“Imagine starting off at dawn and heading straight up a hill, knowing that’s the highest climb of the day already done… Coming up to see the sunrise [the course heads east and ends west], the view of the Breede River on one side and the Indian Ocean on the other with this whole area as your playground for the day. Approaching the finish line – on firm ground after a long stretch of beach –… Continue reading
They have some family commitments and feasting to attend to in Antarctica, so some are thinking about heading home soon, but the Southern Right Whales will leave with a ‘Sea you later’ promise to be back next year to take up their cheerleading positions. South Africa’s acclaimed five day Whale Trail hiking route is offered as a challenge to runners capable of embracing all 53km of spectacular mountain paths, technical rocky ridgelines, sandy beach stretches… Continue reading
Merrell Whale of Trail puts the W on Ow! Running 53km anywhere, is tough. Starting out with a 450m climb straight up a mountain makes it a little more daunting. Traversing 23km of single track mountain path takes some training. Trotting along the seaside clifftops puts strain on the fatigued legs. And then descending onto a beach is where one hits the proverbial wall. Only it is softer than a wall. And longer. But it… Continue reading
“This year’s event was the first of what will hopefully be many Whale of Trails in years to come, and blister by blister, either gruelled, gritted or grimaced, however we did it, we all loved it. The race was everything a decent trail running event should be – excellently organised, routed but not over-marked, marshalled but only at checkpoints, scenic, tough, testing, competitive.” Read her full report on her blog page. Continue reading
