23 November 2008 to 28 Nov. 2008
Every second year, Morgan's Run, a 400km Adventure Race of epic proportions, is presented along the Eastern Cape's Wild Coast. It is a race that is attracting elite athletes from around the word. It ranks amongst the World's best and has been aligned with events like the Eco-Challenge and New Zealand's Southern Traverse. This event could become to the Eastern Cape what the Argus Cycle Tour is to Cape Town or Comrade's is to KwaZulu Natal.
The course is set along the remote tribal trust lands of the Eastern Cape's Wild Coast. The exact course will only be released at the race briefing after your prologue race on Sunday 23 November 2008.
The disciplines along the route will include sea kayaking, river kayaking, hiking, mountain biking, traversing, abseiling, ascending and coasteering.
The race starts on Monday the 24th of November and prize giving will take place on Friday the 28th of November at 20h00. We expect the top teams to take four to five days. The tail enders will be re-routed along a shorter course if they reach the cut off point later than the cut off time.
South Africa is a magnificent country with a topography that highlights the best of what the World has to offer. The mountainous terrain sliced and divided by uncharted rivers resulted in a remote, inaccessible strip of land along an untamed section of coastline. Shipwreck survivors named it the Wild Coast, politicians demarcated it as the Transkei. It is a land on its own, bordered by the mighty Kei River in the South and the Mtamvuna in the North.
There is no such thing as travelling along a straight line in the Transkei. Its vegetation is dictated by topography, summer rainfall, warm sub-tropical climate and the warm Indian Ocean. Golden, sandy beaches are punctuated my rugged, immoveable cliffs; this is the dividing line between an untamed sea and the Wild Coast. Within minutes of grasslands that run along this dividing line teams will disappear into sub-tropical jungle. Those that emerge on the other side could find small, traditional homesteads seemingly cut off from the rest of the world – remember that this is Xhosa land.
The Xhosa are a hospitable people with simple means. Do not confuse their simple means with your distorted norms; show respect and you will be treated as dignified guests and helped in your quest.
There is no shortage of water along this coastline. The rivers, like medieval moats have protected this coastal paradise from the development – the only way across is on foot, vehicles are forced to go 'round and there is no guaranty that they will find access to the opposite river bank.
Do you have what it takes to live the ultimate adventure? Brows through our photo gallery and then go to our calendar and enter!