Running for the love of Cranes

It was a mixture of conditions that challenged a field of more than 100 runners at the 2020 Three Crane Challenge at Karkloof Nature Reserve from February 21 to February 23.

The tough endurance event run over three days sees runners cover approximately 100 km of rugged terrain.

The trail run is part of the Wildseries hosted in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands.

Conservation was the biggest winner at the weekend as participants helped to raise funds through their race entries for South Africa’s endangered cranes.

The reserve serves as the breeding ground for the cranes.

The race was staged from the Bushwillow Caravan Park.

Each day runners completed distances between that of a half marathon and full marathon across technically challenging terrain.

Participants ran on road and off-road tracks through forests, grasslands and managed plantations.

The weekend started off with cooler weather and covered 31km.

It also included the Karkloof Canopy Tour, which was a highlight for many.

Day two, the longest day of the challenge spanning 40kms.

While the heat at the start of the race challenged participants the cooler weather at the top was a welcome respite for many of the runners.

The highpoint of the day was being in Mbona Nature Reserve and Benvie Botanical Garden where participants enjoyed a time-out in this spectacular and unique setting.

The final day delivered clear skies and breathtaking views of the Grey Mare’s.

A number of local trail runners featured in the event.

Paul Snyman open M 3:04:58 3:53:24 2:20:41 9:19:03

The challenge was won by Ruan Van Der Merwe with an overall time of 08:40:42.

Second place went to Matt Dove in a time of 08:50: 48 while Paul Snyman took third position in 09:19:03.

Nicolette Griffioen won the women’s race with a cumulative time of 9:53:44.

Jo Klepper came second in a time of 10:05:07 and Karoline Hanks was third women home in 11:33.

Ballito trail runner Natasha Barnes, running her second Three Cranes challenge, clinched third position in her age category in an overall time time of 18:21:05.

Barnes said that despite the challenging terrain on day two the weekend was definitely one for the bucket list.

“Three Cranes provides the ultimate challenge, you have to dig deep but few other KZN trails can offer such diversity and spectacular scenery,”said Barnes.

By participating in the Three Cranes Challenge, runners help to conserve KZN’s endangered cranes – the Blue, Grey-Crowned and Wattled Cranes – through the work of the Karkloof Conservancy.

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