ASICS Frontrunner Jani Du Toit always manages at least one 'special' run on her summer holiday. This year it was a coastal run in the beautiful Southern Cape.
Here are the details:
Where: Stilbaai/Still Bay to Jongensfontein, Western Cape
When: Anytime - just check the tides
Distance: Approx 12-13km
Terrain: Trail - beach and trail paths
Shoes: ASICS FujiTrabuco Pro
Throughout the year the sleepy village of Stilbaai is exactly what its name implies – very quiet and calm – with most of the residents there being an older community along with many retired citizens.
Over the festive season however, this small town gets super busy as it transforms from a retired town to a busy holiday destination. My family and I love it here and it's easy to see why so many others visit this place over that time of the year.
About 17km away from Stilbaai is Jongensfontein, there is one main road into Jongensfontein and then there is the hiking trail along the coastline from Stilbaai to Jongensfontein. This year I decided to run the route and meet my family at the beach after the run.
I ran the route from my in-laws' house but you can start at the Skulpiesbaai Nature reserve. Depending on the tides you will be able to witness the historical fish traps. Here I ran along the beach for about 500m before crossing over to rocky/shell shore after which you proceed onto a trail path.
The ocean and the seashore are constantly visible from where you are running. Which means that depending on your technical experience and difficulty preference you can stay on the path or run on the rocks or beach. I love running on the beach, through the water, I love the splashing of the waves, it's so refreshing and gives me an exhilarating boost to just keep running and to go further. So where I could - I ditched the path for the beach.
I saw a lot of small wildlife, beautiful shells and breathtaking landscapes. The waves on some of the beaches were huge and I was just amazed at how truly beautiful it all was. The area is known for snakes, so it is important to be on the look out for puff adders, they are generally shy and will do their best to avoid you but accidents do happen when they are crossing paths.
The trail is a busy one, with a lot of hiking traffic during the holiday season as it is a fairly easy route. What this means is that if you don't start your run too early - a lot of the hikers might do a good job of scaring most of the snakes away from the path.
The trail isn't really accessible from the outside and it runs through private properties, so be sure that someone knows where you're going and take some water with you, as well as snacks if needed. The cellphone reception is known to drop so don't always count on being able to call someone. The route is pretty straight forward, no navigating equipment is needed. Just make sure someone is meeting you at the other end, otherwise if you're looking for a long run you can double back and run from Jongensfontein back to Stilbaai via the same route or on the tar road.
I can't wait to do this run again, I regret not doing it more often while I was there!
Follow Jani's running journey on JBRobinBlog.com and On Instagram Jani.JBRobinblog
