oak valley

The most closely contested race at Sunday’s grand finale in the 2024 Trail Series Super League, in partnership with WWF South Africa, was the girls 10-14 year old ‘Minimee’ category race in the 5.5km Short course - with just 3 seconds separating the top three in a thrilling sprint finish.  

Leading the trio into the final 30m was Michelle Lessing, with Isla Middleton and Anmari Coetzee hot on her heels.  But Middleton was on the charge and went for the inside bend which was promptly blocked by Lessing.  Not discouraged, Middleton took the long way around and with significant momentum managed to steal the win by a second from Lessing, with Coetzee securing third.  It was so close in fact, the final order had to be confirmed by video review!  

Final race secures title

In the 13.8km long course, Christian Jacobsz and Simon Short went into the final race tied on points - leaving both the 2024 Super League and the Senior men's category title down to the final race.  Jacobsz however left nothing to chance and clearly revelled on the fast trails of Oak Valley, pulling out a seven minute advantage over Short in the 13.8km Long course, scooping him both titles in the process.

Broken toe se gat

The 21km XL race saw another intense race at the sharp end, with Brandon Keeling, Josh Cawood and Fabio Gallota pushing each other hard over the hilly course.  Going into the final race, Keeling and Cawood were separated by just two points in the overall Super League Senior category standings, meaning there was more at stake than just the race result! But despite a broken toe, Keeling found the gears needed to get ahead and stay there, winning the race in 1:30:02 - 23 seconds clear of 2nd placed Gallota, with Cawood securing third.  

Consistency the key to being a Super League Champion

Four races made up the 2024 Trail Series Super League, in partnership with WWF South Africa - Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve, Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve and Oak Valley Estate.  

There is a Super League competition in each of the three distances on offer, with the ‘Short’ races having three junior categories. Points are awarded by overall placement per race, with 400 points for the win and one point for every place below. Combined points over all four races results in a Super League standing - both overall and in category. So miss a race and down the order you go… 

In the XL Super League it was Jonathan Edwards (1548 pts) and Nadia Goldberg (1379 pts) taking the overall titles in the mens and ladies competition. Louis Koen was Edwards closest challenger to Edwards, taking second with 1507 points, with Naomi Carr second to Goldberg with 1103 points.

Christian Jacobsz (1598 pts) and Josie Mccann (1449 pts) took their respective Long course Super League titles - Jacobsz by just a single point from Simon Short.  Matthew Calvocoressi took 3rd overall in the mens, and Lisa Labuschagne and Nicole Lambon 2nd and 3rd respectively in the ladies competition.

The Short course Super League was dominated by Junior speedster Zachery Day (1589 pts), with Master runner Shelley van der Westhuizen (1483 pts) in the ladies competition.  Special mention must be made of Junior runner Nikolas Lowther, who pushed Day in every race finishing 2nd overall, and only 11 points behind.  Similar mention of two ‘Minimee’ runners Isla Middleton and Anmari Coetzee who both stuck it out to finish 2nd and 3rd respectively in the overall Super League standings. 

Across the Super League age categories, there are some special mentions to be made  - especially in the 6-10 year old ‘Peewee’ category and the 11-14 year old ‘Minimee’ category.  Starting with the littlest - the Powter siblings Georgia and Oliver who both won their respective ‘Peewee’ categories, with Oliver amassing an amazing 1429 points from an average overall placing of 43rd per race.  Lorcan Kelly and James van Niekerk competed furiously to bank 2nd and 3rd respectively.

In the ‘Minimee’ category it was Aaron Kelly (1541 pts) and Isla Middleton (1368 pts) securing the top spot, chased hard by Ben Landman in the boys League and Anmari Coetzee in the girls competition.

Istvan Meyer (1573 pts) won the Senior mens Super League title in the Short course, and was also third overall - the highest placed Senior, just 5 points behind Junior Nikolas Lowther. 

Full race and Super League results 

Oak Valley race results: https://shorturl.at/czTR0 
Super League overall results: https://shorturl.at/PT3bH 

Special thanks

We owe a huge amount of gratitude to WWF South Africa for their support.  There are a number of different ways you can support their incredible conservation efforts, please check this link out for more information: https://donate.wwf.org.za/

Thanks to Pura, FinishTime, Bluewater Africa, Cuppa Joe, Immediate Medical and Brad Williams Sport Science for their valued engagement and support.  

Then a huge shout out and thanks to all the Wildrunner crew, you know who you are and we couldn't do it without you.  

And last but not least, to everyone who came out to run at the Trail Series Super League, we thank you for your support - without you there would be no TSSL! 

Roll on 2025! 

#TSSL2024

There is good reason why Oak Valley is some of the most sought after mountain bike trails in the Elgin Valley.  Smooth, fast and full of flow, these custom-built trails are closed once a year for the Trail Series® Super League - and they never disappoint.  

It’s been another fractured year for events as a whole, and with COVID-19 wave after wave there was no certainty in any date.  Hence, it was every race for itself, with no chance of bedding down the overall Super League in 2021.

It was a classic blustery summer SE ripping through the valley over the weekend, keeping many from making the trip.  But still, over 500 runners rocked up to tackle one of the three distances on offer.

Lovemo Nyaude rules the 22.5km XL roost

First to go at 7am was the 22.5km XL runners.  Lovemo Nyaude set a blistering pace up front, with Simon Short not far behind.  In the ladies race, super talented Leanda du Bruyn was in a league of her own, with Kate Mapham and Emily Djock her closest competitors in the early stages.  

