Find out more about Wildrunner events at www . trailseries . co . za or www . wildrunner . co . za

they hosted our events . The money would go into the Nature Care Fund , with separate codes for each reserve , which they would then use to fund initiatives in those reserves . For example , part of our donations helped fund the release of Bontebok in Tygerberg Reserve , and there were other great stories like that , thanks to our events . Later we also started the Run for Nature programme with WWF-SA and gave runners the choice to make a donation to WWF when they entered our events .”

Owen in his natural element

Paying it Forward

Owen says that from the beginning , Wildrunner events raised well over R100,000 a year in donations from entrants for nominated conservation and environmental projects , and sometimes even as much as R260,000 in a single year . Other beneficiaries of this fundraising have included the Cape Town Environmental Education Trust ( CTEET ) and the Spur Foundation . Unfortunately , however , Owen says that the rapid growth in number of trail running events in recent years , on top of stricter rules regarding access to reserves , notably in terms of higher permit fees , has seen venue hire costs skyrocket , and this is affecting many events .

“ In between my studies , I worked on a game farm near Messina and at Rondevlei Nature Reserve back home in the Cape , and did a year ’ s practical work with Cape Nature . After my studies I went to work as the environmental manager at the Simola golf course in Knysna , but realised I didn ’ t want to just be a rubber stamp for development , so when I was selected to go to the 1997 World Orienteering Champs in Norway , I decided to use the time to figure out what I really wanted to do ,” says Owen .

That saw Owen and one of his teammates work their way to the UK on a container ship , then head over to

Talking to the runners at a Trail Series prize-giving

Sweden and Norway to train for the World Champs . Having represented his country and still undecided on his future , Owen then took what he calls a “ five-year gap year ” to travel the world , which included learning Spanish while travelling through South America . When he returned to SA , he tried unsuccessfully to start a diving and safari company , then tried to pursue a career in sport and active lifestyle photography , but found it didn ’ t really take off . Then he had an idea to start organising trail events , and the rest is history .

Successful Events

The success of Owen ’ s initial short-course Wildrunner trail events made it possible to get sponsors on board and grow them into the Trail Series , and by the second year he and his partner ( later wife ) Tamaryn were able to go into it full-time . “ Ironically , it was not really a business decision , it was more something I did for the love of trail running , because I wished more people would get the opportunity to experience it . But it just got bigger and bigger , and we kept rolling with it , so we added the Mountain Challenge and Wildrun events , as we wanted a portfolio that offered everything from short-course to multi-day events .”

Unsurprisingly , given his background in environmental work , Owen also decided that his events would always try to give something back , and that has seen Wildrunner partnering with various organisations , including SANParks , WWF-SA and several nature reserves , to promote conservation work . “ I have found it really satisfying to integrate environmental work into trail running , and we ’ ve entered into a few exciting partnerships over the years ,” says Owen .

“ Nowadays we can have three or four trail events on one weekend , so competition is really tough , and I think short-course events will struggle more and more to make money . As a result , they will no longer be the backbone of our business , as has been the case in the past 10 years . Also , the rise in cost of living has affected things , so instead of the whole family going to a race , now perhaps just one family member attends . Instead , we ’ ve seen growth in social running groups that don ’ t race much , like the Tuesday Trails or Muizenburg Monsters groups in Cape Town . I love the community vibe of these groups , but it has had a knock-on effect on entries , and the challenge for us now is to come up with something new or different .”

Training run on Chappies

Images : Mark Sampson & courtesy Owen Middleton

“ We organised discount permits for our runners with various city reserves , by making donations to these reserves when