Most anticipated forest marathon
This weekend will see the staging of the annual Pick n Pay Cape Times Knysna Forest Marathon.
The 8 500 event entries have been sold out months in advance with race office still inundated with calls for more tickets. From humble beginnings this event has grown into one of the most sought after annual big events in the country.
Road closures
- R399 (Union Dale Road) – Saturday 04:30 ’till 08:30; total closure between Bokkopie and Buffelsnek.
- Vigilance Drive – Saturday 04:00 ’till 08:30 between Sand Piper and Progress Road.
- Water Front Drive – Saturday from 07:00 ’till 21:30 West from Caltex Garage to the N2 intersection.
- Hedge Street – Saturday from 07:00 ’till 13:00 between Waterfront and Trotter Street.
- Trotter Street – Saturday from 07:00 ’till 13:30 West of Hedge Street. Access only for residents.
Registration opens at 10:00 on Friday at the Pick n Pay Knysna Oyster Festival grounds and there will be lots to do for the kids.
The organised taxi transport is the only way to get to the start in the forest. No private vehicles will be allowed into the forest. Loading starts at 04:30 on Saturday in Vigilance Drive. Parking is a available at Loerie Park and along George Rex Drive. There will be free bus transport from the finish back to Loerie Park from 10:00 ’till after prize giving.
While the organizers offer generous prize money to the winners, it is an ordinary runner that will have the biggest smile at prize-giving. Ten runners will be selected onto the podium and will line up behind ten New Balance hampers with all sorts of goodies in them, but one bag will contain a cash prize of a whopping R10 000. Runners have to be present and get to the podium in time before a new name is drawn.
Charity drive
As part of the charity drive, the organisers run a very successful clothing collection scheme for the cold and needy in Knysna. There will be a collection point at registration on Friday, as well as three collection points for discarded clothing in the forest. There are many outstretched hands in the forest, but runners are requested to only leave clothing at the formal collection points to ensure that it gets to where the need is greatest.
The designated charities for 2013 are Vermont Old Age Home, Loeriehof Old Age Home, Knysna Child Welfare and Die Werks Winkel, but a large number of other local organisations also benefit from the more than R500 000 the event raises. The money is handed out at the Pick n Pay Cape Times Knysna Forest Marathon charity dinner a few weeks after the event.
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Source: Knysna-Plett Herald