Article from the Barkly East Reporter - issue of July 2006
Preparations are in full swing for the 18th Rhodes Trail Run, which will be held on the 15th July.
Reports highlighting the rather colder than usual winter being experienced in the area together with frequent snow falls near Lesotho View, and along the Lesotho border road, has increased the anticipation of the 326 runners who will be taking part. There are a number of special features which make the Rhodes Trail Run special for the runners but the opportunity to run in ‘African snow’ is certainly high on the list.
Runners will be descending on Rhodes from all over South Africa, with some visitors coming from as far a field as Swaziland and the United States of America.
The popularity of the event can be seen as there is a waiting list of approximately 5 to 6 years to receive an invitation to participate, with runners treasuring their invitations highly. The race’s invitation system works well as over the past few years about half the field has been novices.
A spokesperson for ‘Walkerbouts’ in Rhodes said that accommodation for the Run weekend is at a premium, with every available bed in the valley and surrounding areas taken. “It seems that runners are bringing their families with them to holiday in Rhodes over the weekend, and while this is wonderful for the village it does make it more difficult for runners to find accommodation” she said.
The Rhodes Trail Run has become a significant generator of tourist revenue for the entire region, with industries such as local crafts and fuel stations in addition to accommodation and food establishments benefiting from the increased tourism flow.
This year’s event will see the return of Montrail, Buff® and First Ascent as the major event partners, with the hardy finishers each in line to receive a specially embroidered adventure racing top from First Ascent and a unique limited edition Buff®, together with a high quality race medal from 1000km Promotions and the traditional bottle of sherry. The latter sometimes being more welcome, especially among the folk who endured the cold for a longer time.
Race organizer, Evie Raubenheimer said that once again the Rhodes community has been of great assistance in accommodating runners and facilitating the various feeding stations en route. “The Rhodes is a very special event, the runners value the fact that they are privileged to run through a pristine ecologically sensitive environment, and we are appreciative of the land owners over whose land they run” she said.
Runners have rated the organization of the previous 17 editions of the event highly, with the race being awarded “Best Organized Event on the Border” in 2005. We have no doubt that the 2006 runners will experience a well put together event and can expect to receive the traditional warm Rhodes hospitality.
