Dear Mountain Runners / Adventurers / Free Spirits

THULE 4 Peaks Mountain Challenge 2012 in association with Salomon: 21-23rd September 2012

Thank you for entering one of the few true Mountain runs offered and for being part of a wilderness weekend that we hope you will remember and cherish for a long time.

This event and weekend promises to leave you with a tired body but with an uplifted spirit and a feeling of elation at having overcome what initially looks like an impossible task.

When you drive into Moolmanshoek and stare at the mountain range that you are about to challenge, you are sure to get a turn in the stomach kind of feeling. THIS IS NORMAL!!!!!

Our sponsors Thule and Salomon have become an integral part of this event and I hope to see an enormous amount of Thule Racks, Luggage and Salomon Footwear and Clothing at the event they are the best of the best.

We also have the pleasure of having Red Bull involved and it’s great that the athletes and the vibe over the weekend will have WINGS. Red Bull just gets the action going……

We welcome on board our new social media sponsor AfterShokz these revolutionary open ear headphones will change your perspective on headphones in our sport. Wait and see what we mean. More on the social media aspect later!

We have added a new dimension to the weekend by introducing The 4 Peaks Pyramid Challenge and Mountain Bike event. Athletes that complete all three events will receive The Thule 4 Peaks Tri-Challenge medal in recognition of this unique achievement. (If you wish to still enter The Pyramid Challenge R100 or MTB R80 this can be done at registration on Friday 21st Sept)

The Pyramid Challenge is a new event in our 4 Peaks stable. Athletes will attack the 1st Pyramid from the base to the summit and back down again on a marked route and the fastest time will determine the winners in each category. There is over R10,000 in prize money up for grabs in this fantastic addition to the weekend. Spectators are encouraged to line the marked route up and down. This will be a true test of physical and mental ability. Athletes to start in reverse order on a time trial basis according to seeding from finishing time on 4 Peaks. Interval of 3 min between runners will give 20 Runners per hour. Estimated time of 30min for the top seeded runners!

We are excited about our spectators viewing point on the route. A stiff little hike of about 1km up to the saddle will be required but once there you will be able to cheer your athletes on in the thick of things. Two vehicles will be taking spectators through to the path at different intervals. The 1st, just after race start and the second at 7am. If your family and friends are keen on this let them bring their hiking/ trail shoes (Salomon).

Spectators will also be entertained and Moolmanshoek will have an activities desk at registration and on the morning of the run where activities can be booked. There will be a play area for children with jumping castle; face painting, treasure hunting etc. (ADULTS WELCOME).

THANKS TO AFTERSHOKZ WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A SOCIAL MEDIA BLITZ AT THE EVENT! We are going to have dedicated bloggers, tweeters and facebookers posting onto the social media sites. They will update the progress of runners as they pass all the CP on the route; as well some race pics and quirky chirps from athletes in the passing. Follow us on facebook, www.facebook.com/pureadventures or on twitter @pureadventures #thule4peaks. Join the conversation on our live feed on www.4peaks.co.za where your friends and family can follow your progress in the mountains and comment or ask questions to our team on the mountain doing the direct commentary on the race.

WE ARE ONCE AGAIN GOING TO RUN OUR SOCIAL MEDIA COMPETITION FOR THE PIC OR VIDEO CLIP THAT BEST CAPTURES THE ESSENCE OF THE THULE 4 PEAKS AND THE SPIRIT OF THE JOURNEY. Bring along your camera and post your picture or clip onto our facebook,www.facebook.com/pureadventures page to stand a chance of winning some fantastic prizes courtesy of our sponsors THULE once again. This will be explained at race briefing.

The Race:

With a large field entered we have had to make some changes. We are once again reverting to batch starts after listening to you our athletes. We will have 5 batches leaving at 10 minute intervals. The 1st batch "T" will be leaving at 05h50; batch 2 "H" will be leaving at 06h00; batch 3 "U" leaving at 06h10; batch 4 "L" leaving at 06h20 and batch 5 "E" leaving at 06h30. There are bottlenecks that occur early in the race which can lead to frustrated athletes, thus the staggered start. A compulsory kit check will take place and once your kit has been checked you will receive a ticket that you have to carry on the route. Only athletes that have the compulsory kit referred to below will be allowed to enter the start pen and start the event. NB NB NB!!!!!!!! IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THE COMPULSORY GEAR REFERRED TO BELOW YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO START. IF YOU ARE KIT CHECKED ON ROUTE WITHOUT THE COMPULSORY GEAR YOU WILL BE DISQUALIFIED. This is for your own safety as well as for your co athletes and our safety.

We have had to make a commitment to the Land Owners to enforce a mid race cut off at CP 3 High Ridge (about half way). All athletes that have not made CP 3 by 11h00 will be redirected down the mountain and home. The 2nd part of this epic challenge is remote and more technical and it is in the interest of all athletes’ safety that this has been requested of us.

Evening Entertainment:

Saturday Evening: AN EVENING WITH RYAN SANDES - Ryan Sandes will chat to us about his Western States 160km race and his Fish River Canyon record. We will be showing video footage and slide shows and there will be a Q & A session. This is a great opportunity to hear one of the planets top ultra trail and mountain runners.

Sunday evening: Prize Giving of all 3 events and slide shows of weekends events.

Meals:

The weekend's meals will be as follows:

Friday evening - Pasta’s; Chicken Pieces; potato dish; various salads; Pudding.

Saturday after run - a variety of meal options runners will receive the choices at briefing.

Saturday evening - Traditional Sheep braai, Salads, Vegetarian dish, Pudding.

Sunday evening - Moolmanshoek surprise.

