The 2021 Walker Bay Outdoor promises to be a festival of sports and entertainment in the beautiful Overberg town of Hermanus. Breathing in the fresh sea air, dining out at the many world-class restaurants as well as taking part in your choice of mountain biking, trail running, swim running and triathlon events makes for a perfect long weekend, for outdoor enthusiasts. The excitement starts on Friday, 23 April, with the Ledlenser Twilight Run.

With a route along the spectacular Hermanus cliff path that gets underway from Grotto Beach, one of the town’s Blue Flag beaches, and ends 7.5, scenic, kilometres later at the Old Harbour. Starting at dusk, headlamps will be compulsory as the cliff path often deviates far from the street lights of town. Fortunately, Ledlenser will be illuminating the run, providing complimentary headlamps to the first 50 entrants, of the 200-runner entry limit.

“The Ledlenser Twilight Run is the perfect event to showcase exactly what Walker Bay Outdoor is all about” promised Gerhardi Odendaal, group CEO of the festival organisers’ the Old School Group. “Walker Bay Outdoor is a weekend of sporting events in one of South Africa’s most beautiful towns and its suitable for every kind of outdoors-man and -woman. Runners, mountain bikers, swimmers and triathletes can push their limits, racing for victory or amongst their friends, or take it easy and enjoy the sights. The Ledlenser Twilight Run illustrates this perfectly, as the fastest runners can compete for victory while the more social runners can stop along the cliff-top path to take in the views every time they see something beautiful.”

“We’re thrilled to announce Ledlenser as the title sponsor of the opening event of the weekend as well as the official headlamp partner of the 2021 Walker Bay Outdoor” Odendaal continued. “It’s with the help of partners like Awesome Tools, that we aim to grow the weekend from a race-focus multi-sport event to a festival of outdoor activities for all levels of athletes. There’s an event or an experience for everyone at the Walker Bay Outdoor, from walks and fine-dining experiences, to two-day mountain bike races and trails runs.”

Ledlenser are equally exited by the partnership. “Being able to place our industry-leading products in the hands of outdoors-men and -women who will get great use out of them” Liz Woodroffe of Awesome Tools, the South African distributor of Ledlenser, said. “The quality products made by Ledlenser prolong daylight and therefore, enable being active when dusk sets in or even during total darkness. They bring light into the darkest corners, making them ideal for illuminating the cliff path during the Ledlenser Twilight Run.”

“The first 50 entrants to the race will receive our MH2 Ledlenser headlamp” Woodroffe confirmed. “It boasts a 100-lumen maximum output and is designed for activities like trail running; thanks to its super comfortable forehead band, which can of course be removed and washed. It offers incredible value for money, operates with ordinary AAA batteries and can provide a focussed beam of light at the turn of a dial. Given its 10-hour battery life it’s unlikely anyone will run out of light, even if they stop to admire every sight on the Ledlenser Twilight Run route.”

Following the Ledlenser Twilight Run you have the opportunity to enter one or multiple of the remaining 17 events on the Walker Bay Outdoor schedule. These include long and short route mountain bike races, with single- or two-day options, as well as a one- or two-day trail run, a triathlon, open water swims, plus the Sea and Sand Cliff Jump and Swim Run. Each event can be entered individually or as part of the Walker Bay Xtreme, a six event multi-sports challenge. To earn a Big 6 Xtreme finishers’ medal competitors need to complete the Ledlenser Twilight Run, Day 1 of the MTB Adventure, the 14-kilometre trail run, the sprint distance triathlon and the 2.5-kilometre open water swim. The most exhilarating and perhaps daunting challenge of the Walker Bay Xtreme is Sea and Sand Cliff Jump and Swim Run. It requires you to leap from the 8-metre high Dreunkrans into the cool waters of Walker Bay.

To find out more about the Walker Bay Outdoor and the Ledlenser Twilight Run, or to enter the events online, visit www.walkerbayoutdoor.com. Outdoor enthusiasts can stay updated with news from the events and Hermanus by following Walker Bay Outdoor, on Facebook, @walkerbayoutdoor, on Instagram, and @WalkerBayODR, on Twitter.

2021 Walker Bay Outdoor Schedule

Friday, 23 April

Ledlenser Twilight Run – 7.4km – 17:30

Saturday, 24 April

MTB: 2-Day Stage Race (Day 1) – 46km – 07:30
MTB: 1-Day Adventure (Long) – 46km – 07:30
MTB: 1-Day Adventure (Short) – 34km – 07:45
Trail: 2-Day Stage Race (Day 1) – 19km – 08:15
Trail: 1-Day Adventure – 19km – 08:15
Sea and Sand Swim Run Jump – 4km – 14:00
Run: Cliff Path (Long) – 12.2km – 16:30
Run: Cliff Path (Short) – 5.6km – 16:45

Sunday, 25 April

MTB: 2-Day Stage Race (Day 2) – 36km – 07:30
MTB: 1-Day Adventure – 36km – 07:30
Trail: 2-Day Stage Race (Day 2) – 14km – 08:00
Trail: 1-Day Adventure – 14km – 08:15
MTB: Sprint 800m laps – 14:00

Monday, 26 April

Triathlon: Open Sprint Distance – 08:00
Triathlon: Junior Junior Distance – 12:00
Open Water Swim – 5km – 13:00
Open Water Swim – 2.5km – 14:00

For more information on the Walker Bay Outdoor please contact Monique de Villiers on 021 712 3130 or via email monique@oldschoolgroup.co.za.