The Essence
of Wildrun
Who we are
The heartbeat of the Wildrun® is exploring & experiencing truly wild places on the run. Be it on the Wild Coast of South Africa, the remote mountains of Lesotho, the geologically & botanically rich Richtersveld desert or the bushveld of Mapungubwe, each Wildrun® is unique and will be sure to leave an indelible impression on your life.
No markers. No massive crowds. Just you, your sense of adventure and a truly wild place. Be prepared to experience a run like no other.
The Story of
Wildrun(ner)
What we're about
Three or more days of wilderness trail running through some of the most rugged and beautiful scenery in Southern Africa. This is the backbone of a Wildrun®.
The Wildrun® is organised by Wildrunner, premier trail running event organisers in South Africa. We focus on pure trail running with a heartbeat born from a lifetime's passion of exploring wild places on the run.
Wildrunner was established in November 2007 and has held over 200 trail running events in seven South African provinces, as well as Internationally in Lesotho, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana.
With this comes a wealth of trail and mountain running event management experience that is unmatched in Africa.
The Wildrun
Management Team
Who runs the world
Owen Middleton
Founder & Managing Director
Trail running, sailing, mountaineering, adventure racing, orienteering, surfing, paddling, kloofing, rock climbing, fly fishing, scuba diving & mountain biking are the life-blood of what makes Owen tick.
Tamaryn Middleton
General Manager
The Real Boss. She is the backbone of Wildrunner and will put a smile on your face any time of the day. Her passion is people, with a healthy dose of scuba diving, trail running and general adventure-seeking thrown in!
Marion Siebrits
Chief of the 100 acre wood (and damn good at catering to!)
Marion's ability to cook up a feast in the middle of nowhere is a gift. She is never short on laughter or practical jokes, but when it comes to delivery always the consummate professional, and when you taste her food you will no doubt agree!
Jason Sharrock
Hospitality & logistics
When not organising events Jason can be found smashing the waves on his surfboard or cruising the cattle trails on his Momsen mountain bike. From entertaining guests to making a plan with broken trailers, Jason is the wild asset working tirelessly behind the scenes to keep operations moving ahead smoothly.
Wildrun
Testimonials
What people are saying
Wildrun Africa’s Rwanda 2019 inaugural trip was an absolute treat – from start to finish. Owen, Chris and their team of four local Rwandan youngsters Jado, Olivier, Emanuel and Danny laid on a completely unique trail-running experience. The Rwanda Wildrun was a bucket-lister of note that exceeded all my expectations. Rwanda has a very tangible soul – she is powerful, positive, hopeful. As a country, she has drawn me in hook, line and sinker and I have fallen quite hopelessly in love.
Karoline Hanks
Rwanda Wildrun® 2019
Thank you all for a wonderful Wildrun. It was my first event and I was completely blown away by your professional organization and attention to detail. You honestly thought of everything from assisting us with our grubby toes to loading our bags at the crack of dawn WITH A SMILE ON YOUR FACES!!! I loved every moment of it and came back with a renewed appreciation of the beautiful country in which we live and what fabulous people form the running community. Thank you. It was life changing for me.
Claire Gatonby
Wildcoast Wildrun® 2013
Thanks for a great event – I loved it. I thought your organisation was outstanding.
Peter Hathorn
Wildcoast Wildrun® 2012
"I looked forward to the Wildrun for months but nothing could’ve prepared me for how awesome it actually was. It was without question the best sporting ‘holiday’ I’ve ever had."
Kevin Welman
WIldcoast WIldrun® 2013
"Thank you so very much for enabling us to have the privilege of running in such an amazing wilderness – the Richtersveld. It was hard, beautiful, awesome, challenging and so well worth it! Your teams - organising, logistics, kitchen, showers, water, safety, checkpoints and photography – surpassed themselves. Nothing was too much and always with a smile. The race was truly wonderful!"
Liz Brash
Richtersveld Wildrun® 2014
The most amazing 3 days of running! Day dream about it often – wish I could go back every 3 months!
Claire Hammon
Wildcoast Wildrun 2011
"A heartfelt thank-you for a truly magnificent seven days in the Ai-Ais Richtersveld National Park. What a special experience it was to run through such a uniquely exquisite part of our beautiful Africa, and made all the more so by being in the unbelievably capable hands of the Wildrunner team. Everyone on the event marvelled at how slick your operation is – quite honestly, I don’t know how you do it! I can only imagine the degree and depth of forward- and on-the-ground planning that has to go into not only creating a wilderness baby like the Richtersveld Transfrontier Wildrun®, but making it happen so smoothly and in such a fun atmosphere that it all looks so simple, so stress-free. That’s definitely an art, and you guys have mastered it! I can say without hesitation that the RTW was the best organised race I’ve ever done. And at risk of sounding corny, I loved every minute."
Linda Doke
The Namibia Crossing 2016
"Many thanks for a truly awesome experience. It has been one of the most outstanding adventures of my life. Right up there with travels in Tibet, climbing in Karakoram, South America and Spitskop. I thought the run was very hard and unremitting, yet possible for the person with adventure in their soul."
John Brimble
Richtersveld Wildrun® 2014
"I cannot stop telling people about our life-changing experience at the Richtersveld – and I just wanted to thank you guys for making all of it possible. The organizing of this event was really world-class! Your team’s energy is incredible and inspirational! Please keep in doing what you are doing – you are exposing people to incredible places and experiences! It really changed my life!"
Thea-Mari Franken
Richtersveld Wildrun® 2015
"It was a huge privilege and a dream come true for me to have been able to participate in the 2014 Wildcoast Wildrun. I'm still trying to find appropriate words to be able to place the experience in perspective. I guess that I'll just have to return in 2015 to try and find those words somewhere along the magnificent 112 km coastline. Thank you to you and your fantastic team: you were so in touch with all our needs, fears, dreams and joys."
Hein Venter
Wildcoast Wildrun® 2014