Hout Bay Trail Challenge

The Hout Bay Trail Challenge is a 35km trail run through the mountains around Hout Bay. It is a tough event and as such there is also the option to run it as a relay team of 3. The scenery is beautiful and the Hout Bay Trail Challenge is very popular - entries are taken very quickly.

Runners must be self sufficient and the organizers insist on safety equipment being carried by all participants. There are equipment checks during the race and if any runner does not have all required safety equipment there are disqualifications.

There is a pre-race briefing during the week at which information and race goodies are handed over. The organizers are very professional and these races are always successful. In the 2008 event some runners will be carrying tracking devices which will update the website with their positions in real time.

Leg 1 - Hout Bay to Suikerbossie
The course starts and ends at the Hout Bay Yacht Club. Runners loop around Karbonkelburg and Suther Peak towards the radar station before descending towards the Suikerbossie Restaurant (this is also the transition point to leg 2). The record for leg 1 is about 01:20

Leg 2 - Suikerbossie to Constantia Nek
From Suikerbossie runners ascend Llandudno Ravine to Judas Peak before running along the top of the Twelve Apostles towards the dams on the back of Table Mountain. From the dams the route descends the jeep tracks to Constantia Nek which is the final transition point. The record for leg 2 is about 01:40

Leg 3 - Constantia Nek to Hout Bay
The final leg sees runners ascending Vlakkenberg from the Constantia Nek traffic circle. The route drops down to Chapmans Peak Drive before finally dropping onto the Hout Bay beach. The final stretch is along the beach, across the Disa River mouth and back to the Hout Bay Yacht club. The record for leg 3 is about 01:25

• Try to enter as early as possible. The race is very popular and there is a complex entry allocation system - the earlier you enter the better