Monday, 31 January 2011 10:46
Southern Storm Duathlon cancelled for 2011
From race organisers Magnetic South:
It seems crazy that just at a time when the Southern Storm is reaching iconic status and when our offices are inundated with enquires about the next event, that we would decide to postpone the event but we have made the very painful decision to both call off the next Southern Storm and permanently uncouple the event from the Otter Run.
I realise that this will come as very disappointing news for many of you who have planned your year around participation in this event and hope that you will be at least in part consoled by the fact that the Otter Run 2011 is very definitely on the calendar and you, as a past Southern Storm participant, have the prerogative of securing an entry to this event prior to entries being opened to the public. With over 200 persons already registered on the priority list, and 300 eligible past participants, these entries are becoming increasingly hard to secure.
The uncoupling of the two events does mean that the Otter Run, as such, will form no part of future Southern Storm events. Whilst this may come as unanticipated news to many of you who have regarded the Otter Run as one of the pillars of the Southern Storm, it is an inevitable and very necessary step for us as organisers in securing the future for both events. The Otter Run has established itself as one of the most sought after events on the trail running calendar and as such has carved itself a future as an Iconic standalone trail run.
Whilst the Otter may have been perceived as an anchor part of the Southern Storm, it became in many ways an Achilles heel for our organisational team. With its fixed time, date and proximity to the organisationally intensive stand alone trail run, it inhibited our creativity resulting in us compromising our route and schedule of events. Ultimately it was the cause of us leaving out many beautiful wild sections which we believe will define future Southern Storms.
As soon as the date of the next Storm is set you will be the first to know. In the meantime watch out for more news on the Otter and how you can get an entry for this - in the next couple of days.
With best regards,
your Magnetic South Team
