B-Active Sports

I would also suggest Swim Gear. They stock quality Finis products and courier overnight to your door. We are busy working on a deal with them to supply the Midlands Ultra Triathlon Series and they have been great. www.swimgear.co.za / 031-572-6887 / info@swimgear.co.za

Yes, last years heat could repeat itself and we aren't taking any chances. So there will be a water table approximatly every 1.25km on the run route. The bike route at this stage is the exact same, with 1 water table on each lap as per last year. Having 1 water table per 22.5km's should be suitable as this bike route is not too challenging. We are however hoping to push for complete road closures which might change the bike route slightly, but nothing confirmed as yet.

Time to get yourself entered for the MIDMAR event this weekend.

Early Bird entries are now OPEN Pre enter before the 12th of December and you could win race accomodation for 2 people at the beautiful Woodridge Hotel & Spa. www.midlandsultra.com

Thanks Dave, I have edited and added the info.

2012 Midlands ULTRA Tri-Series Event 1: 4th March 2012 Event 2: 7th October 2012 The Midlands Ultra incorporates some of the safest training routes and most scenic venue of any triathlon in Africa, rivaling many ½ ironman distance triathlons around the world. The routes are set along the ambling Midlands roads, which offer beautiful country scenery and ambling hills. In 2012 we will be growing this popular event into a two part series, giving triathletes not only the fastest ½ iron man distance race in South Africa, but two of them. The ½ ironman distance event will consist of a 1.9km Swim, 90km Cycle and a 21km run and the popular Sprint distance event, will consists of a 600m swim, 20km cycle and a 5km run. A New running route in 2012, will see the competitors running 2 laps of a 10.5km completely tarred running course. The new running route is all set inside the Midmar Dam resort, it is one of the flattest and fastest in the country and boasts 8 water tables along the 10.5km lap course. This event will not only give you one of the most scenic events in Africa, but also one of your fastest ½ Iron-man distance times. So get yourself entered and lets have some fun! Entries are open ! www.midlandsultra.com

Its a great idea, we will certainly look into it and have something for your guys in the transition area. Happy Training!

Agreed, this sport we love is expensive and us the organisers need to set their entry fees very carefully so as to not step over the line. Feedback from you guys is needed and possibly a letter to TSA in regard to the cost of day Lic fees is needed, we have tried! The Midlands Ultra will be back again in 2012, on the 4th of March. We are still searching for a sponsor, but promise to keep entry fees as low as possible. The Midlands Ultra website will be up at the end of Sept and entries open in October. Enjoy your weekend.

Hey Guys Just coming from an athletes side to now organising events in KZN... my 2 cents worth. I also agree that race costs are way too high and some are profiteering! These events cost alot to organise and alot goes on behind the scenes that you guys don't see. For our ULTRA at Midmar, yes we had a problem with water , but this was unforseen with the 38deg weather, not excusable and definately won't happen again. I agree that R800 for an olympic race is profiteering, I also think that R1500 for a 70.3 and R4000 for an Ironman is also profiteering... seriously it is still a 1 day event. However just to give you some expenses that we pay for our Ultra at Midmar: Marshals - R28 000 Sanctioning levies and TSA Officials - R18 000 Race Staff - R22 000 Tv production - R60 - R70 000 Marketing - R85 000 Prize money R40 000 t-shirts, medals, swim caps - R95 000 plus loads more expenses... That race costs us around R440 000 to stage, so with the 450 Ultra Athletes, it works out to R977 per person. It does help alot when you secure big sponsorships, unfortunately this year we had under R60 000 in sponsorships, but took the risk of loosing money to try put on an event for the athletes. This isn't to justify the BIG race entry fees, but rather to give you some info of what goes on behind the scenes. With the new Safty act, costs for race organisers have to go up, as you now need to employ a safty officer who overseas the whole event... costing aorund R1500 per hour. he then tells you you need to add this and that to your event, which you have to do ... according to the new law. Anyway, as I said... just my 2 cents. Have a great weekend

