Quoted from the site : http://www.southernstorm.co.za/ I would like to attempt this one but need training advice. First leg of the race is to run the OTTER trail in 8 hours What is the Southern Storm? The Southern Storm presented by Hi-Tec has been dubbed “The Impossible Race.” It is a 6 day, staged, full service, offroad duathlon featuring Mountain biking and Trail Running that traverse some of the most spectacular natural and wilderness regions in Africa. The Storm follows a new path every year. Participants are accommodated in tented race camps which are moved daily. What is the History of The Southern Storm? The inaugural Southern Storm was staged in September 2009 and ushered in a new era of staged Storm Racing (Sport Traversing Oceans Rivers & Mountains). The first Storm, which attracted some of the best endurance athletes in Africa, was described by hardened multisport competitors as the most physically challenging event ever. The combination of two of the fastest growing trail sports into one staged event of an individual format provided a race of strategic intrigue for followers and proved exceptionally popular with competitors. The 2009 Storm started in the Tsitsikamma section of the Garden Route National Park and, over six days, completed a full traverse East to West of the park finishing in Ebb and Flow at Wilderness. What is the format of the Southern Storm? The Southern Storm is divided into 6 daily stages. Each stage comprises of one or a number of Legs. Each Leg is completed either by Mountain Biking or Trail Running. Distances of the Legs vary from 4km to 42km for the trail running Legs and 10km to 100km for the mountain bike Legs. Leg, Stage and Overall Times are recorded and presented on a Race Leader-Board each day. Leg winners, Stage winners and overall Race Leaders are acknowledged in a daily ceremony held in the evenings in the Race camp. Competitors are ranked on the leader board according to their overall times and the leader at the end of every stage is presented with a yellow jersey. The number one ranked competitor at the end of the final stage is declared the winner of the event. Races can be run in a “time trial, “chasing” or “straight race” format. Transition times will be included in overall race or stage time however some transitions many have a set minimum time allocation or be neutralised. Bonus times may be awarded for race wins and or hotspots. More information on the race format will be provided in the Race Rules and Competitor News Letters. Timing is done electronically with a bi-directional chip-based system. Race rules will be strictly implemented in 2010. A copy of the rules will be made available to all competitors.
