Otter African Trail Run

Otter African Trail Run Otter TERREX Trail presented by EasyEquities, SA's Premier Marathon Distance Trail Run
(3)

03/06/2026

Carla Collins has been at the Otter TERREX Trail, presented by EasyEquities, since she was 7 years old. Long before she was a runner. 🌿

She started on the sidelines, cheering. Then handing out finisher medals. Then helping with registration as a teenager. At 21, she finally lined up as an athlete herself.

Fourteen years of watching. One race. And she cannot stop thinking about what it all means. 💚

She grew up watching adults push themselves to the absolute limit and accept the suffering with grace. That image shaped her. But so did the Tsitsikamma. As a conservationist, she thinks hard about what it means to run through one of South Africa's most protected coastlines. 🌊

"If we fence a place off, then how do we sustain it?"

Her answer: the people who move through wild places become the people who stand up for them. The caring, outdoorsy, adventurous spirits who fall in love out here, they become its guardians. ⛰️

Carla's story is the third in our Otter Legends series, where we follow the athletes for whom this trail is more than a race. It is something that found them, shaped them, and keeps calling them back.

Grail of Trail
Presented by EasyEquities

Your June Training Plan is live. 📥Toni McCann has put together this month's Otter-specific sessions, and if you're headi...
02/06/2026

Your June Training Plan is live. 📥

Toni McCann has put together this month's Otter-specific sessions, and if you're heading to the RETTO this September, now is the time to get dialled in. 🗓️

June is all about threshold pace work. Running hard enough to build efficiency, but disciplined enough to stay in the zone. There's also a dedicated section for the Scott Hut to Ngubu Hut stretch, one of the more demanding parts of the RETTO route with its short, sharp climbs and humid forest trails. 🌿🏃

Download the plan and get to work: https://otter.run/info/ 💪

Grail of Trail
Presented by EasyEquities

14/05/2026

Eight kilometres. 500m of elevation. And… you’re only just getting started on the climbing 👀

Here’s Tam on the Oakhurst to Scott section, with her 7th Otter TERREX Trail, presented by EasyEquities, and 4th Retto loading 👇

🌊 Use the river crossing at Oakhurst. Get in, cool down, and reset before the climbing starts.

🪜 Get your stair training done before race day. This section will find you out if you haven’t.

🌿 You’re in the forest for a lot of it, which sounds like relief, but don’t be fooled. It can be hot and humid in there.

🍌 Here’s the one that catches people out. The second half of the retto carries 8 of the 11 significant climbs. By the time you hit Scott, you need to have been eating and drinking. Don’t fall behind on nutrition here.

If you’ve done this section before, share your tips below 👇💬

Grail of Trail
Presented by EasyEquities

Month 3 of your Otter TERREX Trail, presented by EasyEquities, Training Plan is live. 🏃This month builds on the hill wor...
05/05/2026

Month 3 of your Otter TERREX Trail, presented by EasyEquities, Training Plan is live. 🏃

This month builds on the hill work you’ve been doing and adds longer intervals into the mix. 🏔️ Not all-out efforts. The goal is to find a pace that's genuinely hard but one you can sustain over time.

Volume is creeping up too, 📈 so start dialling in your fuelling 🍊 on the longer runs. These are your dress rehearsals for September.

🔗 https://otter.run/info/

Grail of Trail
Presented by EasyEquities

The direction changes. The money stays. 💰In 2026, EasyEquities backs the same prize purse on the Retto that it backed on...
30/04/2026

The direction changes. The money stays. 💰

In 2026, EasyEquities backs the same prize purse on the Retto that it backed on the Classic in 2025. R100,000 for the winner. R50,000 for second. All the way down to 4th and 5th place, which now pay out for only the second time in the event's history.

That last part matters. In the 2024 Retto, Mvuyisi Gcogco finished 4th and Admire Muzopambwa 5th. Both raced hard enough to finish in the top five of one of the most competitive trail fields on the continent. Both went home without a cheque. EasyEquities helped change that in 2025, and it stays changed. 🙌

On the Retto, last year's records don't apply. The Classic mark Tarboton set in October doesn't carry over. New direction, separate records, and on the Retto those records are still very much up for grabs. With a R60,000 bonus on the overall Retto course record and R30,000 for the South African mark, there's every reason to race all the way to the tape. 🔥

🔗 Full prize structure: https://otter.run/news/prizemoney2026/

Grail of Trail
Presented by EasyEquities

21/04/2026

Ten Otters. The first in 2016. And he has not stopped coming back since. 🦦

Historically Mvuyisi has clocked most of his training miles in PE on a soccer field, a mere sixty-odd metres above sea level, no technical terrain in sight, no mountain to practise on. Just a man, a flat field, and a race on his mind. 💪

As a result he’s often spent the first half reminding his legs what trail running actually demands. The rock hops, the stairs, the technical terrain. By the second half, the rhythm is there. And then he races. After ten Otters, one thing is clear: it is not the fastest runner who wins. It is the one willing to take the most risks. 🔥

The ocean. The mountain. The stairs. The views. MV does not describe the Otter TERREX Trail, presented by EasyEquities as a hard race. He describes it as a challenge to your own programming. 🌊

Now based in Cape Town, he is training on terrain that actually resembles the trail. The next chapter is being written. ⛰️

Mvuyisi’s story is the second in our Otter Legends series, where we follow the athletes for whom this trail is more than another event on the calendar. It is something that found them, shaped them, and keeps calling them back. 🔗 Read the full Otter Legends piece: https://otter.run/news/otter-legends/

Grail of Trail
Presented by EasyEquities

15/04/2026

For Admire Muzopambwa, the trail is the one place where everything falls away. No restrictions. Just freedom. 🌊

Which makes it all the more remarkable that every year, he has to face the one thing that terrifies him to get there. Admire cannot swim. The Bloukrans river crossing is not optional. And yet, every year, he lines up. 💪

He ran his first Otter in 2023 and placed 12th. Came back in 2024 and finished 5th. In 2025, 7th. This race does not hand out easy returns, and Admire knows it better than most. But he is not done here. 🔥

His goal is the top step of the podium. "One day," he says. "Probably soon." 🥇

Admire's story is the first in our Otter Legends series, where we follow the athletes for whom this trail is more than a race. It is something that found them, shaped them, and keeps calling them back.

🔗 Read the full Otter Legends piece here: https://otter.run/news/otter-legends/

Grail of Trail
Presented by EasyEquities

10/04/2026

The Otter TERREX Trail, presented by EasyEquities, is many things packed into one stretch of coastline 🌊🏔️. Here's of with his breakdown from Andre Hut to Oakhurst👇:

🪨 The rock scramble before Bloukrans is technical. There are ropes to help, but take your time on it.

🌊 Bloukrans is the biggest river crossing on the route. The safety team has lifeguards and a rope in place, whether you're a swimmer or not, you'll get across.

🧗 The climb out of Bloukrans is the hardest of this section. You might be cold and wet. Push through, because the reward is some of the best running on the route.

⏳ The final stretch to Oakhurst always seems longer than it is. There are a few sharp kicks in there that catch you off guard. Stay patient.

And whatever you do, look up every now and then. You're lucky to be out there.

Grail of Trail
Presented by EasyEquities

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Nature's Valley
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