Suncoast Series TV Coverage for the event on the 3rd Of April starts on the 17th of May @ 19:30pm Future Life K-Swiss Triathlon Series 2011 Eps. 2 17-May-11 19:30 20:00 SS5A Premier Future Life K-Swiss Triathlon Series 2011 Eps. 2 17-May-11 19:30 20:00 SS5N Premier Future Life K-Swiss Triathlon Series 2011 Eps. 2 17-May-11 19:30 20:00 SS5 Premier Future Life K-Swiss Triathlon Series 2011 Eps. 2 18-May-11 08:30 09:00 SS1A Repeat Future Life K-Swiss Triathlon Series 2011 Eps. 2 18-May-11 08:30 09:00 SS1 Repeat Future Life K-Swiss Triathlon Series 2011 Eps. 2 19-May-11 11:00 11:30 SS6 Repeat Future Life K-Swiss Triathlon Series 2011 Eps. 2 19-May-11 11:00 11:30 SS6A Repeat Future Life K-Swiss Triathlon Series 2011 Eps. 2 20-May-11 16:00 16:30 SS5 Repeat Future Life K-Swiss Triathlon Series 2011 Eps. 2 20-May-11 16:00 16:30 SS5N Repeat Future Life K-Swiss Triathlon Series 2011 Eps. 2 20-May-11 16:00 16:30 SS5A Repeat Future Life K-Swiss Triathlon Series 2011 Eps. 2 23-May-11 19:00 19:30 SS6A Repeat Future Life K-Swiss Triathlon Series 2011 Eps. 2 23-May-11 19:00 19:30 SS6 Repeat Future Life K-Swiss Triathlon Series 2011 Eps. 2 24-May-11 10:00 10:30 SS1 Repeat Future Life K-Swiss Triathlon Series 2011 Eps. 2 24-May-11 10:00 10:30 SS1A Repeat

The Midlands ULTRA TV Coverage starts this Tuesday at 19:30pm Future Life K-Swiss Triathlon Series 2011 Eps. 1 19-Apr-11 19:30 20:00 SS1A Premier Future Life K-Swiss Triathlon Series 2011 Eps. 1 19-Apr-11 19:30 20:00 SS1 Premier Future Life K-Swiss Triathlon Series 2011 Eps. 1 20-Apr-11 11:30 12:00 SS6 Repeat Future Life K-Swiss Triathlon Series 2011 Eps. 1 20-Apr-11 11:30 12:00 SS6A Repeat Future Life K-Swiss Triathlon Series 2011 Eps. 1 21-Apr-11 13:30 14:00 SS1A Repeat Future Life K-Swiss Triathlon Series 2011 Eps. 1 21-Apr-11 13:30 14:00 SS1 Repeat Future Life K-Swiss Triathlon Series 2011 Eps. 1 22-Apr-11 17:00 17:30 SS5N Repeat Future Life K-Swiss Triathlon Series 2011 Eps. 1 22-Apr-11 17:00 17:30 SS5A Repeat Future Life K-Swiss Triathlon Series 2011 Eps. 1 22-Apr-11 17:00 17:30 SS5 Repeat Future Life K-Swiss Triathlon Series 2011 Eps. 1 25-Apr-11 19:00 19:30 SS6 Repeat Future Life K-Swiss Triathlon Series 2011 Eps. 1 25-Apr-11 19:00 19:30 SS6A Repeat Future Life K-Swiss Triathlon Series 2011 Eps. 1 26-Apr-11 08:30 09:00 SS1A Repeat Future Life K-Swiss Triathlon Series 2011 Eps. 1 26-Apr-11 08:30 09:00 SS1 Repeat

Event Name: 2012 Grindrod Bank Umngazi Pondo Pedal When: 6 June 2012 - 10 June 2010 Where: Umngazi River Bungalows and Spa, Eastern Cape Category: MTB 132 Competitors, 66 teams 3 Day Stage Race, 4 Night Stay @ Umngazi River Bungalows and Spa Each Day is between 32km and 35km long, approx 4hrs per day. 650m to 1200m climbing per day. Riding includes, Cattle paths, dirt road, Jeep Track, Bushlands and beautiful beaches.... Go to www.pondopedal.com for all the race info and to Enter Go to Event Page

In regard to the above announcement, the following statement is released by B-Active Sports the Organisers of the Midlands Ultra Triathlon: We sincerely apologise for the problems our competitors encountered and we unfortunately did not plan for a day with heat near 38deg. We accept full responsibility for the problems on the running route and we have already planned for better water table management for the 2012 event so that these issues are addressed as our top priority. Although we cannot change what happened, we apologize for these problems and you can be assured that we take your feedback and everyone else’s extremely seriously. We are looking at changing the run route to exclude the “grass” section in 2012. We did the grass section to alleviate a 2 way congestion with runners in both directions as well as cars and boats. As was the case in the DUEL in 2006, However we might have no choice but to resort back to this route and try and minimize the traffic inside Midmar. (easier said than done) The Grass section is acceptable as ITU rules don’t stipulate the running surface. However as mentioned we will be reviewing the run route. We will be meeting with the department of Transport to discuss possible road closures. We have been pushing for this for 3 years with the Police, but to no avail. We hope to get partial road closure on some of the route, which will minimize the congestion and traffic. We will be looking to take the cyclists past the dam wall and will try make the cycle route safer for all. We will also be speaking to Midmar Dam to include our athletes entrance costs in their entry fees. These events are never easy to organise and with the heat throwing us a curveball didn’t help. We have already made provisions to manage the water tables in a different way in 2012. We have noted the athletes concerns and with temperatures at 38deg at 12:30pm, there was going to be a water issue no matter what. We had made 10 000 water sachets available on the run route (double what we had in 2011) , approx 18 per Ultra athlete (3.6ltrs each). We then also had 360lts of Coke on route, enough for each athletes to have 650mls during his race. We then also had Bar Ones and bananas at each water point. We however had not banked on people using the water sachets to cool themselves down due to the excessive heat. This cut our water sachet numbers per person down drastically and lead to a shortage on route. We implemented our backup plan and had 60 x 5lt water bottles distributed to the 4 water tables as soon as possible, with a further 300lts being delivered another 30min later. We managed to correct the problems on route within 35 minutes and had the situation under control until the 3:30pm cutoff. We sincerely apologise for this problem. Our planning for the event was comprehensive and we strive to make our events the best they can be. Problems like this can and do occur and we can only take heed of them and plan better for future events. Yours sincerly Damian Bradley Race Director If you have further queries, please email me: damian@bactive.biz

