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Embrace all 53km and 1900m vert of South Africa’s iconic – and aptly named – five-day Whale Trail hiking route in one tremendous effort.
Fast flowing footpaths through spectacular mountain fynbos give way to technical rocky coastline ridges, calf killing sandy beaches and onto undulating coastal paths. The entire route is in the De Hoop Reserve, so you come for the whales, but expect to also see eland, bontebok, zebra, vultures, dolphins and signs of otter, leopard, caracal and turtles. It’s magic.
Finishing Whale is not easy but so worth the effort. Find your tribe of genuine, wild loving trail runners here.
Date: The race is held on Saturday 26 July 2025 and will start at 07h00 from Potberg Enviro Centre in De Hoop Nature Reserve.
Registration: Registration will be from 16h00 – 19h00 on Friday 25 July 2025 at De Hoop Collection, and from 06h00 at the start venue at Potberg for those staying outside the Reserve and unable to attend the registration and briefing dinner.
Briefing: Friday 25 July 2025 at 19h00 at De Hoop Collection. Those only registering at Potberg on race morning will be given the essentials briefing then.
Prize-giving: Saturday 26 July 2025 at 20h00 at De Hoop Collection. Cash prizes and lucky draws. Winners must be present or forfeit prize.
Accommodation: There is a good variety of accommodation options available at De Hoop Collection. Please see the Race Accommodation page
Glamping Tented Accommodation: Available at the Race Village of De Hoop Collection for the Friday and Saturday nights at R tbc for Glamping Tent for the weekend. Sleeps two people for two nights. See Accommodation Details.
Transfers: Competitors will be transferred on the morning of the 26 July 2025 the 30km from De Hoop Collection to the start line at Potberg. Competitors may deposit an official tog bag (to be issued at registration) that will then meet them at the finish area at Koppie Alleen.
Transfers will run from the finish at Koppie Alleen back to De Hoop Collection throughout the day (leaving every 45mins) for competitors. Spectators are welcome to use this shuttle to get to and from De Hoop Collection and the finish area. No private cars will be allowed to travel the 17km from De Hoop Collection to Koppie Alleen or beyond Potberg Enviro Centre.
Route: The 53km route follows the well-established CapeNature 5-day hiking trail with approx 1900m ascent. Detailed info on Race Route
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE WHALE TRAIL IS CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC unless booked on the hiking trail. No route scouting or pre-running is allowed. Any runners found on the trail illegally will be banned for all future events.
Entry Fee: R 5,800
Entries open from 10h00 on 9 September 2024 – A deposit payment of R 1,800 will be required within three days of entering in order to secure your booking. The remainder of the entry fee will be due by the 31 March 2025.
Refunds: 70% refund (of total entry fee) possible up until 26 April 2025 (3 months before the event date) following a written notification of withdrawal. Please note: Most of our costs for this event are incurred and committed long before you even start training. As such, it is to both our benefit that a substitute is found and we have a very fair substitution policy.
Substitutions: Substitutions are possible up to 12h00 Friday 18 July 2025 (8 days before the event) with a fee of R800. Substitutions will be offered to the wait list first. Should you want to make a substitution, contact the organisers.
Cancellation: Should the event scheduled for the 26 July 2025 be cancelled due to National Restrictions, entries will be transferred to the 2026 Whale of Trail event.
Prize Money: Thanks for the generous sponsorship from PSG Wealth Rosebank, both the Male and Female first place winners will receive R tbc cash, second place – R tbc and third place – R tbc. There will also be a R tbc lucky draw prize for all finishers of the 53km and 35km races. The fastest winning times to date stand at 4h30 for men and 5h28 for the women. Prize winners have to be present at prize giving dinner on the Saturday night in order to receive the prizes.
Goody Bags: Gift items and kitbags included in race entry are only for those who compete in the event and will not be handed to third party recipients.
Runners Information: Runners must be self sufficient for the day. No seconding allowed. There will be cut off times along the way, after which competitors will be pulled off the route and transported to the finish. Runners must be fit and should have run at least a 30km trail (as opposed to a dirt road run) run recently. Runners must stick to the marked trail. No short cuts are allowed. There will be a sweepers and checkpoints.
Medical: There will be emergency services on standby but participants must, under normal circumstances, be fit, healthy and able to complete the event safely without aid. Should the race medic declare any participant unfit to continue, he or she will be forced to withdraw from the event. This is a serious challenge. EACH PARTICIPANT MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR OWN SAFETY.
Missing equipment means no run. There will be kit checks. Penalalties will apply for missing equipment during the run.
