Race Village and Registration:
De Vasselot Campsite – Nature’s Valley
Day 1 – The Prologue
The prologue is a short run (approx. 5km) that has similar characteristics as the Otter Run. It includes a steep climb and technical terrain.
Registration:
33°58’15.09″S
23°33’42.59″E
Prologue Start/Finish:
33°59’6.03″S
23°32’51.91″E
The Salt River Prologue
No compulsory equipment aside from the Race Bib/Race Shirt and Timing Chip is required to run the Salt River Prologue. A reminder that participants may attempt The Prologue at any time after registration until 4pm however the tide is coming in after 10:42 and later in the day runner’s times could be affected by a large set of waves if big sea conditions are prevalent. Completion of the Salt River Prologue is very much a part of the Otter Events and its inclusion, and function in the seeding process for the main run has been well received by participants in previous Otter Runs. The one change to the seeding system from previous events is the introduction of “The Abangeni” (see below) which is intended to ensure that the runner who crosses the finish line first is the winner of The Otter.
The prologue IS compulsory for all athletes.
Day 2 – The OTTER – African Trail Run
Participants will be transported to the Start of the Otter Run at Storms River Mouth from on the morning of race day. The Cut-off for an official finish of the Otter Run is 8 hours and of the Otter Challenge is 11 hours and there are 3 cut-off points en route where participants failing to arrive on time will be removed from the course.
The Otter traverses 4 rivers all of which involve getting your feet wet and the third river, the infamous Bloukrans River crossing, involves a swim. We will have safety personnel and equipment set up at the Bloukrans crossing to assist your traverse of this section.
The Otter Run involves no fewer than 11 “significant” (steep climbs of more than 50 meters of elevation gain) with three climbs exceeding 100 meters and a total elevation gain of over 2600 meters. Some of these climbs are steep enough to force even the strongest runners to walk and in many places it is stepped.
Otter – Pace Chart
click on the chart to see a bigger version.