At the line it was Lovemo stopping the clock at 1:23:58 (3:44min/km), with Simon just 15 sec behind in second.  Lovemo’s time sets a new record for this route, tearing 16 minutes off the old record, set in 2020.  Third over the line was ever- present master runner Kevin Spratley, home in 1:43:26.  Leanda took fourth overall and the ladies win in 1:44:55 (4:39min/km), with Kate Mapham in second place and Emily Djock in third. Leanda’s time also smashed the old course record by some 12 minutes!

Riaz Noordien and Bronwyn Davis took their respective veteran categories.  Lauren Honeyman won her masters category, placing 8th overall in the ladies race over the line. Deemter Avenant and Anne Pool won their respective Grand Master categories.

*CORRECTION

Lambert Brink takes first in the middle distance

The 13.5km was taken by Lambert Brink in a time of 1:01:03, with ladies speedster Mila Geldenhuys taking second just two minutes behind in 1:03:07 - just a few seconds ahead of Daniel Jubert. Third in the mens was Charl Joost with Zulfah Samaai and Sherelee Jones coming in second and third respectively in the overall ladies race to the line.

Cullen Clarke and Abi Webster won their respective Junior categories.  Daniel Jubert and Zulfah Samaai won their respective Veteran categories and Neil Hermann and Terry Deats coming up trumps in their Masters division.  Grand Master Leslie Chivell was in fact the fastest age 50+ runner (covering Masters and Grand Masters), clocking in at 1:06:14 and taking 8th place OVERALL!  Vanessa Wium took a comfortable win in the Grand Master ladies race.

Juniors thrash it out for the 5km crown

It was a pure flat-out race of attrition in the short but fiercely competitive 5km race.  But it was the ever present Mikaeel Moolla who eked out a 28 second lead over fellow Junior Deon Bochnig, winning in a time of 21:41.  Senior runner Quinton van Dyk was pushed hard all the way to the line by a powerful run by Minimee (11-14yrs) CG Volschenk.  In the end, van Dyk proved just strong enough, and managed to hold onto third overall by just 2 sec.  

In the ladies race it was Brigit van Niekerk over the line first, with a four minute margin on her nearest rival Tessa Preen.  Brigit’s time of 24:34 placed her 7th overall.  

In the Peewee category (6-10yrs) it was Luke Simpson and Amelia Fataar in for the win.  The girls Peewee category was entirely dominated by the Fataar family, with Amelia, Salma and Qailah taking 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively.

James Truter and over the line winner Brigit van Niekerk took their respective Veteran category wins, and likewise for Antony Smyth and Railette Heyneke in the Masters race.  Charl Marais and Trudie Jooste topped the Grand Master category - Trudie JUST holding on by just two seconds from Shelley Marais.

Three race Super League

Despite there being no official Super League in 2021 due to COVID-19 event uncertainty, we still wanted to process the results for interest's sake! Of the 1279 entrants into one of the three races in 2021, only 2% managed to compete in all three races in the same distance, proving how tough it’s been to line up the stars...

In the XL League it was an outright win overall for Kevin Spratley, with a combined time of 5:36:19.  2nd was Munyaradzi Musvosvi and 3rd Ryan Brown. 

In the Long League it was Lambert Brink winning overall with a combined time of 3:27:44.  Neil Hermann placed second overall just 17 minutes adrift of Lambert, and Cliff Kuadkwashe piping Charl Jooste for third by just over 2 minutes. 

Well done to everyone that took part in any or all three of the race this year! Hopefully 2022 will allow us to host the full Trail Series® Super League and see more challenges for the TSSL title.

Full results: https://www.trailseries.co.za/results

Photos: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4944080568938181&type=3

Next up?: Kirstenbosch Gardens, 21 January 2022

We make our final COVID-19 stand in this years TSSL as planned at Oak Valley.  It's coming up fast, and you might have some questions. We’ve worked with all stakeholders and authorities to bring you a safe, enjoyable racing experience. And there will be no cardboard cutout fans, we promise!

PRE ENTRY ONLY

Entries are PRE-ENTRY only, so please don't rock up on the day to enter. This is because every participant is required to complete a COVID-19 self screening form 48hrs before (more on this below).  Entries are also limited and currently available here. 

BACK TO BATCH STARTS

We are back to the usual racing batches for Oak Valley, albeit it small COVID-19 compliant batches of 50.  The start times are indicated on the event page.  In the XL, we will place you in a batch, but if you consider yourself an ELITE or PODIUM contender, please drop us an email BY FRIDAY 3pm and we will make sure you are in the A batch start. For the Long or Short courses, you will be starting in the batch you chose during the entry process.

COVID-19 SELF-SCREENING 

Every entrant will be emailed a COVID-19 self-screening form at 7am on Friday 13th November, 48hrs before the first start.  Every entrant is required by the current regulations to complete this prior to arrival. However, if you miss this, you will be able to complete the form at the event - this will just take longer!

TEMPERATURE CHECK, DISTANCING & MASKS

Your temperature will be checked in the parking area before you enter the race village.  If your temperature is higher than 38ºC you will not be allowed to run.  Please maintain your social distancing skills during your time at Oak Valley to the best of your ability.  You are not required to wear a mask while you are running, but it is required to be on when you arrive, during registration and right up until you have started the run. 

ROLLING PRIZE GIVING

There will be rolling prize giving for the top three over the line, male and female, in each distance.  There will be a random lucky draw as we progress, so make sure you place your tear off number in the bucket soon after you finish.  After every draw the bucket will be cleared to prevent gatherings...  We will do an online prize giving for categories & the overall TSSL. 

COMMS WITH THE TEAM
For any race enquiries, please check our website at www.trailseries.co.za or email info@wildrunner.co.za.