 |
Ultra-Trail®
Drakensberg Media Release |
No: utd2002 |
23
Apr 2020 |
Embargo: None |
Written by: Nick Tatham |
UTD Lockdown Edition encouraging all to stay active
Underberg – The 2020 Ultra-Trail® Drakensberg scheduled for this weekend
has joined a long list of events cancelled amidst the unprecedented impact
of the novel coronavirus, however that hasn’t stopped organisers from
staging the first ever UTD Lockdown Edition this weekend.
UTD incorporates five different races from the iconic UTD160 to the DRJ21,
so what the organisers have done is offer runners the option of doing ten
percent of the distance at home as part of their UTD Lockdown Edition.
That means that anyone keen to enter the Lockdown Edition of the UTD160
will be entered to run a distance of 17,1km, the UTD100 will cover 10,8km,
GCU62 is 6,2km, SDR32 is 3,2km and the DRJ21 translates into a very
manageable 2,1km.
Alternatively the organisers have thrown down the bait of taking on the
UTD Lockdown Edition Grand Slam which includes all of the distances,
totalling 39,5km run over the weekend.
With the original event planned to take place over an entire weekend, a
sixth event has been thrown into the mix, the UTDunlimited, this is a
challenge for runners to see how far they can go from 10am on Friday to
7am on Sunday.
“This event is now well established and there was a big field really
looking forward to the 2020 event,” said Running Man Adventures’ Spurgeon
Flemington. “Once the lockdown was extended over the original event dates
we realised that there was an opportunity to turn the existing
disappointment into something positive.
“We also wanted to do something to ensure that the two organisations that
are the main beneficiaries of Ultra-Trail® Drakensberg, WildlifeACT and
the Southern Lodestar Foundation, do not suffer unduly, so we have decided
to stage the UTD Lockdown Edition with an entry fee of R0 but a voluntary
donation to these two organisations.”
Flemington stressed that every participant will have to comply fully with
lockdown regulations, meaning the run will have to take place in their own
home or gardens.
He added that they were trying to adhere to the timing of the event that
had been planned for the 2020 Ultra-Trail® Drakensberg, but the entry was
free and runners were free to run whenever they wanted to.
“We saw Ryan Sandes running 100 miles in his home this week, which has
helped inspire a lot of other runners!’ he said.
The events will all ‘officially’ start at the same time that they were
scheduled to start during the weekends racing in the Southern Drakensberg
but runners are allowed to start their run at any time that suits them
over the 45 hour period between 10am on Friday and 7am on Sunday.
There are also a large number of lucky draw prizes for competitors taking
part including free entries into UTD 2021 and other great prizes from The
North Face and other sponsors.
The male and female runners who cover the greatest distance over the
weekend in the UTDunlimited event will each win the prestige prize of an
entry into the 2021 Ultra-Trail® Drakensberg 100 miler once the GPS log of
the distance covered has been verified.
The event prize giving will happen on Sunday afternoon via social media,
at the same time as the original prize giving was planned before the
lockdown.
The entry fee into this weekend’s racing is a voluntary donation of the
participants choice and will be split 50/50 between WildlifeACT and
Southern Lodestar Foundation.
Entries can be lodged
here.
More information can be found at
www.ultratraildrakensberg.com
ENDS
|
Photo |
Caption |
Photographer |
Click to download the hi-res
pic |
 |
Ultra-Trail® Drakensberg
Logo - jpeg |
|
 |
 |
The unprecedented impact of
the novel coronavirus has forced many events to cancel, however organisers
of the Ultra-Trail® Drakensberg, which was set to take place this weekend,
have laid down a gauntlet for all with this year's UTD Lockdown Edition
taking place over the same period this weekend. |
Quick Pix/
Gameplan Media |
 |
Conditions of usage of photographs:
All photographs supplied and hyperlinked herewith may be used free of
charge, with full credit to the photographer and agency as provided. The
photographs may not be modified or retouched in any way, but may be
cropped to suit the layout requirements of the publications. The
photographs provided may be used exclusively for editorial purposes, and
may be reprinted in any newspaper, magazine, television programme or on
any website. These photographs may not be used for any commercial or
promotional purpose, including but not limited to posters, advertisements,
commercials, promotional email correspondence, point-of-sale material or
any retail promotion. Should such usage be desired, please contact us at
the details below. |
Is this of no value to you?
This media release is intended for use by media professionals covering
this specific activity or sport. Should this release not be relevant you,
please
advise us immediately and we will be glad to remove your name from
this particular database. It would be useful to us if you could advise us
which subjects you would like to continue receiving releases on. |
For any further information, or if you
cannot access the images, please contact:
Gameplan Media
(031) 764 3017
 |