Next up in SA skyrunning: SA’s first Skymarathon®

Organised by Running The Cape, the MTC will be run in the Matroosberg Private Nature reserve, two and half hours from Cape Town, near Ceres in the Western Cape, on 26 October.

skyrunning happens where the earth meets the sky – it’s tough in thin air!

With the race distance meeting the
International Skyrunning Federation (ISF) requirement of between 30km and 42km,
and its elevation gain of 2 200m on mountainous 4×4 trails and rocky
single track, the Matroosberg Trail Challenge qualifies as a Skymarathon®,
guaranteeing a route packed with lung-burning climbs, incredible scenery and
testing terrain.

As SASA’s second sanctioned skyrunning race,
the event will be southern Africa’s first Skymarathon®, pioneering the way for
South Africa’s first ever national skyrunning circuit.

The second SASA-sanctioned skyrunning event is the already announced Lesotho Ultra Trail (LUT), SA’s first UltrSkymarathon® taking place in the Maluti mountains in Lesotho on 30 November.

The route of the Matroosberg Trail
Challenge will take runners up to the 2 249m Matroosberg Peak, the second
highest peak in the Western Cape. Runners will overlook the Bokkeveld, Ceres,
Droë Hoek, Koue Bokkeveld, and the Ceres Karoo, with views of the
Witzenberg, Cedarberg and Du Toitskloof Mountains.

October weather in the Western Cape often
brings surprises, and the chance of cold weather could even give competitors
the opportunity to run in snow.

Running The Cape’s Ghaleed Nortje is
confident the route will challenge every runner, even the strongest and most
experienced.

snow can’t be guaranteed, but the chances are good

“For the privilege of having spectacular views,
the route will make runners pay – they’ll have to negotiate mountainous
terrain, very steep climbs and descents, high altitude and unpredictable
weather conditions. Near the top, the chance of snow will be good – a
snow-covered track makes for smoother running, but will make the course even
more challenging,” explains Nortje.

Nortje sees the event’s association with
skyrunning in South Africa as a tremendous boost, not only for the race but for
national trail running as a whole.

“I’m really excited about the MTC being
sanctioned by SASA, and by the prospect of it forming part of a national
skyrunning circuit from 2014. Gone are the days when we trail runners have to
drool over skyrunning events in Europe and the USA – our South African athletes
can now be a part of that rich experience too, by participating in local
skyrunning events,” says Nortje.

Being a SASA-sanctioned event, the
Matroosberg Trail Challenge will also enjoy exposure to the international trail
running community through SASA’s association with the ISF, potentially
attracting athletes from outside of South Africa’s borders.

Defined as mountain running up to or
exceeding 2 000m, where the incline exceeds 30% and where the climbing
difficulty is not more than 11˚ gradient, the sport of skyrunning has taken
the trail running world by storm in Europe, America and Asia over the past 20
years.

the terrain of the MTC will be as challenging as the views will be incredible

Skyrunning, a term coined by the ISF, is a
discipline conceived by Italian mountaineer Marino Giacometti who, with a
handful of fellow climbers during the early1990s, pioneered records and races
on Mont Blanc and Monte Rosa in the Italian Alps.

Today, skyrunning has grown to span some
200 registered races worldwide, with about 30 000 participants from 54
countries.

Formed in 2011, SASA is an associate member
of the ISF, and aims to promote and facilitate the growth of skyrunning in
South Africa. Read more about skyrunning in SA on the SASA site South African Skyrunning Association, or in various of my blog posts: Sierre-Zinal 2012, and Get set for Skyrunning in SA, and Lesotho Ultra Trail.

Event information will be posted towards
the end of May, and entries will open during the second half of June 2013. Follow the MTC on Facebook here .