The Swellendam Hiking Trail was revered in South Africa's as the number one wilderness mountain trail, a true six-day mountain wilderness experience through the magnificent Swellendam Mountains. The hallowed ground is now the setting for this iconic and brutally tough trail run. This is your chance to experience pure mountain running nirvana.  87% of the epic 55km race is on remote mountain hiking trail and, with 3 494m of vertical height gain over the entire distance, is not for the inexperienced solo mountain runner.

The 55km Marloth Mountain Challenge Ultra Mountain Marathon is a qualifying race for The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc® and will give you three points toward qualification. 

MMC Ultra runners need to have completed one of the following events to qualify to run the MMC Ultra. This does not apply to MMC Extreme or MMC Lite runners.QUALIFICATION

 Wildrunner is a proud member of the International Trail Running Association. 

Directions to MMC:

All routes will be fully marked with signboards at any junctions and marker tags/flags between, but runners should familiarise themselves with the route beforehand as unforeseen circumstances may cause the markers to be damaged (extreme weather) or hard to see (fog, rain).

MMC 55km Ultra 
Start: Old Drostdy Musuem 06:00
55km
3 550m of ascent
3 550m of descent
WTG: GREEN 8B (What's this?)

Click here for 55km Route Profile

MMC 35km Extreme
Start: Goedgeloof 08:00 - Transfer leaves Old Drosdty Musuem at 06:30 Sharp.
Goedgeloof to Swellendam
35km
1 675m+ of ascent
2 243m of descent
WTG: GREEN 9B (What's this?)

Click here for 35km Route Profile

Leaving the beautiful Goedgeloof hiking trail hut, one descends gently initially before making the 300m ascent to Warmwaternek.  Thereafter the route follows a spectacular traverse into the Proteavallei, ringed by magnificent peaks like Misty Point at 1 710m. 10km into the stage you will arrive at the Proteavallei hiking hut and checkpoint 3. From here the route turns onto the Kruispad heading south towards Wolfkloof. Using the natural features of the Kruispad ridge, the route very soon begins to drop rapidly towards the valley below and the trail brings you into Wolfkloof hiking trail hut (as well as checkpoint 4). This is also the location of the King & Queen of the Mountain hot spot.

From here here you are on a 300m hiding up towards Eenuurkop before traversing along in an easterly direction. Kliprivier and Hermitage Kloof force the first 300m descent, before another 350m ascent over three tiers takes you back up and behind Doktersbos, Koloniesbos and Duiwelsbos, before descending the Koloniesbos ridgeline and running the final 4km into the finish. For those who have given the whole 60km a go, running back into a busy town will be quite the change from the peace and tranquility of the Swellendam mountains!
 

MMC 24.5km Lite
Start: Old Drostdy Musuem 06:00
Finish: Goedgeloof Hut
24.5km
1,668m of ascent
987m of descent
WTG: GREEN 8B (What's this?)

Click here for 24.5km Lite route profile

Starting at dawn in the town of Swellendam, where the South African Free Republic was declared in 1795, runners will make their way through the sleepy streets initially, before starting the slow and steady ascent towards the towers of Tienuur and Elfuurkoppe and up between the forests of Duiwelsbos and Wamakersbos. An easterly traverse follows before the climb up onto the ‘Hoek’ ridgeline and ‘Hoekrus’. An easy traverse takes you north towards Boskloof River, before making the ascent to the first checkpoint at the site of the former Boskloof hiking trail hut. Leaving here, the path gets steep quickly before once again traversing east along Drosterspas to Vulture rock. Lastly, the route turns back into the Zuurplats valley before the final ascent up and past Knuckle Rock and the steep technical rocky descent to Goedgeloof Hiking hut at checkpoint 2 and the end of the stage.

MMC 10km trail run
Start: Old Drostdy Musuem 08:00
Finish: Old Drostdy Musuem 08:00
10km
422m of ascent
422m of descent
WTG: ORANGE 4B (What's this?)

Click here for 10km trail run route Profile

Brand new in 2019, this fun 10km trail run takes in a circuit of two private farms that nestle along the foothills of the mighty Swellendam range. This diverse trail runs past the site of the old Koloniesbos trail hut to pick up the original Swellendam Hiking trail start trail through the Appelsbos Forest. We return via the Appelsbos farm to the start/finish at the Old Drosdy Museum.

ENTRY & REGISTRATION

• Entries will open at Midday on 26 February 2020. 
• You do not need to be a member of an athletics club to compete
• Runners need to adhere to the minimum age limit as indicated in the Event Details.
• To enter the MMC Ultra you have to complete one of the listed qualifying events below.

ENTRY FEES

WHATS INCLUDED:

• Proffesional race organisation and comprehensive mountain safety management
• 'Live' electronic chip based timing by FinishTime
• All relevant entrance fees for the respective Nature Reserves & private property
• 35km Extreme runners:  Your bus transfer to the start
• 24.5km Lite runners: Your bus transfer back from the finish
• Race medal and finishers gift for any Ultra, Extreme & Lite finisher in each event.  Run medals for the 10-12km races.
• All distances with the exception of the 10km include dinner on Saturday night (post event), presentation and after party 

For full series entry fees click here.

PLACES TO STAY IN SWELLENDAM

• Impangele Guest House
• De Oude Pastorie
• Aan de Oever Guest House
• Arumvale
• Hermitage Huisies
• Marula Lodge
• Aanhuizen Guest House

ACCOMMODATION OUTSIDE SWELLENDAM

• Brakenhills
• Umshanti
• Kwetu Guest Farm

UP/DOWNGRADES

• Upgrades and downgrades are allowed within the timeline described below as long as the individual race to which you want to move has not sold out yet. For example: if you entered the 55km MMC Ultra and want to downgrade to the 35km MMC Extreme will depend on the availability.  
• Runners who wish to upgrade or downgrade can do so at Registration on 5 October 2019.  

SUBSTITUTES:

• No upgrades, downgrades or substitutions will be allowed on the day of the race. 
• In the event a confirmed entrant is not able to make the race and they have their own substitute and wish to transfer their entry, they will need to log into their online entry (via the link on the original entrant's confirmation email) and transfer their entry to their substitute, NO LATER THAN 10h00 on Tuesday, 1st October 2019.
• The confirmed entrant will be responsible to collect the entry fee from the substitute and the substitute will need to log into quicket, NO LATER THAN 10h00 on Tuesday, 1st October 2019, before the substitute will be allowed to participate. This is for the substitute’s own safety and Wildrunner can not be held liable in the event of any damages that may occur directly or indirectly because of the substitute’s failure to register on our online system.
• The substitute will need to pay a R50 substitution fee at registration. 

REFUNDS:

• Due to the nature of the industry we are not required to refund entries other than for hospitalisation or death. However, refund requests will be dealt with on their own merits depending on length of notice of written cancellation received before the event and our ability to secure payment from another participant from the waiting list. Please note that we may charge a reasonable cancellation fee if the refund request is approved. 
• Any refunds made will be paid within 30 calendar days.