KNYSNA NEWS - Ahead of the first-ever Adventure Racing World Championships (ARWC) to take place in Africa next year, Knysna will play host to a regional event that forms part of the ARWC Africa Circuit for the first time this coming August.
The race, known as Expedition Africa 120, will be held and run from its base at Blackwaters River Lodge, about 10km outside Knysna.
Teams of four will take on an incredible adventure, spanning 120km of natural beauty. The event will be the fourth on the qualifying calendar where athletes who qualify, earn free entry for ARWC 2023.
The owner of Blackwaters, Elmay Bouwer, was over the moon that they were chosen to host one of the events. "On 7 June 2017, our special place of magic and parts of the beautiful Goukamma Nature Reserve burnt down in fires. Heidi Muller [race director and CEO of ARWS], I don't even think you realised today the emotions in my heart," Bouwer said during an event held at Blackwaters last week. "I can't wait for this incredible event on this very special reserve that recovered remarkably after the fires."
Representatives of ARWC and the Eastern Cape celebrate the announcement that the race will be coming to Kouga.
While it is an honour for Knysna to be hosting the event, the Kouga region of the Eastern Cape will in October 2023 become the setting for the first-ever ARWC to be held on African soil and the 18th ARWC.
The 700km race will be the culmination of the 2023 Adventure Racing World Series (ARWS), which unites in competition the world's best endurance athletes.
"We are honoured and delighted to be chosen by the Adventure Racing World Series to host the most prestigious race on the adventure racing calendar," said Muller, who is a co-race director of Expedition Africa, the hosts of the 2023 ARWC.
"When we staged our first Expedition Africa 11 years ago, we never dreamed of this, and over those 10 races we have met wonderful athletes and teams from all around the world. Our race is always as much about the people as the place, and it has become a global family. We want them all to share in our African World Championship in Kouga next year! It will be a celebration of all that is good about adventure racing; exploration, achievement, teamwork and connecting people from around the world."
Stephan Muller, co-race director of Expedition Africa, spoke about the exciting possibilities for the course in Kouga and the Eastern Cape, which he has already begun scouting and planning. "For an Adventure Race of this magnitude we need to find an area which is far away from any human development, to ensure teams have a true wilderness experience and race in unique terrain," he said. "At the same time we have to be able to deliver fast and dependable logistics, transition areas that offer a welcome respite from the wild and accommodation with strong internet facilities for the world's media."
And if you ask Muller, he believes the Eastern Cape has all that, and much more.
"It has a comfortable climate in October, a Unesco World Heritage site, world-class game reserves and a rich culture. It's an exciting and diverse area, and the perfect location for an Adventure Racing World Championship."
With the ARWC in Kouga next year, participants will be treated to spectacular views. Photos: Bruce Viaene/Expedition Africa
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