Otter 26/27 September

This newsletter had been sent out to your fellow participants before you entered the race – please find important information below.

Few months left until you and a hundredfifty other likeminded crazy individuals will step onto the beautiful trails of the Otter and set off on an adventure of a life time. 42 km of the most challenging and spectacular trail ever awaits you.

For now we will be providing information concerning your personal logistics. Note that the information provided is subject to change depending on developments pertaining to the logistics of the event.

Parking & Transportation

Those who participated last year will know that there is very limited parking at the Start/Finish Venue and we will not allow any participant’s vehicles to be parked overnight at the De Vasselot Campsite.

Secure parking for all participant vehicles is offered for the duration of the event (Forest Hall). There will be transfers from the parking venue to the registration/start of the race as well as back to the car park after the race.

Self Drive
Participants who wish to arrange their own transport to and from the event may do so but NO overnight parking is available at the start at Natures Valley Camp Site. Shuttles to and from secure parking at Forest Hall will be made available.

Flying In & Out:
If you live anywhere else in the country and will need to book a flight, we recommend booking a flight into George. From last year’s experience only very few athletes opted to fly into PE – with the consequence that the shuttles PE to Nature’s Valley became unreasonably expensive. (so don’t book into PE, unless you have transport sorted or consider taking a rental vehicle)

Our designated travel agent – Angela Mills – is very happy to help you book your flights. Please drop her an email to angela.mills@travelcounsellors.co.za or contact her on 044-3824506 and she will arrange your flight and shuttle bookings.

To keep the price for the shuttles as low as possible we will only be able to give you a final figure once we have an idea of how many of you will require this service and the flights you have opted to utilise (see timetable below).

However we will organise at least one shuttle on Sunday 26^th of September at 11.30am (if many athletes arrive from JHB we will organise an additional shuttle 10.00am).

Shuttles returning to the airport on Tuesday 28^th will be coordinated with your flights.

So please book your flights accordingly if you wish to make use of a shuttle. Shuttling time will be approx. 1.5 hours . Booking of the shuttles is essential to guarantee a seat. Please make your booking with admin@magneticsouth.net

The following flights are coordinated with our shuttle service.

CAPE TOWN – GEORGE – CAPE TOWN

SAA

JOHANNESBURG – GEORGE – JOHANNESBURG

SAA

1Time

Kulula

DURBAN – GEORGE – DURBAN

SAA

Upgrade Packages

Some of you have indicated that you would prefer a good night’s sleep in a proper bed before and after the race. Thanks to our partner Protea Hotels we can offer you exceptional rates at the Protea Hotel in Tsitsikamma.

If you are interested in this option, please make sure you book asap by emailing admin@magneticsouth.net.

All prices are room only for 2 nights (26^th & 27^th of Sept) sharing and will be booked on a first come first serve basis. Please also indicate if you wish to have 2 single or a double bed.

Breakfast & or dinner are not included as you are welcome to eat with your fellow competitors in the race village. A packed breakfast for race day and a Buffet breakfast for the morning after the event can be arranged with the hotel.

Please also let us know if you do not have your own vehicle to travel between Hotel and race village so we can provide shuttles (price will be communicated on request).

Alternatively you can book into the Natures Valley Forest Huts (2 single beds), however you will need to use the ablution blocks in the Campsite as the huts do not have their own facilities.

Again prices are for 2 nights sharing and will be booked on a first come first serve basis

Volunteers

Should you have someone wish to be a volunteer on the event kindly email chris@magneticsouth.net detailing qualifications and we will get back to them with more details on this opportunity.

Registration
Registration will take place at Natures Valley between the hours of 10h00 to 16h00 on the 26th of September.

Day 1: The Prologue

The Southern Storm will start with the Prologue Trail Run (approx. 6 km) which you may do at any time after having registered. Earliest and latest start times will be announced in subsequent correspondences. The results of the prologue will determine the starting order of day 2: The Otter Run with the fastest times starting first.

Please note that the Prologue is COMPULSORY as it will prepare you for your day on the Otter. A reminder that the Otter Trail has some very technical sections and the prologue has been designed to give you some idea of the terrain you will encounter.

Day 2: The Otter Run

Participants will be transported from Natures Valley to the Start of the Otter Run at Storms River Mouth from 05h30 on the morning of the 27th of September. The 1st start is at 06h20 and the last start at 07h00. The Cut off for an official finish of the Otter Run is 9 hours (16h00) and there are 3 strictly enforced cut off points en route where participants failing to arrive on time will be removed from the course. This is done to ensure participant safety. The remoteness of the route does not allow for any vehicular access and the safety sweep can only be done on foot.

Compulsory Equipment

• Cellular Telephone
• Race Bib
• Either a backpack or water bottle pouch. Double water bottle pouch recommended.
• Either a hydration pack or water bottles.
• Emergency Blanket
• Outer Shell
• Dry Pouch
• Emergency food (one sealed energy bar to be carried at all times)
• Light Fleece (may be compulsory dependent on weather.)
• Thermal Base layer. (may be compulsory dependent on weather.)
• Beanie (may be compulsory dependent on weather.)

Training

Based on our results from last year we have decided on a cut off time of 9 hours for The Otter. We decided on 9 hours because this time maintains a strong element of challenge to the event (it is possible for a good hiker to walk the trail in around 10 hours) and it allows our event team two hours of daylight to sweep the course and evacuate any stragglers. Iain Don Wauchope, who achieved the impossible and ran the Otter in just under 5 hours would normally expect to run a marathon in under 3 hours. So as a rule of thumb we recommend multiplying your marathon time by between 1.7 and 2 (depending on your technical trail running ability) If you can run a marathon in under 4 hours and 30 minutes and are fairly apt on technical trails, then you have a good chance being able to finish The Otter.

We strongly recommend incorporating some technical trail running into your training routine with some serious hill work (the route of the OTTER involves more than 2000 meters of elevation gain) to get the optimal result

Weather

September is one of our favourite times in the Garden Route with signs of summer around the corner yet it’s still cool enough to remain hydrated during prolonged periods of exertion. The Southern Right whales are around and will be seen from many points on the route. The Weather on the Southern Coast of Africa is always fickle though and although temperatures seldom approach zero, participants should be prepared to participate in anything from balmy days of 30 to very cold drenching showers with strong winds.

Our two main concerns in the planning of this event are your enjoyment and safety.

TV Coverage

Good news – we will have TV Coverage for the Otter broadcasted on Supersport!

That’s it for now – there will be more information coming soon.

Happy Training,
Your Magnetic South Team
www.magneticsouth.net

www.southernstorm.co.za
info@magneticsouth.net