The Recce Raid was a mountain biking and trail running adventure of epic proportions.

The extreme sport events took place in the Lowveld and Escarpment last week.

It was a balancing act between redefining ultra-endurance boundaries and providing a MTB and trail running festival for the whole family.

This three-day event was aimed at providing a challenge for every type of athlete, from the 6km trail run to the 400km MTB ride each event was unique and special with its own character and flavour.

The goal was to offer each participant an event in which they could test their personal boundaries, knowing that the Recce Raid will take them outside of their comfort zone.

The cumulative distance of all the 2022 Recce Raid events was a staggering 1 088km.

In addition, the cumulative vertical elevation exceeded 18 000m, twice the altitude of Mount Everest.

A monumental logistic and planning effort was required to ensure all these routes were supported, safe and accessible throughout the 56-hour event time period.

“The SA Special Forces Association (SASFA) has been an event partner since the inception of the ‘Recce Mission’ and plays a critical role in the planning, sponsorship recruitment and operations during the event.

“They were an event beneficiary with a percentage of each paid entry going towards the SASFA support fund, which is used to support ex-special forces members and their families who were wounded or killed during operations, or who otherwise require financial or other assistance,”said Marthinus Erasmus, one of the Recce Raid organisers.

Every kilometre of this epic journey added to the lives of the residents at the Epilepsy South Africa institution in Dullstroom.

The Recce Raid facilitated donations to Epilepsy SA for using their facilities and staff.

Many of their residents assisted eagerly with the set-up, break down and cleaning up operations of the event, as well as manning the ESA support point on the iconic sprint and short trail running events.

For them, the Recce Raid has become an annual highlight on their calendar.

“The Recce Raid journey will stay with participants forever. As most of the events took place on private property that is closed to the general public, supporters only had access to participants at the Recce Raid’s lodge partners, namely Kaapsehoop Horse Trails, Tranquilitas Adventure Farm, King Fisher Lodge, Verlorenkloof Lodge, Elandskloof and Highland Gate,” said Erasmus.

The sprint and short trail Raid 6 and 12km events offered runners of all fitness levels an enjoyable challenge. The local sponsored Sakhelwe runners have flown through the marked routes and set the records.

Other participants enjoyed the stroll through Robsons, one of the most spectacular farms on the Highlands. There are almost more trout dams than kilometres on these routes, creating a serene atmosphere that cannot be described in words.

There was also an element of adventure as the 12km runners crossed several rivers before passing through the enchanting Robsons bush tunnels.

The 35 and 55km runners followed the Crocodile River downstream on a mixture of forest, savannah and river tracks. The Crocodile River makes its way through this exclusive farm on route to Land’s End where it tumbles off the eastern Escarpment.

The 55km ultramarathon headed all the way down to Land’s End before heading back on the scenic escarpment trails.

After the Kareekraal Kloof Trail at Highland Gate, and some more challenging trails, runners headed back to Dullstroom on the scenic Escarpment trails.

Seasoned runners that completed the 100km trail run rated it on par with the Skyrun in terms of difficulty, and every runner of this extreme event said it is one of the most diverse and scenic runs they have ever conquered.

The route merged with the Trail Raid 160 below the Swartkoppies Waterfall . For the remaining 80km to Dullstroom these runners share the route.

The Kaapsehoop-to-Dullstroom, aka K2D 100 Miler, was the first ever run between the two idyllic towns, another first for the Recce Raid.

This 160km, 5 000m elevation route has the potential to become the benchmark of 100 milers in the country.

It tested the most seasoned off-road runners on old coach roads, ox wagon trails, cement tracks, two-spoor Jeep tracks, forestry roads, horse trails and tarred sections.

A mountain biking experience that will blow you mind…

Dullstroom hosted the  MTB marathon events.

With overwhelming support from the local community and landowners, the Recce Raid organisers put together a MTB marathon route that offered a combination of tar, cement and paved Jeep tracks, none of which were flat. It also included sections of forest, river and Savanah trails.

The marked 40km half marathon route was all-out fun – until the Amberley Monster stopped the unprepared in their tracks as they ascended the cement Jeep track to the highest point on the route at 2 100m less than 10km from the finish.

The 80km route added an extra loop down to Highland Gate and surrounding farms and proved a challenging route to navigate, however, the winners flew in, averaging over 25km/h on the route.

Part of the Recce Raid’s quest was to present the ultimate 200km MTB race that all mountain bikers mark on their calendars as one of their must-do events.

For most the route was fun to ride, passing through some of the most spectacular and breathtakingly scenery Mpumalanga has to offer.

The route traversed a combination of biospheres and road surfaces, from tarred sections and cement Jeep tracks to excellent forest and district roads.

It was a tough race with many uphills from Kaapsehoop to Dullstroom. Riders shared the monstrous climb to End-of-the-World with the MTB Raid 400 riders.

Hansie Joubert, winner of the MTB Raid 400 considered this ascent the toughest in his illustrious riding career.

Last year’s MTB Raid 400 was a world first with the unthinkable Everesting 10K barometric elevation riders had to conquer. This event again pushed all known physical and mental limits. The lead riders almost broke the mystical sub-30 hour barrier, and proved that this is possible under very favourable conditions.

Recce Raid is extremely thankful for all the sponsors that made this event possible, and know the ultra-endurance, off-road cycling and trail running fraternity cannot wait for the weekend of May 4 to 6, 2023.