Friday, 12 November 2010 14:39
Entries for Salomon Skyrun double
The 13th edition of the Salomon Skyrun presented by Thule has almost doubled its entries from last year. Meaning that in less than 48 hours, a record field of 178 intrepid souls will gather in the quaint Victorian town of Lady Grey all with the same goal: to conquer the 100km self-supported, unmarked mountain run along the meandering ridgelines of the Southern Drakensberg, and thus lay claim to the rather elitist title of, Skyrunner.
So why the sudden boom in popularity? Two reasons…
For one, the event is backed by a number of iconic adventure brands, including Salomon, Thule, and recently Red Bull. With this substantial support, race organisers, Pure Adventures have been able to attract a star-studded trail-running field from all parts of the world. Men’s title contenders vying for the prize purse include past winners Iain Don-Wauchope and undisputed Skyrun King, Bruce Arnett, German trail-running guru, Stephan Repke, and adventure racing kingpin Dononvan Sims. Excitingly, the woman’s field is equally littered with cosmopolitan talent. Amongst the favourites are, Western Cape’s multisport pocket rocket, Tatum Prins, TransAlps Run podium finisher, Linda Doke, and defending Skyrun champ Jeanette Steyn.
But as John Michael Twase - founder of Skyrun - will tell you, the second and probably foremost reason for the swell in novice Skyrunner’s is the lure of “competing against a mountain, the great outdoors and ones self… to restore basic survival instincts and ultimately rediscover the heart of true living”. Speak to any Skyrunner and apart from the physical demands it is this almost “spiritual pursuit” that separates the Skyrun from other events. Trail runners rave about the vastness of this run. Indeed there are few races in the world that follow an unmarked wilderness route for almost three quarters of its length. It has to be mountain running in its purest.
The news gets better too – well for some - because as the indomitable Race Organiser, Adrian Saffy, explains, Skyrun 2010 “is getting somewhat of a facelift”. The route has changed and has been made slightly longer too. More mountains, more solitude. Due to the closure of Tiffendell Ski Resort organizers have had to redirect runners back towards Balloch Wall along a daring rocky cliff descent into the finish at Wartrail Country Club - a seemingly fitting place to end the most epic of running battles.
Add comment
