Route: Jonkershoek Traverse (South Africa)

Location
South Africa
Distance
32 km
Vertical Gain
3,000 m
Description

This site has some details on the route and history.

This article from Red Bull describes the traverse and the Sandes, Gie & Reilly, and previous FKTs. Here's some of what it says:

"The route – known in some circles as the ‘Jonkershoek Marathon’ – traces the top edge of the Jonkershoek valley watershed in a horseshoe-shape, from Botmaskop all the way round to Stellenboschberg. Seven summit peaks are to be ‘ticked-off’ along the way: Botmaskop; Squaretower Peak, North Twin (Pieke), Rifberg (Virgin & Third Ridge Peak), Second Ridge (Katedraal), First Ridge (Katedraal), Haelkop and Stellenboschberg.

"Steeped in mountain lore, the first recorded attempt was on 19 May 1962 when Rudolph Buhrman, Piet Hugo and Jan du Plessis finished in 19:30. Their time was smashed later that same year by Ernst Lotz who completed it in 14 hours. The next successful attempt took place in December 1962, when Christopher Spottiswood ran 10h45min. There are some gaps in the records, but by most accounts Spottiswood’s record stood until 10 October 1991, when Lydia Roos completing the route in 10h13min. In October 2000 Henco Jordaan set the record at 9h40min where it stood for 15 years until Samuel Holtzkampf completed it in 8:44:57 on 16 December 2015.

"It was Holtzkampf's time the trio had in their sites.

"The 31-odd-kilometre route requires a combination of trail running, speed hiking, scrambling and bundu bashing, as well as, of course, navigating. 'The perfect last long run before our baby is born,' joked Ryan Sandes before. 'Thanks a lot to Andre – who is currently training to tackle World AR Champs in November with his team – and Kane for inviting me. I definitely tagged along on the mission - I have no real experience in Jonkershoek and they have both spent a fair amount of time up there.' "

GPS Track
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