Spur Trail Series in full swing

Cape Town - The seventh Spur Cape Summer Trail Series started with a bang as almost 800 runners descended on the Tygerberg Nature Reserve on January 15 to take part in the first of four races.

The second race of the Series, at the Constantia Greenbelt, on January 29, sold out more than a week before the race and is set to be another cracker.

The first run of the series made for electric racing, with Bernard Rukadza picking up where he left off in the winter series and comfortably taking top honours in the Long Course Championship.

In the women’s Championship we can expect an epic battle up front between Danette Smith and Chantel Nienaber who pushed each other all the way and finished only 13 seconds apart.

Equally exciting was the short course Challenge as Raydon Balie crossed the line only 38 seconds ahead of Chris Walsh before junior runner, Hayley Preen from Herschel Girls High won the women’s race and claimed third position overall.

Tonight’s race at the Constantia Greenbelt promises to be another cracker with all the top runners continuing their campaign for the series and a capacity field expected once again. The fast Constantia route is completely different from Tygerberg and runners will have to adapt their racing strategies accordingly.

The Series will be picking up speed from Constantia as it moves on to Lebanon Forest, close to Elgin only four days later on Sunday, February 2. This will be the first opportunity for the leaders to wrap up the series and be crowned as Spur Trail Series champions.

One of the reasons the Spur Trail Series has become so popular countrywide is because it is a lifestyle choice. Runners who enter take a step away from clock watching in huge crowds on the road into dynamic running on fun trails in wild and exciting places. The Spur Trail Series has proven itself as the perfect place to be introduced to the trail running experience. Every race consists of a long 10-15km course and a shorter 5-8km course. Twice during the Series, an XL of between 21 and 28km is also thrown into the mix.

This year’s schedule is as follows:

•    January 15: Race 1 – Tygerberg Nature Reserve (SUNSET)
•    January 29: Race 2 – Constantia Greenbelt (SUNSET)
•    February 2: Race 3 – Lebanon Forest
•    February 8: Mountain XL – Silvermine Nature Reserve
•    February 23: Race 4 (Including XL) – Oak Valley, Elgin

For more information or to enter visit www.trailseries.co.za or like the Spur Trail Series Facebook page at www.facebook.com/trailseries for regular updates.