Kirstenbosch
1Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens31 January 2025
An exclusive hot summer Friday sunset run through the magnificent Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens to kick off the TSSL 2025!
Your ticket INCLUDES a standard R100 entry to the Gardens, non-runners are welcome but will need to pay at the gate.
REGISTRATION is on the day of the event, from 16h00 - 18h00 at the venue.
Short
Long
XL
Long
From the cozy Marque lawns adjacent to gate 2, we start off along a short section of the wide main access walkway before turning up into the gravel tracks on the upper wild slopes of Kirstenbosch. Soon we branch out right towards Newlands Forest, before turning up and back (2.5km) through the magnificent indigenous forests at Loeriebos and Lübberts Gift.
At 4.3km it's a climb up to the contour path on the Nursery ravine access trail, left onto the contour and a fast contour along past Rooikat to the edge of Cecelia Forest (5.2km), before turning back down towards the Gardens.
It's a network of tracks and paths that keep us on our toes until you pop out near Rycroft gate (Gate 3) at 7.5km. From here is a traverse accross the garden to connect with the top of the Boekenhout trail (8.3km), past the old dam and into the Erica garden.
The final stretch is a real treat. With the gardens closed we have been given permission to run through the cycads, past the Colonel Bird Bath (9km) and down the stepping stones to pop out next to the Otter pond. The final dash is back along past the fragrance garden to the finish.
Short
From the cozy Marque lawns adjacent to gate 2, we start off with a short takeoff before a sharp turn up onto the gravel tracks that network the upper slopes of Kirstenbosch. Enjoy the easy undulating running through the indegenous forests and fynbos clad slopes before turning down the Boekenhout for a fun and fast technical trail section, past the old dam and into the Erica gardens. The final stretch is a real treat. With the gardens closed at 7pm we have been given permission to run through the cycads, past the Colonel Bird Bath (5.3km) and down the stepping stones to pop out next to the Otter pond (5.6km). The final dash is back along past the fragrance garden to the finish
XL
From the cozy Marque lawns adjacent to gate 2, we start off along a short section of the wide main access walkway before turning up into the gravel tracks on the upper wild slopes of Kirstenbosch. Soon we branch out right towards Newlands Forest, before turning up and back (2.5km) through the magnificent indigenous forests at Loeriebos and Lübberts Gift.
At 2.3km near closest to Newland's Forest, we turn up towards the contour path and the steep zig-zag climb up to Dassieklip. After a sharp descent we cruise the contour path past Window, Skeleton & Nursery Gorge before dropping back into the main gardens at 5.5km.
It's a network of tracks and paths that keep you on our toes until you pop out near Rycroft gate (Gate 3) and the aid station at 8km into the race. After refuelling, it's a race along the Fynbos Trail to the Nursery Stream trail, and a screamer descent to the Stone Pines at 9km.
We join the other two routes through the main gardens and just before the finish at 10km we break away and connect up with the same early part of the route towards Newlands Forest, Loeriebos and Lübberts Gift. But this time around we stick to the open tracks on the Yellowwood trail, as the light starts to fail and the legs start to tire.
At 13.8km we hit the very top of the Boekenhout trail and head on down to the main gardens. The final stretch is a real treat. as we run through the cycads, past the Colonel Bird Bath and down the stepping stones to pop out next to the Otter pond. The final dash is back along past the fragrance garden to the finish.
WILDRUNNER TRAIL RUNNING GRADING SYSTEM (WTG)
Download the WTG here.
The Wildrunner Trail Grading system (WTG), was developed in 2009 and designed to help you make informed decisions on trail running events around the country. Unlike road running, trail running routes and races have many more facets to them, making them either harder or longer (in time) than you may expect.
Every race/event should give you the total distance and accumulative ascent, but using road running sense to work out your time based on these factors alone would be a mistake!
The three primary 'trail factors' affecting your overall time and effort on a trail run are as follows:
1. Terrain difficulty (easy or tricky?)
2. % single track/off-road to on-road (how much on difficult terrain?)
3. Route severity (how steep?)
HOW DOES IT WORK?
The three factors mentioned above have been expanded into an easy three part grading system. Each trail factor is listed below with the descriptions. Look out for races with a WTG and use this guide to make informed decisions.
DEFINITIONS:
'Technical' terrain = trail that is ‘busy’, that requires extensive concentration and trail running technique - for example a rocky hiking path, or a 4x4 track.
'Off-trail'= Describes sections that do not have any obvious or established route, for example a river bed, grass field or a section of beach.
'Single-track' = Describing a trail that is narrow and typically only wide enough for one runner to run on at a time and in single file. Examples of typical single track would be a hiking trail, mountain bike trail, game trail, livestock trail
FOR EXAMPLE:
Cape Winter Trail Series® - Tygerberg Nature Reserve: YELLOW 8B
Gauteng Summer Trail Series® - Leeuwenkloof: ORANGE 7A
Jonkershoek Mountain Challenge 36km: GREEN 8B
Skyrun 100km: RED 9B
All Wildrunner events (www.wildrunner.co.za) carry this grading system - look out for the grading on the event listing.
PART 1: TERRAIN DIFFICULTY
YELLOW = Easy, non-technical terrain, all on established trails and tracks
ORANGE= Moderately easy terrain, short sections of ‘technical’ terrain but largely easy running, all on established trails and tracks
GREEN = Moderate challenging terrain, with a mix of ‘technical’ and ‘non technical’ terrain, mostly on established trails and tracks but may or may not have extended sections regarded as being ‘off-trail’
BROWN = Moderately difficult terrain, more ‘technical’ terrain than ‘non-technical’ terrain, challenging but mostly on established trails and tracks although may or may not have extended sections regarded as being ‘off-trail’
RED = Difficult terrain, majority ‘technical’ terrain that is extremely demanding, may or may not have large sections on un-established trails and tracks
PART 2: % SINGLE TRACK/OFF-ROAD
1 = 1-10%
2 = 11-20%
3= 21-30%
4 = 31-40%
5 = 41-50%
6 = 51-60%
7 = 61-70%
8 = 71-80%
9 = 81-90%
10 = 91-100%
PART 3: ROUTE SEVERITY
A = Mostly runnable gradient
B = Mostly runable gradient, but has some steep ascent and descent that may require walking
C = Lots of steep ascent and descent that may require walking