Slowvelders endure challenging adventure race in the Eastern Cape

Nine days, more than 700km, multiple different sporting disciplines, 115 teams and a total of 460 competitors.

This accurately sketches what the 2023 Adventure Racing World Championships, held in the Eastern Cape from October 19 to 28, looked like.

Adventure racing teams from all around the world, including Sweden, Finland, Canada, Brazil and even Estonia travelled to South Africa’s coast to put their endurance to the test.

Aside from the international teams, the Lowveld’s own team, dubbed the ‘Slowvelders’, also geared up for this multiday event.

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“It was such an amazing event!” Harry Wiltshire said following the event. He, Stephan Pinker, Wihan Jacobs and Megan Andersen formed the Slowvelders team.

As per the rules of the Adventure Racing World Series, teams consist of four members, of which one must always be of the opposite sex.

Throughout the series of events they had to face, the team had to stick together, which proved a challenge, especially considering that illness and fatigue played a role in their journey.

“The race was very intense and extremely tough,” Wiltshire said. “The biggest challenge we faced is that one of our members was a little bit ill before the race started.”

All four members of the team had to start the race for them to be taken into account for the rankings afterwards. “For the first 36 hours, we had to manage that one teammate’s illness, and we needed to push thorough while slowly nursing and managing that.”

Andersen, who was not feeling well very early on in the race, had to be removed from the competition due to health issues that could have been life-threatening if not treated. She underwent a CT scan and operations while the remaining three Slowvelders continued racing.

The team were tasked to trek approximately 242km, cycle for 529km, kayak 65km and run a 3km over the course of multiple days.

As if these gruelling tasks were not challenging enough, the teams did not have a route map prior to the event and could thus not strategise and plan ahead.

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“The big factor in adventure racing is that you can’t plan it. You receive a compass, get a map and only have those two tools to help navigate you around.” Wiltshire explained that teams need to reach as many checkpoints as they can, regardless of how they get there, whether it is up the hill or around it.

The Slowvelders ended in 80th position. They raced for eight days and finished in approximately 178 hours, with only 19 hours of sleep.

“We didn’t reach all of our goals, but I think we did great!” Wiltshire said. “The World Champs will probably never come to SA again in my racing career. We’re so proud of the South Africans for hosting such an amazing event! The friendliness of everyone, including the farmers along the route helping to extract people with hypothermia out of the mountains, taking people into their homes at night, helping to feed racers and provide water in the middle of the Karoo, it was just amazing.

“To see all the international teams – which was about 75% of the field – appreciate everything and everyone, was a really proud South African moment.”

Wiltshire summarised the race using the following words: “Tough, brutal, beautiful, and, if I could, I’ll start it all over again!”