Ballito Umhl - NOV 2020
Let's celebrate the start of Summer and the end of 2020! Meet Umhlanga’s coolest Barista duo. WIN a weekend away for the family. African flavours at Simbithi’s Fig Tree. Amazing MAKEOVER for a Sheffield Beach bachelor flat.
Let's celebrate the start of Summer and the end of 2020! Meet Umhlanga’s coolest Barista duo. WIN a weekend away for the family. African flavours at Simbithi’s Fig Tree. Amazing MAKEOVER for a Sheffield Beach bachelor flat.
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other boys and running in the sugar<br />
cane were the order of the day. In later<br />
life witnessing the beauty of nature in<br />
Namibia added to my appreciation for<br />
the beauty that surrounds us and its<br />
preservation.”<br />
When he first started the Riverside<br />
Trail group, Buzz says the interest and<br />
support wasn’t quite what he had<br />
thought it would be. “It became clear<br />
that trail running only appealed to a<br />
limited few and the mass envisaged<br />
support from local clubs did not<br />
happen. Very few joined on any of<br />
our training and pioneering runs.”<br />
But, they numbers grew slowly as the<br />
sport grew in popularity, both in the<br />
area and the country.<br />
In an attempt to grow the club faster,<br />
Buzz met with <strong>Umhl</strong>anga Tourism’s<br />
Peter Rose and together with other<br />
stakeholders they came up with the<br />
idea of including a trail run as part<br />
of the annual Summer Carnival in<br />
December. This was a turning point<br />
for the club.<br />
“Our Wednesday regulars group grew<br />
to around 30 and Saturday runs 15<br />
and, as time progressed and we did<br />
more <strong>Umhl</strong>anga trail runs, so did the<br />
There are so many<br />
things to love about<br />
trail running. It<br />
really allows us to<br />
enjoy the natural<br />
beauty around us<br />
numbers.”<br />
Apart from their love of running, Buzz<br />
says, the now tight-knit group of<br />
runners have other things in common<br />
too - including a shared passion for<br />
nature and a cappuccino problem!<br />
There are organised trail runs on<br />
Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays<br />
and Saturdays, always at 5.15am and<br />
starting at different points. Thursdays<br />
7km ‘stamina run’ is the most popular<br />
with between 60 and 70 runners<br />
taking part. “There are both fast and<br />
intermediate groups and you can<br />
even start off walking,” says Buzz, who<br />
has taken part in almost every single<br />
run over the past 10 years.<br />
The Virginia Bush and Izinga Ridge<br />
routes are among the group’s<br />
favourites and their Monday morning<br />
runs often take place along the beach<br />
if the tide is low enough.<br />
“There are so many things to love<br />
about trail running. It really allows us<br />
to enjoy the natural beauty around<br />
us. It also makes you super fit and<br />
time just seems to go by so fast when<br />
you’re on the trails.”<br />
The Riverside Trail group has become<br />
an integral part of the community<br />
and Buzz says it’s extremely rewarding<br />
to see people enjoying parts of the<br />
area they might never have seen<br />
otherwise, whether it’s running or just<br />
walking their dogs.<br />
Asked what’s next on his own<br />
personal bucket list in terms of<br />
running, Buzz says that while he<br />
doesn’t do too many long runs<br />
any more, he would like to try the<br />
beautiful Mnweni 40km in Bergville in<br />
the Drakensberg … at least once.<br />
Details: For more information or to<br />
join a run, contact Buzz via Facebook:<br />
RiversideTrail or on 082 777 7073