TRAIL RUNNING
Last year field guide Grant Murphy completed a remarkable ‘ Comrades in the Bush ’ on the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve , and his fundraising run was so successful , it has led to the Timbavati Traverse Ultra Marathon , scheduled to be held on 17 July ( lockdown restrictions permitting , of course ). We took a look back at his Miles for Mammals run , and also a look forward to the upcoming 45km event . – BY SEAN FALCONER
Grant started in the dark and the accompanying vehicle lit the road for him , while guides kept a lookout for wildlife
Unsurprisingly , Grant says he has had many memorable , sometimes hair-raising encounters with wildlife while running . “ Normally the wild animals see me first , and I just notice the tracks and signs for them , but then I can contact the other guides who may be out on game drive via radio , to check specific areas , as they may get lucky with finding something for their guests to see .”
On one run , Grant came across two young elephant bulls play-fighting in the road , and not wanting to be part of the tussle , he detoured around them through the bush . “ On my new route I came across a herd of impalas , which began to call in alarm , which I found odd , as they don ’ t normally alarm call at me running . So I stopped to investigate , and found a male leopard suffocating an impala !” Grant stayed low to the ground and watched quietly until the leopard finished killing its prey and dragged it to a nearby tree to be eaten .
Comrades in the Bush
When the 2020 Comrades was cancelled , Grant Murphy was determined to still run the race , and to use his run to support environmental work being done in the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve . Complete with start-line cockcrow and Chariots of Fire at the finish , this video of his Miles for Mammals run will give you goosebumps .
On another day , he was joined by a pack of African wild dogs and found himself running with the pack for a short while , until they changed gears and left him in their tracks . More recently , he was also heading out on a sunrise speed session , so headed out to the straightest , flattest section of the reserve . As he was approaching his ‘ training area ,’ however , he spotted the unmistakable shape of a large male lion walking towards him , head down . Grant says he watched the lion for a short while , admiring his
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