Mungrals on the loose in Mpumalanga
The race is non-stop, with a 120-hour cut-off time, nine water points and five race villages along the course through pine forests, over high mountains and through remote valleys.
The Munga Trail is not your average race. It’s a crazy, single-stage race across some of the toughest terrain south of the equator.
It is a 370-kilometre route from Lakenvlei Forest Lodge in Belfast to the Blyde River Canyon.
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The race is non-stop, with a 120-hour cut-off time, nine water points and five race villages along the course through pine forests, over high mountains and through remote valleys.
The third edition of the Munga Trail started at on Wednesday with 18 competitors aiming to reach the finish line at the Forever Resort Blyde Canyon before the final cut-off at 12:00 on Monday.
An international field set off with loud thunder echoing through the forests in a year that, according to the weather forecasts will be a truly testing one. Rain is predicted throughout the race and the big question among the defending champions Bennie Roux and Nicky Booyens, is whether the cool wet weather will hand an advantage to the international contingent hailing from Denmark, England and Germany.
These runners typically perform well under cool, wet and cold conditions. One thing is for certain though, and that is that foot care will be an even higher priority than it has been in the past The Munga Trail has become an iconic event, attracting “dot watchers” from all over the world to its live tracking site.
So much so that several runners have returned to this testing race. Six of the 18 starters are experienced “mungrals” – a term used to denote any runner that has completed the race. Only nine runners claimed this title out of the 38 starters in 2017 and 2018.
Time will tell how the race unfolds, but organisers are expecting a tight tussle at the front of the field with British runner Paul O’Sullivan coming to the race with a solid pedigree and a race time seven hours faster than the current record, in a similar race in the USA.
Many people will be rooting for Vicky van Zyl who returns to the Munga Trail for a third time despite never having registered a finish.
At the time of going to press, local participant Kevin “Bergloper” Ruthven completed day 2 of the Munga Race 2019 and had covered 79,4 kilometres.
Visit Lowvelder’s Facebook page for frequent updates on his progress.
