HIGH ON HONEY MOUNTAIN

A magnificent mountain range bristles along the southern shores of Africa, where you will encounter peaks wilder than you could ever imagine. The only way to truly experience this untrodden wilderness is to lace up your trail shoes and set off on a soul journey into the Outeniqua ranges: by entering the Mountain Ultra-Trail (MUT) by UTMB.

- JACQUES MARAIS

The original Khoi people who roamed the high reaches of the Outeniqua mountains were known as 'the honey carriers'. These hunter-gatherers free-roamed for centuries in this wild and fecund place, living in absolute equilibrium with the intricate ecosystems shaping a rich and diverse natural space.

Their tribal folklore - handed down over untold generations - encompasses many a myth and legend, and pays homage to the pagan gods and nature spirits that kept them from harm as they foraged around the daunting peaks. To this day, ancient rock paintings speak of their journeys, and the name 'Outeniqua' is inextricably linked to their history.

These lofty mountains remain an unexplored natural nirvana. Rugged ravines slash through entangled forests; waterfalls foam and fizzle as they free-fall down vertiginous cliffs. Those heroic enough to explore this Garden of Eden will find that many of the mythic routes created by the 'honey carriers' are there to this very day...

The most exhilarating way to follow in their timeless footsteps is to take on one of the southern hemisphere's most iconic trail run events. This is the revered #MUT - the 'Mountain Ultra Trail' - and it is now part of the global Ultra-Trail Mont Blanc stable of events.

Read on, and you may just be fortunate enough to join an African festival of running sure to blow your mind!

RUN. FOREST. RUN.

And go! You're inside that deep, dark pit of self-doubt in the moments before the starting gun shatters the morning calm. Dawn is a couple of hours away at least, and the mountain's micro-climate is enveloping the lower, forested slopes in a big chill.

Every single runner is thinking the same thought: if it’s cold and dark here, what will it be like once you ascend into those 1 500m-plus peaks? There’s no time to think; seconds later, the start group surges like a living beast at the sound of the gun. Time to run!