TRAIL1 min read
Mister Sands
Want to get stronger? Run on sand like Ryan Sandes. Here he is doing a recce run in the Atlantis dunes for Red Bull Dune Dusters. He says: “Running the Atlantis dunes is always epic as it gives such a great perspective of Table Mountain. It also brin
TRAIL2 min readPopular Culture & Media Studies
A Turn In The Trail
You may have been a TRAIL reader or advertiser for a while now. You’ve made this magazine possible for 10 years. It’s been a journey and an adventure that I look back at amazed. Thank you. This a bitter-sweet moment, a turn in the trail. Yes, this is
TRAIL2 min read
Lekker Lekker Lekker!
South Africa lost a unique and much-loved voice in October 2021. Carel Bezuidenhoud, better known as Raasbekkie, was synonymous with many of South Africa’s favourite running and cycling events. His big smile, soulful serenading, and a seemingly endle
TRAIL3 min read
4 Cool Hot Day Runs
Andy Wesson is an avid trail explorer from Port Elizabeth. The new trails at Hayterdale are marvellous. If running in mid-summer is hot, you know Addo will be pure swelter! Thank goodness for forests and streams to keep things cool, and this brand-ne
TRAIL1 min read
Trail
Publisher Deon Braun | deon@trailmag.co.za Editorial editorial@trailmag.co.za Advertising +27 82 377 4669 | ads@trailmag.co.za Event listings Race info to calendar@trailmag.co.za Address 64 Feilden Drive, Glenmore, Durban, 4001 Barbara Cole (cover),
TRAIL1 min read
< PROMOTED EVENTS >
14–22 March 2022, Namibia. 296km. Seven marathon distances in seven days at seven unique destinations. gondwana-collection.com 27–29 May 2022, Western Cape. 25km/22km/16km. Louvain Guest Farm, George. Beautiful trails in the Outeniqua Mountains. lang
TRAIL2 min read
Water Wonder
Bianca Engelbrecht celebrates the beauty of the Brownhooded Kingfisher Trail in the Garden Route National Park in Wilderness. The trail is a gentle loop of 4km from start to finish, following the fynbos-stained Duiwerivier all the way to the waterfal
TRAIL4 min read
Living Life To The Max
Nonhlakanipho Tau is a 32-year-old civil engineer from Randburg with a love of the mountains, travel, the outdoors - and trail running. If you bump into this self-confessed adventure junkie and sucker for pain on the trails, you will know all about i
TRAIL11 min read
Running Honour
Two women ran the 2021 Otter African Trail Run to commemorate the life of someone special. They had different journeys, but the same reason: Love. WESTERN CAPE 6-9 October 2021 Trail running was one of Werner Daniel’s passions. Then one day he went o
TRAIL1 min read
Life Lessons
ringos_reel Life will always be filled with adversity and all kinds of storms. The winters won’t change; but we can. We can’t live in a world where we keep wishing things were easier… Wish You Were BETTER!  Maxx Moticoe Johannesburg maxx_212
TRAIL1 min read
Local Leafy Plants
Loubie Rusch’s book, Cape Wild Foods: a Growers Guide, showcases 22 plants, several of which provide greens. You may already have some growing in your garden. Some nurseries will stock them, including Fynbos Life in Lakeside info@fynboslife.com 082 3
TRAIL11 min read
World Wonder
"When I grow up, I am going to marry a monkey!” This is apparently what I told my parents quite emphatically from as soon as I could talk. I was also going to be a vet. Or Doctor Doolittle’s right hand (wo)man – come hell or high water. My love of wi
TRAIL8 min read
The Italian Giant
I’ve always loved to run. To me, there is no sport more rewarding than running. After I finished my Chemistry BSc degree at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2011, I would run in the streets of Hilton wearing cotton t-shirts and Gilbert rugby shorts
TRAIL3 min read
6 Great shoes
SHOP R2 999 | capeunionmart.co.za The VECTIV™ Infinite is a fast, responsive trail shoe that thrives in technical terrain. It delivers 360º stability, exceptional traction, and optimal cushioning to every step, even on your longest trail days. TNF’s
TRAIL1 min read
Run Tor 2022
Fly to Geneva, Switzerland. Book a two-hour trip with Flixbus to Courmayeur through the Mont Blanc tunnel. shop.flixbus.com • Hotel Dolonne • Hotel Centrale • Rifugio Magià for a getaway. • One-week train pass to explore the Mont Blanc valley from Va
TRAIL4 min read
