Ballito Umhl - NOV 2020

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