When a big mountain project comes together perfectly… The Magalies traverse Fastest Known Time (FKT) routes takes you from Hartebeespoort Dam wall, via 14 compulsory trig-beacons along the ridge, finishing at the Olifantsnek Dam wall, some 78km’s later. My good friend Jock Green and I scouted every section of the traverse route in the months leading up, it consumed our discussions on training runs, and has been the big goal for 2021. The Magaliesberg is simply unforgiving in every way, and not to be taken lightly. Sunday 5th September arrived, and we could not have asked for a better day out, the weather was overcast with a cool breeze, both Jock and I felt strong, our water strategy worked perfectly, and we paced to perfection. Our ultimate goal was 12hrs 30mins, but we knew a sub-12 could be possible depending on how things went on the day. It was only with about 15km’s to go that we talked seriously about pushing for a sub-12, depending on if our legs held. We left it all out there in the last 2 hours, and came home in 11hrs 53mins, for a new FKT! The old record, which stood for 4 years, was 13hrs 31mins, so we were ecstatic to have knocked a good deal off that. Solid preparation was the key to success, our hours of training together and scouting really paid off. It’s not everyday things come together the way they did on this run!
Admin note: Brian & Jock provided GPS verification of their run, but that is not posted here because part of the game on this traverse is figuring out the best way to do the route (rather than just following someone else's track).