Embracing your inner sky warrior

The race took place in the Witteberg Mountain Range in the Eastern Cape between Lady Grey, a rural village in the northern part of the province near the Lesotho border, and the Wartrail Country Club.

“I just went for experience, but next year I am definitely going to hopefully place in the top ten. What an epic experience! Rain, hail, wind, thunder, hot, cold, strong winds… overall a great race.”

The SkyRun is true mountain running with a variety of terrain, from hiking paths that lead you up to the Tower, to jeep track offering a welcome relief from the mostly mountainous terrain. The route choice is very much in the hands of individual competitors as the race is self-supported and self-navigated. Once you have left the town of Lady Grey behind, the beauty and remoteness of these mountains soon engulf you and it is not uncommon to run the entire race without seeing any signs of civilization.

The fauna and flora are incredible and there are over 650 plant and 80 animal species known to inhabit the mountains of the Witteberg.

“I have lost almost seven kilograms. My backpack with my food, water and equipment weighed about 6,4 kilograms. I didn’t really prepare for the icily cold weather. At one stage it was -8°C.”

Musica only started taking running seriously in 2014 and since then just loved every minute of it. His ultimate goal will be to qualify for the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc in France 2017. “We have some of the best trail-running in Mpumalanga. It is a 160-kilometre route with 10 000 ascent that goes through France, Italy, Switzerland and back to France. I am blessed with great talent in the sense of I don’t need to train as much to get the results I want.”

Next year he will travel to Italy for the North Face Lavaredo ultratrail, 120 kilometres in one day with a 6 800-metre ascent.

His very first trail was the Dolomiti in north-eastern Italy where he placed 55th overall. Next was the Num-num Trail Race in Machadodorp where he secured fifth place.

The Salomon SkyRun is considered by many to be one of the toughest ultratrail runs in the world. Bruce Arnette was the overall winner in 13 hours and 56 minutes.

The route
The trail starts in Lady Grey and the first 65 kilometres is the same for both races. The route climbs sharply out of Lady Grey to the first checkpoint at the Tower; this is about a 12-kilometre run and is a combination of hiking trails and mountain running.

As you climb the trail to the Tower, the majestic landscape unfolds in front of you and it now feels as if you are on top of Africa. Following the fence line you make your way along the ridge line to the second checkpoint which is at Olympus, this is another 10 kilometres and the terrain is now devoid of paths and trails and athletes must decide on the best route to the checkpoint.

After Olympus the athletes can follow a small trail that will lead them to Snowden which is checkpoint 3. Another 11 kilometres or so on, there is a natural spring just past Snowden before making your way to Avoca Peak, the highest point (2756m) on the race. The climb is challenging as the gradient is steep and the terrain is rough, especially after good summer rain.

From Avoca the route takes you over the “Dragonback”, a ridge line that is about three metres wide with steep descends on both sides – a fantastic formation of rock that is a feature of the race and a spectacular viewing point on a clear day.

The route flattens out for a while as you move towards CP6 at Skidor which is again a leg of about 10 kilometres. At Skidor you descend into the valley down a technical descent before getting to the river that will lead you to the compulsory stop at Balloch Cave, having now completed about 65 kilometres of the race.

Once athletes have done their medical and been given the all-clear by the doctor, it’s upwards and onwards as they take on the challenge of Balloch Wall a climb with a vertical ascent of over 500 metres in just three kilometres and back down the other side on the way to CP eight at Edgehill Farm.

Most athletes will now run in the dark as darkness has replaced the harsh African sun. Navigating through the Bridal Pass from Edge Hill to the turn is tricky with a lot of athletes losing a lot of time trying to find the correct entrance into the pass that will lead them onto the ridge line again.

The Bridal Pass has now been included as a way point on the route to assist athletes in negotiating the pass. A steady climb will take you onto the ridge line and to the checkpoint at the Turn. From here you will double back towards the Wartrail Country Club via Halston Peak which is the last checkpoint on the route. The climb down is technical and is made more difficult by the fact that you are very fatigued at this stage but buoyed by the realisation that you are now heading to the finish at Wartrail Country Club. – Skyrun 100

Race info
• Total distance: 101 339 metres
• Max elevation: 2 768 metres
• Min elevation: 1 640 metres
• Total climbing: 6 220 metres
• Total descent: -6 073 metres.