Rhodes Trail Run

The Rhodes Trail Run is a 52 km trail run that takes place in the southern Drakensberg of South Africa. The event starts in the Victorian-era hamlet of Rhodes at an altitude of 1800m (5905 ft), and climbs (at one stage the gradient is 1:3) to 2677m (8782 ft) at Lesotho View (on the Lesotho border) running along the Ben MacDhui snowfields before returning to Rhodes.

There is a limited field on a pre-entry by invitation only basis, with a substitution system.

History

The idea of the race was conceived by a small group of Rhodes property owners in 1986. The intention was to put Rhodes back on the map before it followed the same fate as other small South African rural ("platteland") villages which had faded into obscurity. This vision led to the birth of a unique event on the South African sports calendar.

The first event was staged in July 1989, and almost did not happen due to very heavy snow falls in the hamlet and surrounding mountains the night before the race. The start of the 2001 event was delayed while officials checked conditions to establish if seconding vehicles would be able to safely reach the runners after snow fell early on the morning of the race. If an exceptionally heavy snowfall occurs, as was the case in 2002 when there were very heavy snowfalls in the week leading up to the race, the route would have to be changed as the feeding station helpers would be unable to reach the plateau and runners would not be able to make their way through the Mavis Bank kloof.

Course

The first stage of the race takes the runners from the start at Rhodes along the Bell River and into the Kloppers Hoek Valley. The race makes use of a dirt farm road that crosses the Bell River several times via causeways and low-level bridges.

The second stage is an off-road section of approximately 8km to the Lesotho border road Check Point. The route follows footpaths and cattle and sheep trails and is marked by means of flags. This stage ends with a 1:3 ascent (Mavis Bank) from the valley to the Lesotho border Check Point.

The third stage of 9km follows the Lesotho border road (a rough 4x4 trail) through snowfields and past the ski slopes of Ben MacDhui, which reaches to 3001 meters. Competitors reach the highest point of the run on this section when they pass Lesotho View (2677m). Snow, mud and strong head winds are usually encountered.

The penultimate stage is an off-road section from the Tiffindell feeding station to the Hoogenoeg Hikers Hut, via Hoogenoeg point. There are no footpaths on this section and competitors follow the ridge line south to the next Check Point. A suitable route along the ridge and contour is marked by means of flags.

Along the final stage of the route a steep descent (1:3.4) drops the runners from the mountain plateau into the Carlisles Hoek Valley (dropping several hundred meters per kilometer) and thereafter the route follows the Carlisles Hoek Valley gravel road back to the finish in Rhodes.

External links

* [http://rhodesrun.za.net/, Official site]