Hope your training is going well.

In exactly 125 days you and a hundred or so other likeminded crazy individuals will step onto the beautiful trails of the Southern African Coastline and set off on an adventure of a life time. 300 plus km of the most challenging and spectacular trails ever to be included in a trail event await 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.

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 Natures 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).

Returning to the airport on Saturday 2^nd of October will be minimum of 1 shuttle to arrive at the George airport at 10.00am, further shuttles & prices will depend on number of bookings.

Please book your flights accordingly if you wish to make use of a shuttle. Shuttling time will be approx. 1.5 hours from George Airport to Natures Valley. Booking of the shuttles is essential to guarantee a seat. Please make your booking by emailing to christine@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

Parking & Transportation

Secure parking for all participant vehicles is offered for the entire duration of the event (venue to be confirmed). 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 from and to secure parking will be made available.

Upgrade Packages

Some of you have indicated that you would prefer a good nights sleep in a proper bed.

At this stage we can offer you – thanks to our partner Protea Hotels – exceptional rates at the Protea Hotel in Tsitsikamma for the first 2 nights (26^th & 27^th of Sept)

If you are interested in this option, please make sure you book before End of June 2010 by emailing christine@magneticsouth.net.

All prices are room only for 2 nights 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 Nature’s Valley Campsite 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

We have not finalised alternative overnight venues for the entire route – this will be communicated to you in a short while.

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 info 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.

Day 3-6:

As was the case in 2009 race details for these days were held back until just before the event to protect the landowners from any unauthorised scouting of the route. We will however ensure you are given ample advance notice of the accommodation upgrade options available in good time. There will be a comprehensive Southern Storm Event Handbook that will give you all the relevant information and the morning/evening race briefings/prize giving will ensure any changes are communicated to you.

Compulsory Equipment

• MTB packed in Bike Box (we recommend a hard cover Bike Box for the best protection). If you are interested in purchasing a Bike Box – there are great deals from our Event partner, the Bike Box Company.
• Helmet
• Cycle Repair Kit
• Pump
• 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.

Day 3-6 on the SOUTHERN STORM will be a combination of technical trail running and Mountain Biking.
The Trail Runs will vary in distance between short runs of only a few kilometers and longer courses of up to 15 km interchanging with longer MTB rides. We will include some technical riding on fantastic single tracks on privately owned farms, but a high percentage of the MTB routes will follow forestry roads and Jeep Tracks on SAN Parks and MTO property traversing the most stunning scenery in the southern Cape.
Be prepared for interchanging disciplines, so you might start the day on a run, go onto a long MTB ride with a short run at the halfway mark and finish the day on another run.

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 routes. 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 drenching showers with strong winds.

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

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

For those of you coming down for the Oyster Festival, join us on the 6th July for the Featherbed Trail Run.

Happy Training,
Your Magnetic South Team