While South Africans look abroad for adventure, one of the planet’s most extreme endurance events has been quietly unfolding in the Witteberg Mountains for almost three decades. Is it time we recognised the K-Way SkyRun as a national treasure?
Every November, a small village in the Eastern Cape becomes the unlikely staging ground for one of the most gruelling ultra-endurance events on Earth.
No cheering crowds. No medal ceremonies beamed across the globe. Just jagged ridgelines, unpredictable weather, and the sheer, uncompromising reality of self-navigated mountain racing. Welcome to the K-Way SkyRun — a race so tough, even veteran ultra-athletes have been known to bow out early.
And yet, while the international spotlight shines on the likes of UTMB in the Alps or Western States in California, South Africa’s own SkyRun remains largely under the radar. That might be changing.
“SkyRun is one of the few remaining truly wild races,” says Adrian Saffy, Event Director and co-founder of Pure Adventures. “There are no aid stations every five kilometres, no sweepers to carry you out. You’re on your own, and that’s what makes it beautiful.”
In a country still wrestling with economic strain and the lingering effects of the pandemic, local adventure events like SkyRun are beginning to resonate in a new way. They offer more than escapism — they reflect something deeper: resilience, grit, and the idea that world-class experiences don’t require a passport.
While the Comrades Marathon and Cape Epic have become cultural icons, the K-Way SkyRun offers something different: a test of endurance stripped to its barest form. No fanfare. Just mountains, and your own determination.
“It’s not just the physical challenge,” says Saffy. “SkyRun forces you to think, to plan, to survive. There’s a mental and emotional endurance here that rivals anything you’ll find internationally.”
South Africans spend millions every year chasing adventure abroad — Ironman in Europe, trail runs in the US, cycling tours in the Pyrenees. Yet the Eastern Cape, one of the country’s least economically developed provinces, hosts a race that could easily stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the world’s finest.
SkyRun is more than a race — it’s an economic and ecological case study. It supports local guides, farmers, and businesses, while maintaining a light environmental footprint. The event’s commitment to preserving the wild nature of the route — no permanent infrastructure, no mass tourism buildup — makes it an outlier in a world of increasingly commodified adventure experiences.
There’s something quietly radical about SkyRun’s survival. In a culture often obsessed with bigger, louder, faster, the race has stayed true to its roots. It may not trend on social media or make global headlines, but for the athletes who take it on — often after ticking off bucket-list events abroad — it leaves an indelible mark.
Perhaps it’s time for South Africa to claim this event as part of its national identity. As a symbol of the country’s untamed spirit. As proof that world-class doesn’t have to mean internationally branded. As an invitation to look inward before we look out.
Because sometimes, the adventure of a lifetime doesn’t require a plane ticket. Just a headlamp, a GPS, and the willingness to take on a mountain — or 100km of them.
For more information, please visit http://www.skyrun.co.za
Photos by Craig Kolesky.
