ALL avid off-road ‘mountain goats’ are challenged to sign up for the Mandela Day Cathedral Peak Challenge in the Drakensberg on 18 July in celebration of the centenary year of the birth of Nelson Mandela.
This 21km route includes a total ascent of 1 531m, at an altitude of 3 005m, which challenges any off-road athlete to push past their breaking point.
The event starts and ends at the Cathedral Peak Hotel and can be run or walked at a cost of R250.
Participants are urged to up their entry cost by R100, which will be donated to a fund that supplies sanitary pads for girls to keep them in school.
Research indicates that a young girl from a poor community can miss up to 50 school days a year due to not having adequate feminine hygiene products.
Mrs South Africa, Nicole Capper, has already conquered the mountain, but as an advocate for woman’s health and believing in the veracity of the campaign, she will again attempt to summit.
This time she has issued a call for 67 individuals to join her in raising funds and awareness and has committed to leading this group to the peak.
While the team at Cathedral Peak prepare to summit, a 67 strong Trek4Mandela team will be climbing Mt Kilimanjaro at the same time for the same cause.
The challenge is set in the wilderness of a World Heritage Site, so while the race will prove strenuous, the views are breathtaking.
Prize money this year is R25 000 for each of the three race categories, including the fastest male, female and mixed team of two.
The route record is currently held by Christiaan Greyling, who conquered the peak in 2.29.00.
For those who cannot make the full ascent but want to participate in this life altering experience and be part of something bigger than themselves, they can compete in the Cathedral Peak Challenge Mini.
It’s the same route, but stops shy of the peak, ending at the base camp just below the summit.
It is an untimed and unsupported route that can be completed on any day between 1 June and 30 September.
For more information go to: https://cathedralpeak.co.za/challenge.
