![]() After 11 hours and 49 minutes of running, at 03:49 on the 18th of February 2022, Amri crossed the finish line of the #TankwaHalfCrossing for the overall victory. Amri saw the sun set over the Tankwa Karoo, she saw a phenomenal full moon rise but she did not see the sun rise over the Tankwa Karoo. From early on she had only Anele Bans (Team Tailwind SA) and Johnny Young (Full Crossing runner) in front of her. With the same level of grit and determination Amri Williamson took the half Crossing by the scruff of the neck and made it her own. The A-team (Robyn and Kingsley Butterworth, Mandy Hunt and Steven Clark), all the way from Howick, was the second team to cross the line in 25 hours and 26 minutes (Mixed team record) with Team Desert Madness (Matthew Blackmore, Brad Gauldie, Bryan Lawrence and Paul Stevens) not far behind in 25 hours and 47 minutes. Anele Bans, Adrian Le Roux, Mo Botha and Dirk Cloete completed the Full Crossing flew over the finish line 207.3 kilometers south of the start in an almost unbelievable time of 20 hours and 25 minutes. Team Tailwind simply blew the field apart. With Anele Bans headlining #TeamTailwindSA, it soon became evident that every suggested fastest time is too slow. After a short neutral zone the racing was on. The braying of a donkey set everyone on their way, to earn the donkey in one of the most beautiful, most fragile, most liminal, most brutal, most unforgiving environments that South Africa has to offer. We knew the pace would drop off towards the end, but by how much and what will be the pace up front? In short, what will the Tankwa Karoo offer up and what will the Tankwa Karoo take in return. ![]() We knew someone would make it, but with Jo keppler, Herman Mulder and Johnny Young in the mix we did not know who would make it first. We knew it will be hot, but how hot was an open question. How far each runner aimed to go, what they piled on the back of their mule and their initial game plan. A quick whatsapp to friends that this needs to be run, a few replies of saying "you are mad", a once-in-a-lifetime recce excursion with Dewald Van Niekerk, Ruan van Niekerk, Janno Langenhoven and swiss-army knife photographer, cheerleader, arse-kicker, chef and support vehicle driver Gareth Roberts and 12 months of planning later a small field of bat-shit crazy runners stood on the start line of the inaugural #TankwaCrossing: The Full Moon edition at 16:00 on the 17th of February 2022.Ī few things were known. Tankwa Crossing was inspired by a photo of the long, hot, desolate, white road that is the longest uninterupted gravel road between two towns in South Africa, posted by Mountain Passes South Africa almost 2 years ago. erm Eleen Thompson (Semi Soet Fotografie) tells the story far better than any report can. The images captured by Gareth Earl Roberts (Gareth Roberts Photography), Geoff Tennant and Kati. I should stop here and just post the pictures. Tankwa Crossing is a character-defining, paradigm-shift, comfort zone-breaking experience. The distance remains a challenge to be conquered, but the lessons learnt were taken to heart and applied to the inuagural Tankwa Crossing event taking place over the full moon weekend of February 2022.Ĭopyright of Tankwa Crossing belongs to Hanno Langenhoven The January 2021 delivered with abundance. ![]() After the seed was planted, well watered and started to grow into a little tree (non of those in the Tankwa) the next step was to convince his friend, Dewald van Niekerk (check out Event81), that the Tankwa should be crossed at the hight of the South African summer and a recce should be run January 2021. Hanno Langenhoven is an avid trail runner, birdwatcher, adventure junkie and serial stretcher of his own comfort zone limits. Soon the invitation turned into the crazy concept of a single-stage desert crossing in the middle of summer to have a crack at the title of 'the hottest run in the world'. The R355 is the longest uniterupted gravel road between two towns in South Africa and calls out adventure day in and day out, summer and winter. It was not a surprise that this invitation rang loudly when Hanno Langenhoven saw a picture of cyclists tackling parts of the R355 crossing the Tankwa Karoo. Pictures of the Tankwa Karoo invites you to unplug, to step out of your comfort zone and to step into, to quote Father Dioscuros, a place where you can find yourself. The Tankwa also boasts a rich diversity of fauna and flaura and has the distinction of having the third most endemic bird species in the world. ![]() It is as hot, dry and expansive as only a desert can get. The Tankwa Karoo is one of the most exciting spaces in South Africa. ![]()
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