How was the race guys?

Great Stuff Now get your mates to enter.. there are around 240 places left.

Terrible about the water.. but sounds like you chaps need to come down to Durb's and swim in the "cleaner" sea. Midlands ULtra on the 6th March, Suncoast Series 3rd April (sprint), 31st July (Oly & Sprint) and 4th Dec (Oly & Sprint) See you there

If you are looking for accomadation for the Midlands Ultra Triathlon go to our website via this Link http://www.midlandsultra.com/contact.htm

Breaking News! B-Active Sports the organisers of the Midlands Ultra Triathlon are pleased to announce that they have extended the competitors cut off times, giving the athletes 5hrs 10min to complete the 1.9km Swim course and 90km Bike leg of the Triathlon. The Swim and Bike cut off time for the ULTRA event was previously 4hrs 40min, however after reviewing it on the half ironman distance course, it was decided to extend it. The Swim cut off will be 60min (1hr) and the Cycle cut off will be 4hrs 10min. This extended time period will give athletes on the bike course extra time to fix mechanical failures and problems. Entries have been pouring in for this prestigious event, making it the most sought after Triathlon in the country after Ironman SA and the Ironman 70.3 SA. Athletes wishing to compete in the 2011 event are encouraged to enter early as entries have been limited to 1000 competitors. 700 Places have been kept for the Ultra event and 300 for the Sprint race. Teams and Individuals entering before the 20th of February will be treated to a fantastic goodie bag as well as a athletes finish tent and physio's. Pre-entries for both events close on the 20th of February 2011, with registration taking place on Saturday the 5th of March at Midmar Dam between 10am and 3pm. Late entries will be accepted on Saturday at registration, which will be at the Midmar Dam slipway. For more information on the event visit the new race website www.midlandsultra.com or contact B-Active Sports on 031-7641885.

The final Race on the 5th of December will be a full on TSA Legal non drfting race, which will mean the use of Tri Bars , deep section wheels, Aero Helmets and any other legal gizmo or gadget is allowed. We look forward to seeing you there.

If you are looking for a final event of the year.... This is it!! It's an Awesome collection of Running, MTB Biking , a Massive Mud Pit and then the formiddable Obscale Course!! Honestly it's thee most rewarding multi-sport event you will ever do... without too much training neded. It is also the Only event that you can do, where mom's and dad's can race side by side with their kids! Go to www.muddybuddy.co.za for all the info... There is now free entry to Everyone entering Giba Gorge for the 1st Event on the 31st October!! See you there!

Hey Guys The Final Event in the Compendium Multi-Series and the last Olympic Distance Triathlon & Duathlon of the year takes place at Suncoast Beach on the 5th of December. Don't miss it!!! The new run route takes you along the NEW pancake flat Beachfront Prominade, right from Suncoast to South Beach and back. The Cycle Route is also flat, making this one of the fastest races in the country!There is loads of prize money and Lucky draw prizes to be won. For the newbies and weekend warriors, there is also the short Rookie Tri and Du. its a 30min race that will get your blood flowing. Check out the distances on our website. Make this you last and fastest race of the year!! To Enter and for all the race info, go to www.bactive.biz

This is a tragic accident and our deepest condolances to the family and friends. From an event organisers perspective, Road closures are easier said then done, especially on that Midmar Dam road. We have organised numerous races from Midmar and still organise the Midlands Ultra Triathlon there, which uses a similar route. The Police unfortunately won't give our triathletes road closure either, as they say there is no alternative route. However from what I have seen from the Durban Metro Police, is that the more pressure we put on them, the closer we are to closing the roads for events. It has happened to our Durban events, so now Howick must follow suit. We will do all we can to make events safer and I know all other organiser will do so to, as its our number 1 concern on the day. We will take this up with the Howich Police and RTI for all 2011 events.

What event would you choose?