for the outsider inside of you
Excitement builds as junior XTERRA Warriors prepare to be part of the action of the Totalsports XTERRA PEZULA presented by REHIDRAT® SPORT by taking part in the Totalsports XTERRA PEZULA Kids Race on Wednesday, 03 July 2013.
My first exposure to the Totalsports Challenge was when The French persuaded me to join her as a team in the 2010 Terra Firma event. I loved it, and I see from my post that I already had my sights set on entering the full Challenge as an individual: I remember drooling over all the gear the Challenge competitors had on their support vehicles in the Gordon’s Bay parking lot! I completed the 2012 Terra Firma as an individual, and absolutely loved it, so Totalsports Challenge became my big goal for 2013!
Dan Hugo raced himself onto a drip at last year’s Totalsports Challenge as he successfully defended his title against the upstart newcomer to the race, Stuart Marais. Hopefully fully recovered from a bad accident last year, Dan will now certainly have Stuart on his radar, and will not be willing to break his string of Totalsports Challenge victories. Stuart will have learned some lessons from last year and will no doubt have a revised strategy in place for his second assault on Dan’s reign. I almost wish I were a spectator on the day to see this battle go down!
![On the Touw River, Wilderness, Leg 2 of X Lakes Summer 2012 [photo: Caryn Munting]](https://i1.wp.com/www.cape-hike.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/touw-river-x-lakes-summer-2012.jpg?resize=800%2C445)
What an amazing race: the route surpassed all my expectations, and the organisation was incredible. I cannot recommend this race enough: if you do not think you can do it solo, form a relay team which makes it very manageable. If you are not the greatest paddler, get someone to paddle in a K2 or a double surfski so that you can enjoy the whole route as a team entry.
The Garden Route hosts some of the most exciting sporting events in the country, with the added advantage of being, well… in the Garden Route! The annual TriSport Off Road Festival is a 3 day sporting extravaganza that takes place at Pine Lake Marina in Sedgefield.
For as long as I can remember now, I have wanted to take a camping trip up the Garden Route to paddle all the rivers, lakes and lagoons that one passes along the route. Each time I drive the stretch from Mossel Bay to Plett I look longingly at the stretches of water, imagining myself paddling around the bend in the distance.
I have participated in the Totalsports Challenge Terra Firma twice now: in a team in 2010 and as an individual in 2012. This is definitely one of the premier multi-sport events in South Africa, and certainly the best I have participated in to-date: brilliantly organised event on a seriously challenging course where the only thing that penetrates the pain is the incredible beauty of it all!
Iqela Events brings you the Stellenbosch Triathlon, an off-road triathlon in Stellenbosch offering 3 distances.
Dan Hugo rode past me during the big uphill in the MTB section at such pace that I had to get off my bike and walk for a couple of minutes to recover. He went on to win his 6th consecutive Totalsports Challenge title: what a machine!
