32Gi will be at the Rockman X-Triathlon and Duathlon on the fourth of December. This great off-road event now boasts two different triathlon distances, a duathlon event and two great kids races. Sharon Green joins us on this special edition of 32Gi Sports Nutrition; to tell us more about this attractive event, and some pretty cool prizes they have on offer for entering online.
Transcription:
Welcome to this very special edition of 32Gi Sports Nutrition. I’m Mr Active, David Katz and it’s a great pleasure today to welcome Sharon Green onto the podcast. We are talking a fantastic off-road event in South Africa called Rockman. Sharon first of all, welcome onto the show and just briefly for all the people out there, give us a bit of a history about Rockman?
Sharon Green: Thanks David, with pleasure, thanks for having. We are certainly looking forward to an amazing event coming up in 12 days’ time. The Rockman X-Triathlon and Duathlon event takes place on the fourth of December at the Cradle Moon Muldersdrift Resort.
That’s just 20km outside Fourways, for those who are not sure where the Cradle Moon Muldersdrift area is. We’ve got four different events that take place on that day. Starting off with the Ultra Cross Triathlon, that’s the big one, the big challenger for the athletes. Then we’ve got a Rockman Dash, which is a sprint, also X-Triathlon.
Then we’ve got a Rockman Dash Duathlon for those that are a little scared to do the swim. By popular demand we added the duathlon event last year which has become extremely popular. Then finally we got the Rock Kids Off-road Duathlon. So we really have a combination of events to suit everyone in the family.
Off-road events are South African’s playground
DK: Off-road events in South Africa, we’re outdoor nuts, we’re endurance nuts in this country. Mountain biking for the last 10 years probably has really taken off, still very strong. Trail running we’re seeing a huge impact in that market as well and that does spill over to off-road triathlon. It really is a market that South Africans are lapping up at the moment?
SG: It certainly is David. We found after being involved with road here, triathlon for many years; Louis Harmse the Director of Spectrum Sport who is our partner in this event, we used to run the triathlon series many years ago. We just felt there was a need for the growing off-road element.
We decided to take it off-road and that’s how we created Rockman four years ago. It’s really just grown from strength to strength, from having a couple of hundred entries the first year, last year we were close on 700 participants. It really is a growing sport all-round, off-road mountain biking and the trail running, definitely.
We also added this year the Rockman Trail Run for the first time. We just thought we’d throw it out there and just feel the waters and the response was phenomenal, we had over 500 entries for our first event. That’s definitely something we’re going to be carrying on on the calendar for next year. There’s talk of us maybe doing a series and including Cape Town and some of the other regions as well.
An awesome route awaits you
DK: That sounds very exciting and one of the reasons why we love outdoor sports; we have a beautiful country, beautiful places to race. The Cradle, anyone in and around Johannesburg and Gauteng and even Pretoria know how beautiful it is there. But just tell us a little bit more about the course and the area where it’s hosted, what people could look forward to.
SG: Sure, the venue, the Cradle Moon Lakeside Resort was formally the HEIA Safari, many guys will remember it as the HEIA Safari. So it had a name change and a change of ownership over a year ago and the new owners have created a nature conservancy. Where they’ve dropped the fences of all the surrounding farms in the area to create the Cradle Conservancy.
The athletes as part of their entry, we donate R30 which goes to the Conservancy Fund for nature conservation in the area. It’s also quite a nice ‘feel good’ event you’re participating in and you’re also contributing to conserving the wildlife in the area. It’s a beautiful part of the world.
The route is extremely scenic and you feel like you’re really part of nature. You run along the lake, over bridges, lots of single track as well as lots of jeep track. Last year we had a request for some changes in the route which we’ve listened to our athletes. We’re really looking forward to offering some better routes this year, less bottle-necking and an overall greater experience all round.
Keeping the kids both active and entertained
DK: Tell me more about the kiddies. We talk about this love for endurance events and that does have a knock-on effect. What does make it so great is the ability to involve the whole family. The kids are going to come out, what can they expect from the kiddies event?
SG: I think what makes our event unique is that the whole family can come along and participate, even if you’re not sporty. You can come along and picnic with us for the day and there’s a pool on the resort and there’s beautiful gardens and lots to do.
But for the Kids Challenge, what we’ve done is we’ve put together two categories for the kids. One is 5-8 and the other is 9-15 and it’s a duathlon. The kids run and then they cycle and then they run again, lots of fun, nothing dangerous. Really an opportunity to introduce kids into the sport.
DK: Sharon lastly, 32Gi, I know they’re partners with the event and nutrition becomes extremely important. Yes, people plan their own nutrition; but as a race organisation, what is on offer for the athletes?
Don’t miss the 32Gi recovery zone
SG: We’ve got some fantastic sponsors, among them 32Gi has been a great support for us for many years. They are the ultimate in nutritional supplements. So you can’t go wrong with having 32Gi, the best, as part of our team. They are going to be putting on a recovery zone at the finish and offering athletes the opportunity to test out the latest compression gear. That’s being brought into the country by a company called Recover for You and game ready technology. Amazing technology, at the finish line you’re all going to be wrapped up in this fancy equipment and recover those very sore muscles.
We also have Land Rover offering spectators shuttles, we have Brooks trail running shoes and gear. We’ve got amazing prizes. We’re giving away over R150 000 in prizes, including if you enter by this Friday you can stand a chance to win a Merida mountain bike valued at over 20K. As well as a great mountain bike for the kids if you enter online by Friday this week.
DK: Tell us a little bit more about that, I was going to ask you for that. If people haven’t entered yet, that’s a fantastic prize to be on the offering. How do they get hold of those entries?
SG: Okay David, it’s quite simple. They just need to go to our website which is www.rockmanxtri.co.za and all the information is there. You can enter online by Friday to qualify for the great prizes up for grabs and entries close on Monday the 28th. If you want to quality for a great race shirt in the Dash and an awesome Ultra Race jacket for the ultra athletes, if you enter by Monday you automatically qualify for that gear as well.
DK: Sharon, Rockman sounds very exciting. Thanks for joining us on 32Gi Sports Nutrition and if you haven’t entered and you’re based in the Gauteng area, do go check out that website. I will put it up on the show notes for you. But from myself Mr Active, David Katz and the entire team at 32Gi; Sharon, thank you very much for joining us and all the best for the event.
SG: Thanks David, we look forward to seeing everybody there. Please, give us a shout if you’ve got any queries, we’re looking forward to a great event.