Entries Open for 2023
HI-TEC Walker Bay Outdoor Promises a Festival of Endurance Sports.
The 2023 HI-TEC Walker Bay Outdoor is scheduled to take place in Hermanus from the 27th of April to the 1st of May next year. Featuring a festival of endurance sports the long-weekend’s activities will include the fan favourites – like the mountain bike race, triathlon and trail runs – but the ninth edition will also boast a road cycling race and a full marathon. The Dash4Cash will once again conclude the action, with an R50 000 prize pot up for grabs.
Title sponsors HI-TEC to bring their multi-disciplinary sporting heritage to the party too. Adding a wealth of equipment and footwear know-how for athletes to tap into. From trail running shoes to casual apparel to counter the changeable autumn weather the brand’s technical gear will be showcased throughout the HI-TEC Walker Bay Outdoor.
“We’re working towards ensuring that the 2023 edition of the HI-TEC Walker Bay Outdoor is the best yet as we continue to build the Walker Bay Outdoor to become the world’s coolest outdoor sports festival,” event director Gerhardi Odendaal emphasised. “There’s an event for everyone from hikes to triathlons and mountain bike races, cliff jumps and open water swims. Plus, we’re launching a road cycling race and a full marathon, which will provide the opportunity for those wishing to step up in distance from the existing half marathon with a longer challenge.”
Hosted in the Overberg town of Hermanus, just 90 minutes’ drive from Cape Town, the festival has unparalleled access to a superb natural playing field. The singletracks of the Hemel en Aarde Valley provide exceptional riding for the three mountain bike races, which includes a two-day stage race on the 29th and 30th of April. The cliff-top paths and the trails of Fernkloof host the event’s trail runs, as well as the Ledlenser Twilight Run. Scenic roads, snaking along the coast and through the vineyards, are the proving grounds for the half-marathon, marathon and road cycle, in addition to the bike and run legs of the triathlons.
Walker Bay itself, its calm and relatively warm waters, which hosts hundreds of southern right whales from June to November provides the battle ground for the open water swim, the swim leg of the triathlons and the thrilling See en Sand Jump. Launching off the Dreunkrans cliff is a key feature of the run, swim, jump, swim, run, swim course. It is also the most adrenaline-filled moment of the weekend.
For athletes with as strong a multisport drive as HI-TEC’s the Walker Bay Xtreme mixes running, mountain biking, See en Sand, triathlon, and open water swim in a Big 6 Challenge. The three top points scorers over the course of the six events, in the men’s and women’s categories, will then qualify for the Dash4Cash. To qualify for the HI-TEC Water Bay Outdoor’s final event one needs to run the Ledlenser Twilight Run, the 40-kilometre MTB Adventure, the See en Sand run/swim/jump, the 17-kilometre Trail Run, the Sprint Triathlon and the 2.5- kilometre Open Water Swim.
To enter the Walker Bay Xtreme or any of the individual events within the HI-TEC Water Bay Outdoor visit entries.walkerbayoutdoor.com. For more information on the festival and its component races visit www.walkerbayoutdoor.com. Share in the excitement in the build-up to the 2023 events, which take place from 27 April to 1 May, by liking the Walker Bay Outdoor Facebook page or following @walkerbayoutdoor on Instagram.
Photo Captions and Credits:
- The HI-TEC Walker Bay Outdoor will attract athletes and adventure lovers from across South Africa to the Overberg town of Hermanus for a long weekend of multisport events from the 27th of April to the 1st of May 2023. Photo by Devin Thiart.
- Boasting trail runs, mountain bike races, a half marathon, run/swim/jump, hike and now a road cycling race and full marathon the HI-TEC Walker Bay Outdoor is South Africa’s premier endurance multisport event. Photo by LIKE Collabs.
- The coastal town of Hermanus, the surrounding Hemel en Aarde Valley, the Kleinrivier Mountains and Walker Bay itself provide the natural playground for the 2023 HI-TEC Walker Bay Outdoor events. Photo by Geliefde Aarden.
- South Africa’s top multisport athletes will need to qualify to race for the R50 000 prize pot, in the Dash4Cash, by competing in the Walker Bay Xtreme’s Big 6 events. Photo by Anthelia Photography.
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For more information on the 2023 HI-TEC Walker Bay Outdoor please contact Andrea Gutsche via email at [email protected], alternatively visit www.walkerbayoutdoor.com.