Otter Trail Run 2013 - the planning has begun...
survival trainingHAVING in the past attracted many of the world's leading trail athletes, this year’s Otter African Trail Run is again set to lift the benchmark for SA's Grail of Trail.
The September event - timed to coincide with the favourable tides that allow for safe passage at the infamous Bloukrans River crossing - has already proven its huge popularity with local and international athletes, when entries for the 2013 race were sold out within minutes of opening.
For Garden Route-based organisers Magnetic South, planning for this year's Otter has started with a SANParks-sanctioned safety scout.
The scouters included members of the 2012/13 Magnetic South field team, who were honoured to be joined by volunteers from the MCSA Mountain Rescue and Survival Training squad, which plays a vital role in the overall safety of both staff working along the Otter trail and the 400 athletes who take on this formidable challenge.
Preparation for the 2012 event fell into a league of its own with the introduction of a survival course for all key field team members, representing both Magnetic South and SANParks staff stationed along the spectacular route.
And Survival Training SA will again present the 2013 Otter team with a survival challenge in order to maintain a standard not yet seen at any other trail-running event.
"As part of our due diligence, Magnetic South carries out specially sanctioned scouting runs of the trail in as many varied conditions as possible to gain first-hand experience of what adverse weather or terrain will have on the athletes themselves,” said Otter course director Chris Crewdson.
“We have successfully managed floods, cold and treacherously slippery conditions and by running the route in the heat of summer, we have now established the effects of hot and very humid extremes to plan for all eventualities."
He added that sharing these experiences with MCSA volunteers and Survival Training SA members afforded them the chance to stay ahead of the curve while at the same time independently reporting back to SANParks management on the conditions of the trail and huts.
“The run has now captured the imagination of several flying instructors from 43 Air School in Port Alfred, thus enabling Magnetic South to assemble a team that is fit enough to run the Otter Trail while being capable of thinking on its feet and performing at a level required when conditions turn rapidly for the worse."
Those wishing to enter the 2013 Otter Africa Trail Run can add their names to the waiting list, thus standing a chance to replace entrants who may pick up injuries before the event - visit www.theotter.co.za for further info.