Mountain Bike & Trail Run & Paddle

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Mountain Bike & Trail Run

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Enter now!

brought to you by Bitou Tourism Plettenberg Bay

Plettenberg Bay; Saturday, 26th of September 2009

We have good news for all those paddlers out there – you convinced us that the paddle is a vital part of the Robberg Express and with great initiative and help from the Plett Paddling Club we can announce the Robberg Express in its old format: MTB, Trail Run & Surfski Paddle!

What are the disciplines & distances?

After last year’s rough sea conditions we had a great demand to cancel the paddle; but when we cancelled the paddle we had an even greater demand to bring the paddle back in.

We finally hope to have found a solution for (almost) everybody:
Robberg Express will take place in its old format, while the Robberg Raggie will be changed to a MTB/Trail Running Duathlon.

Mountain Bike:
A 40km ride from Harkerville. Encompassing wet high forest on gravel roads and dirt tracks, the ride is sure to get the heart rate up and the legs well warmed. The route is a journey through the Harkerville forest – it starts at the Harkerville Forestry Station and finishes at Robberg Nature Reserve.

Trail Run:
Running 8 kms over rock formations that date back to 130 million years ago, cast your imagination to how the Stone Age people and KoiSan once lived here. The run affords competitors dramatically stunning views and a challenging route- this has to be one of South Africa’s most breathtaking trail runs!

Ocean Paddle:
The early Portuguese didn’t call this bay ‘Baia Formosa’ or the beautiful bay for nothing. Paddling parallel to the coastline will reward you with marvelous backdrops of the Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma mountains. You may even be lucky enough to glimpse a sight of Pletts own 7m Great White shark- the Robberg express.

Robberg Express

MTB – approx. 40 km
RUN – approx. 8 km (once around Robberg Peninsula)
PADDLE – approx. 10 km

Robberg Raggie

MTB – approx. 40 km
RUN – approx. 8 km (once around Robberg Peninsula)

What is the format of the Robberg Express and what are the entry fees?

SOLO
MTB (40 km) & Run (8 km) & Paddle (10 km) as an individual – R160.00

RELAY
Teams of 2 or 3: MTB (40 km) & Run (8km) & Paddle (10km) – R270.00 (teams will be given 1 timing device which has to be handed over as a batten)

SPRINT
MTB or Run or Paddle only as an individual – R90.00

What is the format of the Robberg Raggie and what are the Entry fees?

SOLO
MTB (40km) & Run (8 km) as an individual – R130.00

RELAY
Teams of 2: MTB (40 km) & Run (8km) – R180.00 (teams will be given 1 timing device which has to be handed over as a batten)

How do I enter?

Online Entries are open from 1st of July 2009.

When is registration and race briefing?

Registration will take place at Gilly’s Grill in Plettenberg Bay, as per last year from 4pm to 6pm on the evening prior to the race (Friday 25th). There will be a mandatory briefing at 5pm on the 25th of September. Magnetic South will be offering a subsidized entry into the Robberg Nature Reserve for supporters wanting to watch the race. This option will only be obtainable at registration at a cost of R10 per entry into the reserve. Spectators or visitors not obtaining this at registration will have to pay the full Reserve Entry fee of R 25 (unless you own a Wild Card) on the Saturday.

What time does the race start?

Saturday, 26th of September:

8.00am MTB – Robberg Express SOLO & RELAY & MTB SPRINT – Harkerville Forestry Station
8.00am MTB – Robberg Raggie SOLO – Harkerville Forestry Station
8.30 am RUN – Robberg Express RUN SPRINT – Robberg Nature Reserve Car Park
10.00am PADDLE SPRINT – R0bberg Beach End

How do I get back to my car – Race Logistics?

For those of you that enter the SOLO category – you will need to do the following before the race:
In the morning of the race you would have to drop your surfski, paddle and life-jacket at Robberg Beach end (security in place) and your running shoes/shorts at the main transition on Robberg Car Park.

Then you need to be either dropped, or drive out to the start at the Harkerville Forestry Station (safety in place for those who will leave their cars).

After the race there will be shuttles to the Harkerville Forestry Station to fetch your cars.

How will the race be timed ?

Participants will be timed using an electronic timing system recording their visit at strategically located checkpoints along the course. Each discipline has a “start” and a “finish” checkpoint.

There is a R100 deposit for the timing device! As soon as you have finished your race and return the “timing dibber” to us at registration you’ll get the R100 back!

Please note: Solo Participants will only rank in the solo category, not in each SPRINT discipline!

What are the Prize Categories?

Robberg Express

• Fastest Individual SOLO – Run/MTB/Paddle – Prize Money for podium finishers
• Fastest team – RELAY – Run/MTB/Paddle
• Fastest MTB – SPRINT – (male/female)
• Fastest TrailRun – SPRINT – (male/female)
• Fastest Paddle – SPRINT – (male/female)

Robberg Raggie

• Fastest Individual – OVERALL SOLO – Run/MTB
• Fastest Relay – Run/MTB

Is there a Female Category?

Not for the Solo Races or the Relay Races, but with the GBAT (gender based adjusted timing) system SOLO Ladies get a fair chance of ranking amongst their male competitors – so we hope to see lots of ladies amongst the podium finishers! All individual disciplines have female categories.