THE WEEKENDS AGENDA:

Friday 21st September 2012 - Arrive at Venue (see directions below) - Registration 14h00 - 18h30 - Evening meal 18h30 - 19h30 - Race Briefing 19h30 - 20h30

Saturday 22nd September 2012 - Kit Check and roll call T group - 05h10 - Each group at 10 min intervals - Race start Group T - 05h50 - Each group 10 min intervals - Kiddies treasure hunt while waiting for mom/dad 08h30 - Race Cut off - 15h30 - Evening meal - 18h30 - Evening entertainment - 19h30

Sunday 23rd September 2012 - Mountain Bike registration - 07h00 - Start Mountain Bike event - 08h00 - Start Fun walk - 08h00 - Pyramid Challenge Registration - 13h00 - Start Pyramid Challenge - 14h00 - Evening meal - 18h30 - Prize giving and social - 19h30

Monday 24th September 2012 - Depart venue

We will have a cash bar at the Race Village to carbo-load pre event or share war stories post event.

NB – COMPULSORY EQUIPMENT: see attached pdf file with recommended equipment.

The following items will be compulsory for all participants: All-terrain shoes/boots, a daypack, full water fluid container (2 to 3 litre capacity), waterproof rain jacket or light rain jacket and high energy food for the duration of the race, beanie, whistle; space blanket and a cell phone.

The following is highly recommended: sun block, a hat, jacket, gloves, plasters, and bandage.

All fluid and food needs to be carried by the athlete and nothing may be placed with the Marshals or placed on the Mountain to be collected on route. What goes up with you must come down. Don’t litter PLEASE!!!

Spectators are not allowed to give any outside assistance at the viewing point. Your runner will be penalized.

ACCOMMODATION;

Please make sure that you have booked your accommodation directly with Moolmanshoek Tel - 051 933 2220. www.moolmanshoek.co.za

Directions to Moolmanshoek Private Game Reserve

NB – CAUTION – NB the road between and Rosendal (R70) has HUGE POTHOLS drive with extreme caution especially at night. The section is only about 25 km in length. Moolmanshoek is situated in the district of Ficksburg, Eastern , South Africa. Within viewing distance of Visierskerf (2407m) the third highest mountain range in SA. The reserve covers an area of 3300 hectares and is a Natural Heritage site Nr 199, Moolmanshoek is situated a mere 3½ hours drive from Johannesburg, 4 hours drive from Pretoria, 2½ hours from Bloemfontein, 20km from Rosendal and 35km from Ficksburg, which is on the Lesotho border.

GPS Reading in car park in front of the lodge: 28 37’58 S 27 59’56 E

From Gauteng (Johannesburg)

Take the to Kroonstad. Look for the R76 towards Senekal, following the Steynsrus / Bethlehem signs. At Steynsrus turn right towards Senekal. Drive through Senekal on the towards Bethlehem.

+/- 5 km after Senekal turn right on the R70 to Ficksburg / Rosendal. Exactly 10 km past Rosendal turn left on a gravel road. Continue for 7.5 km till you see the Moolmanshoek gate on the left.

From Durban

1. At Harrismith turn off on the N5 to Bethlehem, in Bethlehem you turn left at Commissioner Street to Fouriesburg / Ficksburg on the .

2. 20Km past Fouriesburg is a brown signboard on the left side, that shows Waterkloof/Nebo/Franschoek turn right there on the S385, continue for 20km on the gravel road (just keep going straight don’t turn anywhere it will become the S384). NOTE: This is a beautiful road over the mountain with lovely views, but if it is raining a lot, there can be some bad places, unless you’re driving a 4x4 vehicle, we suggest you take the 3) option;

3. OR go straight on the tar towards Ficksburg from Fouriesburg for 40 km, just before Ficksburg you turn right on the R70 to Rosendal, continue straight for exactly 29km, turn right just after the Rosendal 10km sign, on the S384, continue for 7,5 km.

Scenic road via Clarens

1. Turn left on the R712 a few km outside Harrismith, the Phuthaditjhaba road, that goes alongside the Sterkfontein Dam to Golden 2. Gate, Clarens, Fouriesburg, turn left when you come to the N5, towards Ficksburg,

3. 20Km past Fouriesburg is a brown signboard on the left side, that shows Waterkloof/Nebo/Franschoek turn right there on the S385, continue for 20km on the gravel road (just keep going straight don’t turn anywhere it will become the S384). NOTE: This is a beautiful road over the mountain with lovely views, but if it is raining a lot, there can be some bad places, unless you’re driving a 4x4 vehicle, we suggest you take the 3) option;

4. OR go straight on the tar towards Ficksburg from Fouriesburg for 40 km, just before Ficksburg you turn right on the R70 to Rosendal, continue straight for exactly 29km, turn right just after the Rosendal 10km sign, on the S384, continue for 7,5 km.

From Bloemfontein

Take the N1 to Winburg. Take the N5 of ramp towards Senekal. Drive through Senekal on the N5 towards Bethlehem, turn right on the R70 to Ficksburg/Rosendal.10 km past Rosendal turn left on a gravel road for 7.5 km till you see the Moolmanshoek PGR gate on the left.

From Ficksburg

On the Ficksburg / Fouriesburg road, turn left on the R70 towards Rosendal for 29km; turn right on the S384 for 8 km.

To Langesnek Leadership Centre

Use the same route to Moolmanshoek PGR.

SEE YOU ALL SOON FOR AN ADVENTURE TO BE REMEMBERED!!!!!!!!!

Regards ADRIAN and MIKE PURE ADVENTURES

Come join us and... Feel the tempo of your breathing within the rhythm of nature…