Making the Iron Man 'look like a warm-up'

Gallery Update

KNYSNA SPORT NEWS - The second annual Knysna Extreme Triathlon will take place in November this year, with an extended full route and a new half route introduced for those who aren't ready to tackle the full race just yet.

The inaugural KET took place on 24 November last year, and received 23 individual entrants plus two teams of three, resulting in 29 participants.

The KET is touted by organiser Sean Sandiford as Africa's "toughest and only extreme triathlon", and he goes so far as to say "it makes the Iron Man look like a warm up".

As was the case with the first event, the KET is set to take off from Thesen Island and end at the Diepwalle Forest Station, but this year the route has been extended by 5km to bring the total distance covered during the race to 229km.

Click here for a photo gallery.

This year the swimming leg of the KET will cover 5km, the cycling leg 174km, and the running leg – the final leg of the race – will cover 50km.

But, if you feel like you can't tackle that just yet, organisers have introduced a much shorter version of the race – the Knysna Extreme 0.5. "This serves as an introduction to the event and will hopefully get more people interested in doing the full race," says Sandiford. It includes a swimming leg of 2.5km, a cycling leg of 100km and a running leg of 30km to cover 135.5km in total. This year's cutoff time for the full race will remain 00:00, but the KET 0.5's cutoff time will be at 16:15.

This year's event will take place on 23 November, with entries open until 31 October. Entry fees for the KET 0.5 are R2 300 (individual) and R3 600 (team), and for the full race R4 500 (individual) and R6 300 (team). Sandiford has not only made a call for entries as they have a small field at the moment, but for more assistance from the community too.

"We want to make locals more aware of the race – come and show some support at the start, look out for them on the cycle (safety first) and pop up to Diepwalle Forest Station to cheer them across the line."

They are also calling for volunteers to help with checkpoints, transition, registration, etc., and for any potential sponsors who would be willing to assist. "I'm trying to get an annual event going that puts the town on the map and need all the support I can get," says Sandiford.

Individuals who would like to enter, can do so by visiting the race website – www.knysnaxtreme.co.za

A participant in last year's KET tacking the waters in the Knysna lagoon. Photo: Justin Coomber/The Mountain Room