Rocky Bay this Sunday
Dear Trail Runners and Walkers,
We are looking forward to hosting you at Rocky bay this weekend where every distance starts and finishes right next to the ocean. Quickly leaving the beach area the trails head out to explore rolling farmland, sugar cane hills and pockets of coastal forest. Expect runnable terrain, honest climbs and the kind of views that make you forget about your watch or any leg pain!
๐ฆ๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฒ
A friendly out-and-back that offers a perfect introduction to trail running. The route follows farm roads through rolling sugar cane fields before dipping into a cool forest section, then turning back toward the sea. Relaxed, scenic and great for a fast effort or first-timers.
๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ: 6km
๐๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป: 188m
๐๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐: 2
๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐๐ป๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ง๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ: 1:00:39
๐ ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐บ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฒ
After meandering through farmland, this route steps things up with a punchy 3km climb starting around the 4km mark. Big hilltop views, a pass by an agricultural dam and flowing stretches of coastal forest reward the effort before the route turns home toward the race village.
๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ: ย 12km
๐๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป: 311m
๐๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐: 3
๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐๐ป๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ง๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ:1:39:35
๐๐ผ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฒ
The full Rocky Bay experience. Long course runners split at the Mzimayi River before climbing 100m over 2km into the southern hills. From the highest point on the route, expansive ocean views open up before the trail winds back through forest and farmland, linking with the medium course for the final run-in to the finish.
๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ: ย 19km
๐๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป: 468m
๐๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐: 3
๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐๐ป๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ง๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ: 2:32:41
Different distances, shared climbs and the ocean waiting at the finish line.
KZNA Sanctioning
Over the past few days, many of you will have seen or heard the announcement that KZN Athletics will now be formally sanctioning KZN Trail Running events. We wanted to take a moment to explain how this came about, what it means, and what it doesnโt mean.
This process actually started shortly after Lauren and I came back into KZN Trail Running, when it was announced that the Trail Running and Mountain Running World Championships will be hosted in South Africa in 2027, in Cape Town. Following that announcement, Athletics South Africa asked all provinces to begin forming formal trail running structures and subcommittees.
Given that KZN Trail Running has been organising events in the province for many years, with a well-established calendar that so many of you follow and support, we were approached by KZN Athletics to partner with them. The proposal was that our calendar would form the backbone of the KZN trail running calendar going forward, alongside other organisers and clubs who are also invited to bring their events into the fold. In other words, this is about building a provincial trail running calendar together, not excluding anyone.
Whether we like it or not, trail running is now firmly part of the international athletics landscape. World Athletics recognises it, Athletics South Africaโs constitution includes it, and international championships and formal selection processes already exist. In South Africa, the Sports and Recreation Act also sets out quite clearly how ย sports need to be structured and governed in South Africa.
For many years, trail running has lived happily outside of formal structures, and many of us have enjoyed the freedom that came with that. But the reality is that the sport has grown up. It is now a recognised discipline with national colours, world championships, and pathways that need proper structures behind them.
Our belief is that, in the long run, this move will:
- Help grow the sport and bring more people into trail running, it has been struggling since the pandemic.
- Create proper and transparent pathways for team selection and championships.
- Make it easier to develop school leagues and youth participation.
- Support development athletes and programs that currently struggle to access funding.
- Improve the credibility of the sport when it comes to sponsorship, support, and long-term sustainability.
- Attract greater investment into trail running that is likely to benefit the sport and its participants as a whole.
At our core, we remain what we have always been: event organisers who put on great trail runs for runners. Runners are central to everything we do.
For most of you, very little will actually change on race day.
Yes, going forward there will be licensing requirements, as with road running and other athletics disciplines. You will either:
- Run under your existing club (if you are already a club member), or
- Join the KZN Trail Running club, or
- Take out a temporary licence if you only run one or two events a year
- 5km or less can run without a licence.ย
We are busy finalising some very simple, flexible, and affordable options around this, and we will communicate those clearly very soon. Our goal is to make this as smooth and as painless as possible, and certainly not to make the runner experience worse. If anything, we want it to improve.
If you run a lot of events, or if you are already part of a club, this should make little to no difference to you in terms of cost. If you only run one event a year, yes, it may cost a bit more because of a temporary licence, but we will be transparent and fair about that.
In terms of kit, club kit is encouraged, but there will also be options to run in neutral or unbranded kit. The main restriction is around advertising brands that are not event sponsors, which we believe ultimately strengthens the sport rather than weakens it.
We have had very positive and constructive engagement with KZN Athletics so far, and we are genuinely optimistic that this will help take trail running to the next level in KZN and in South Africa.
We also want to be honest. This is new, and like any change, there will be a bedding-in period. There will be things we get right, and things we will need to adjust and improve. That is normal. We are committed to listening, learning, and refining the system as we go. At this stage we aim to be compliant by the beginning of April and are working with KZNA on this.
We know that some people are excited about this, and some are not. We truly believe this is the right long-term direction for the sport, and importantly, that it can be done in a way that protects the spirit, culture, and accessibility of trail running.
Thank you for being part of this community, and for your continued support. We will be sharing more practical details about The KZNTR club very soon.
Yours in trail running,
Andrew Booth
ย
Foot-and-Mouth Disease and Event Calendar Updates
As many of you will know, Foot-and-Mouth Disease is currently affecting parts of KwaZulu-Natal, particularly in farming areas. This highly contagious disease affects all cloven-hoofed animals, including cattle, sheep and goats, and farmers across the province are working extremely hard to prevent it from entering their herds, as an outbreak is financially and operationally devastating.ย
Unfortunately, this is the reason we had to cancel last weekendโs Howick Trail Run, and why we are now carefully reviewing every upcoming event and venue. In some cases this will mean postponements, cancellations, or venue changes, and we will be communicating these updates as quickly and clearly as possible.
What we can confirm is that the next three events, Rocky Bay, Falklands, and Blythedale, are not affected and will go ahead as planned. Hebron Haven has already been cancelled. We will be launching the March 2026 events next week, once these adjustments are finalised, and by then the calendar will reflect the necessary changes.
We really appreciate your understanding and support. These are not easy decisions, but supporting landowners and farmers in protecting their livelihoods is non-negotiable. Thank you for sticking with us, and thank you for helping keep KZN Trail Running moving forward.
