ever dream that you may, one day, be able to run this extraordinary hiking trail as a one day trail run? Your dream has now become reality!! Magnetic South, in association with SANParks, are extremely proud to now be offering this incredibly unique opportunity once again in 2010. The inaugural Otter took place on Sunday 20th September 2009 and the date for 2010 has been set, signed and sealed; Fri 24th and Sat 25th September. Entries are limited. What is the Otter-African Trail Run?The Otter is a two day trail running event featuring one of the best Trail Runs on planet earth and a shorter but no less spectacular prologue the day before to determine the starting order!! The Otter is a trail run set in the breathtaking Tsitsikamma National Park traversing the full 5-day hiking route of the Otter Trail. Athletes will be hosted in Tsitsikamma National Park on Friday and Saturday night. Taxis will transfer all athletes to the official start at Storms River on Saturday morning. The dates of the Otter 2010Dates for The Otter 2010 have been confirmed: Friday 24th and Saturday 25th September. Registration and prologue will take place on Friday and The Otter Run takes place on Saturday. The Format of the EventThe prologue Trail Run will be held on the Friday afternoon immediately after registration at Natures Valley. Athletes will be seeded for The Otter based on the results of the prologue with race start times on The OTTER (Saturday) being staggered accordingly and the higher seeded participants starting first. Due to the technical terrain and remoteness of this iconic trail, we will be required to enforce very strict cut-off times. Timing of the Race• Athletes enter as individuals and will be timed individually (Male & Female Athletes will be ranked separately). • Split times and accumulative time will be posted after the race that evening in the race village. Various safety cut-offs are effected at strategic points along the route and participants have to make sure they pass these points ahead of the cut-off times to remain on the course. The major cut-off on the Otter is the infamous Bloukrans River crossing which closes at 8 hours after race start after which participants will no longer be allowed to continue on the race course and will be asked to exit the trail and be transferred by ehicle to the finish. Anyone who passes the Bloukrans before this time will be allowed to complete the course. The Otter Race medals will only be awarded to those trail runners who complete The Otter in under the official race cut off time. The official race cut-off time has been set at 9 hours. Race Categories• OPEN Men 40- • OPEN Female 40- • VET Men 40+ • VET Female 40+ Participant AccommodationParticipants will have the choice of either tented accommodation in the race camp, luxury and B&B/chalet accommodation. The Race Village camp site will have sleeping tents, showers and toilets, medical & massage facilities, HQ and meal tents. A unique, warm, safe atmosphere will be fostered here. Alternative luxury and B&B/chalet accommodation information will be made available in due course. Entry RequirementsWe recommend a high level of fitness and endurance. Athletes enter as Entry fees and what is includedThe entry fee for 2010 per athlete is R 2 250.00. Athletes Entry includes the following services:
Optional Services:
Not included in the Race Package:
Entry ProcessEntries are limited to 150 athletes. (Note that an allocation of 20 of these entries have been reserved for overseas participants, SANParks staff, event organiser and invited event sponsors athletes). For more details on the entry process and to enter online please see www.southernstorm.co.za The Environmental impact of Trail RunningTrail runners do not have a significant difference in impact on the environment to that that hikers do. Because trail runners move considerably faster through an area, the impact per person per unit of time on a particular area is possibly less than that of hikers. The actual erosive impact of running on a trail does not differ Useful Travel Information:• The 2 closest airports to the start venue (equi-distant) are Port • Travel time from both airports to start venue is approximately 2 • Travel time from finish venue to George Airport is approximately 40 • Air carriers to George are: SAA, 1Time and Kulula from Joburg, SAA • Air carriers to Port Elizabeth are: SAA, 1Time and Kulula from Joburg, • The weather during the month of September is mild to warm. |
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