Photo: Supplied
The Oldenburgia Trail will once again be held on Saturday 8 September. The run showcases some of the Eastern Capes most beautiful landscapes and it’s right on our doorstep.
The various runs follow stunning paths around Featherstone Valley and Mountain Drive which has become synonymous with Grahamstown. The event caters for runners from all fitness levels and endurance with a 8km, 15km and 30km distances, not forgetting the Kiddies dash.
There will be an obstacle course for the 2-5 year olds, for the 6-9 year olds a run and obstacle course plus for 10 years and up, there is a 1500m trail run.
This year, the event has been organised by a more experienced organising committee, including the Get Out and Run organisers plus the Albany Saints and Sinners committee, to ensure that the event grows and adapts to both the runners and the sports requirements.
The local Makana Municipality Parks Department plus the local running & hiking community have been very supportive in assisting us with clearing the routes and ensuring that they are safe and ready for action. in order to keep the mountain green, the organisers will ensure to remove all markers and waste shortly after the event.
The event this year differs in the Start and Finish lines. Event hosts, Hoërskool PJ Olivier, has allowed access to their facilities which provides the organisers with a bigger area to entertain the younger athletes as well as supporters where there will be food served from early on.
Other than the Kiddies dash there will also be a jumping castle plus face painting to allow the parents to relax and support whilst enjoying some breakfast.
We are looking forward to an increase in participants plus a more enjoyable and relaxed atmosphere which in turn will allow us to focus on bringing value to our local and visiting athletes as well as our community,” said Jaco van Dyk, chairperson of the Albany Saints and Sinners multipart club. “Last year we had 79 runners on the day whilst we are currently sitting on 70 pre-entries already and we’re sure that this number will precede last years within the next few days.”
