Experience the breathtaking beauty of the Tortoise Tuff 30km race on March 21 near Knysna or challenge yourself with the gruelling RAC Tough One in Randburg, both offering unique and rewarding running experiences in South Africa. Picture: Sedgefield Striders
Image: Sedgefield Striders
For an ultramarathon-obsessed country like South Africa, it’s refreshing when there are big turnouts at the shorter distances.
In fact, it’s increasingly rare to see races that don’t offer the standard marathon and half-marathon distances.
That’s where races like Tortoise Tuff and RAC Tough One come in.
The Tortoise Tuff has 10km and 21km events, but the headline distance is the 30km.
Starting from Sedgefield Primary School near the picturesque Knysna, there are few, if any, races that can compete for the sheer natural beauty on display for all the runners taking part.
The route takes in the lagoon and the ocean, with a brutal climb lying in wait on what is known as T-Shirt Hill.
This year’s race will take place on March 21, for those brave enough to pound the roads for this unique race.
Later in the year, one of the most difficult races in South Africa, which is not a marathon distance, is definitely the RAC Tough One.
Having run this race six times in a row from 2013 to 2018, I can confirm this route, starting and finishing at Old Parks Sports Club in Randburg, is one of the toughest out there.
Though it can’t compete with Tortoise Tuff for visual appeal, it certainly can in terms of a challenge for runners. Starting out on Jan Smuts Avenue, there’s a gentle climb up to Republic Road, which only serves as a portent of the many hills to come.
Turning onto Malibongwe from Republic at the 4km mark, the runners are given over three kilometres of downhill and flat before tackling the testing climb from the highway up to Bellairs Drive.
In fact, I knew I would have a tough time of it the one year when I approached the climb on Malibongwe when former Comrades winner Charne Bosman came flying past me, meaning I had gone out too fast and unsurprisingly my legs were shattered as I neared Witkoppen Road further ahead.
The climbs through the suburbs of Jukskei Park and Bryanston, though more aesthetically pleasing, are not any easier.
It’s only once you make it beyond 21km that there are some flats and some short downhills to help the tired runner recover, but by then most are running on fumes anyway.
Finally, in the final five kilometres back to Old Parks, there are at least two more climbs that can kill almost all defiant spirits, which make many a runner reconsider their life choices.
However, by the time you reach the field at the finish line, it’s with a sense of pride and achievement that few other races offer.