More, Much More
One of the highlights of my day was when Eugene came to show me his tractor, now complete. The young farmer has spent months carefully stripping and building the old machine. Sometimes he had to make new parts himself, labouring away in the shed full
TRAIL2 min read
3 Perfect packs
SHOP R3 699 | Scapeunionmart.co.za Race Day Training Pack provides space for storing the full spectrum of race-day safety gear without extra weight – your secret weapon when going the distance. The durable, ripstop fabric is sweat-wicking and highly
TRAIL3 min read
YOUR WORDS Your Viewpoint
I may be in my mid-forties, but I am still a great believer in having heroes who inspire you. I had the great privilege of meeting one of mine at a 2021 social presented by Hangklip Athletics Club. That a giant of the trail running world would take t
TRAIL4 min read
Time To Shine
Euro Steel Run the Rivers. 5km, 21km. Underberg. Jeep track and singletrack, fairly technical, mountain, forest, veld, and river trails. Start 6am. R650. runtherivers.co.za Honey Trails. 5km, 10km, 15km. Botha’s Hill. A refuge from the urban bustle,
TRAIL6 min readDiet & Nutrition
Mexican Wave
DEON BRAUN is exploring ways to live a healthier, more Nature-centred life through permaculture. Have you ever bonked on a trail? No, not that kind. Any endurance athlete knows that bonking – also known as hitting the wall due to low blood sugar – is
TRAIL4 min read
Your Photos
It’s sunset at Ngubu huts on day one of the Otter Trail. “September is a beautiful time of year to hike the Otter Trail – the weather is balmy and the whales are on the move. Sitting on the rocks in the bay, watching the sunset as the waves thunder,
TRAIL1 min read
Train don’t Strain
The 12,000 ton French crane barge BOS 400 ran aground off Duiker Point in 1994 and is a landmark along the rocky coastal trail near Sandy Bay. Tauriq Gamildien is a qualified adventure and mountain guide and an avid ultra trail runner. He snapped thi
TRAIL5 min read
Gear Up
Let’s start by comparing the two disciplines. Road running typically has support tables every 3km, while trail running does not. Road running is also usually in suburban areas where help can be found more easily should you get lost or injured. In tra
TRAIL7 min read
The Long Run
Coach Sean Tait investigates. Q “I’ve been training for events up to 25km, but have decided to step up and do the 42km Otter next year. My biggest challenge is going to be doing the long runs on weekends, as I have kids at home. How important are lon
TRAIL1 min read
Karen’s Tribute
Carel was born on 3 September 1975 in Despatch, a town between Uitenhage and PE in the Eastern Cape. He grew up in places as diverse as Oshakati, Rundu and Gobabis in Namibia, then Bloemfontein, Sasolburg, and Worcester, where he matriculated in Worc
TRAIL7 min read
Trail Connection
It’s indisputable that the Otter is special because of the breathtaking beauty and technical aspect of the route. It is also special because of the organising family and the trail runners themselves. For me however, there is more than that. There is
TRAIL6 min read
2021 Bestest Awards
How many people do you know who take a Halloween pumpkin to the top of a mountain to give it a cuddle? Not many, if any, right? That’s why this submission from Emma Rorke is a clear winner for 2021. Emma climbed Vensterberg in the Outeniqua mountains
TRAIL1 min read
Tibialis Anterior Strain
Tim’s first symptom was a hard lump in the middle third of his lower shin. With continued running, it was soon joined by significant pain and swelling. Diagnosis after his return: possible muscle herniation of the tibialis anterior muscle through the
TRAIL2 min read
Life On The Edge
This 244-page book will come at you from all angles: the head, the heart, the body, and the spiritual. First-time author Erica Terblanche certainly has a gift with words and without realising it, you suddenly find yourself lost in her world of advent
TRAIL2 min readChemistry
The Real Big C
Why do people who eat more plants get less cancer? Some phytonutrients act as antioxidants to douse free radicals, others can boost our liver’s own detoxifying enzymes, and some even boost our DNA repair enzymes, to patch up any damage done. But 23 y
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