Alpine Heath

KZN Wildlife staff at Royal Natal Park with the help and sponsorship from ABI (and Bonitas from 2007), organized the first Mont-Aux-Sources Challenge in 1993, with 212 participants taking part. The aim of the Challenge is to provide the means for runners and sponsors to contribute financially to our Conservation Trust whereby the money raised is invested and the interest is ploughed back into conservation projects.

MAS Challenge consists of a 50km run up mountain passes, chain ladders and steep gullies to the top of the Amphitheatre and back, beginning and ending in the Royal Natal Park. To the best of our knowledge the event is unique in that it is organized by a wildlife organization to raise funds for conservation projects. The start / finish is in the Royal Natal Park at 1300 meters (4300 ft) and peaks at 3100 meters (10200 ft) giving an overall ascent / descent of 1800 meters (5900 ft).

The event has a limited field of 250 runners and one must apply to place their name onto a waiting list after which once invited, runners are allowed to participate in the Challenge for three consecutive years. On running their third year, runners receive a framed permanent number badge of their race number. The main race winner since the beginning of the challenge has been Dirkie Moolman who has won the race 9 times. An outstanding achievement for an individual athlete.

INSTRUCTIONS >> RACE/ENTRIES

2010 entry fees and sponsors fees to be confirmed

How to Enter the Race
To enter please send an email to montauxsources@yahoo.com and provide your name, I.D. number, postal address, home, work and cellphone number and your own email address.

Once your name comes up onto the list to be invited to run you will be sent an invite on email. Should you be able to participate, fill in the entry form and fax it back along with proof of payment of entry fees to the fax number on the entry form. Once this has been recieved you will be sent your sponsorship form whereby you can then begin collecting sponsorship fees.

Should you not be able to participate for that year please inform the organizer so that your entry may be kept for the following year otherwise your name will be deleted from the invite list and you will have to re-apply.

PLEASE NOTE:You do need to be able to complete 3 runs within a 5 year period.

ENTRIES ARE NOT TRANSFERABLE - SHOULD YOU NOT BE ABLE TO RUN, YOUR POSITION WILL BE GIVEN TO THE NEXT RUNNER ON THE WAITING LIST.

Registration
Registration will take place on Friday 10th September 2010 from 4pm - 7pm and 11th September 2010 before the start of the race at The Royal Natal Park soccer field (in the National Park) from 05h45 - 06h15.

You must register in person and have your ID book or drivers licence with you to register.

Tea and coffee will be provided for runners, friends and family before the start of the race. Tea and coffee will be on sale on Friday evening. There will also be a cash bar.

Pre-Race Briefing
A pre-race briefing which MUST be attended by all participants will take place at 6pm during registration inside the marquee on Friday evening. Final instructions regarding route changes (if necessary) and a weather report will be given on Saturday morning 10 minutes before the start of the race.

Royal Natal Entry Fees
All participants, family and friends must pay the KZN Wildlife entrance fee on entry into The Royal Natal Park unless you are staying at Mahai Campsite or Thendele Camp where your entry is included in your accomodation fee.

Runners who attend registration on the Friday evening will only have to pay the entry fee once. They will not have to pay again on the Saturday morning.

PLEASE NOTE: that family and friends who attend registration on Friday and come to the race on Saturday morning will have to pay entry fees on both days.

IMPORTANT: Your Park entry fee includes an emergency/rescue levy in the event that you sustain an injury during the event which requires you to be airlifted out by helicopter.

Chain Ladder
All runners have to ascend two chain ladders to reach the summit of the Amphitheatre before running to the lip of the Tugela River. A team from All Out Adventures, a locally based adventure group within the valley, will be manning the top, middle and bottom of the chain ladders, harnessing runners into safety belts and helmets, then guiding them up both ladders to ensure safety at all times. Those runners that fail to comply with their safety measures will be disqualified from the event.

Race Start Time and Seeding
The start of the event is staggered to relieve congestion on the mountain paths which was a problem on some earlier events. Each runner is seeded into one of 4 start groups (A, B, C and D) based on their most recent marathon time. If no marathon time was given in the entry form then a 6 hour marathon time is given to the runner. The intention is to start the quicker runners first to reduce overtaking. In order to accommodate runners of different speeds starting together we allow voluntary re-seeding, but emphasise that it is imperative that if you start in a group for which you were not seeded, that you advise the officials at the start otherwise you are assumed to have started where originally seeded.

• Start of Group A : 6.15 am
• Start of Group B : 6.20 am
• Start of Group C : 6.25 am
• Start of Group D : 6.30 am

Finish Cut-Off
You have 10 hours to complete the event. Because of the stagered start this means that there are 4 separate cut-off times.

• Cut-off for Group A : 4.15 pm
• Cut-off for Group B : 4.20 pm
• Cut-off for Group C : 4.25 pm
• Cut-off for Group D : 4.30 pm