RACE REVIEW
4 MINS 50 SECONDS
OXPECKER MY EXPERIENCE
Clinton van der Berg gives the lowdown on this popular trail event. It may be just 10 years old, and this year’ s anniversary brought out the crazies in their funky fancy dress, but Oxpecker has established itself as a must-do for anyone with running ambitions.
After slogging along the Tugela River and then meandering up numerous switchbacks on Spioenkop Mountain, two things immediately come to mind: trail running is hard, and trail running can be beautiful.
Hitting the top of Twin Peaks around 8km into day one of the 21km first stage of the Oxpecker trail race, stopping is mandatory. Catching your breath is secondary to taking in the sweeping views all across the valleys, home to the old Anglo-Boer War battlefields and the farmsteads, which all add to the breathtaking backdrop of one of South Africa’ s iconic sporting events. And then a ring of the bell for anyone considering themselves an Oxpecker legend.
A few kilometres beyond, half a dozen giraffes look suitably uninterested as runners pass them by. Mobile phones are
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It may be just 10 years old- and this year’ s anniversary brought out the crazies in their funky fancy dress, including a four-person caterpillar- but Oxpecker has established itself as a must-do for anyone with running ambitions.
To call the Oxpecker a race is to sell it short. Firstly, it’ s a celebration of community, beyond the runners. Race organisers utilise dozens of local workers, source many of their materials and products from regional suppliers and manufacturers and ensure that the community at large is fully immersed in Oxpecker. Even the blessed Terbidore coffee is local, having been founded in Curry’ s Post down the N3. So too the Nottingham Road Brewery’ s Pig Rig, which supplies craft beer and is among the busiest of stops for thirsty runners.
One consequence is that the events- the races take place over four consecutive weekends- are infused with a warmth and generosity seldom found in local sport. A bunch of local women trudge 6km up the mountain carrying 400 litres of water and drinks for weary runners, happy to do so. Water points are staffed by locals who dance and ululate as runners pass through, providing a guaranteed lift for tired legs.
At other points in the race, villagers come out to dance and sing Nkosi Sikelel iAfrika. On day two, a 15km race that starts on the Green cattle farm, runners are ferried from the Em’ seni adventure camp base in minibus taxis- mbaqanga music blasting away- to the start thanks to a happy collaboration with the Bergville Taxi Association.