KZNTR has hosted 6 successful editions of the Drakensberg Northern Trail from the Windmill Farm at the top of Oliviershoek. During this time, the race has grown significantly, and we have been challenged by the weather at times, up on the ridgeline at the venue.

A date clash forced us to consider our options and when opportunities present themselves to us, we tend to run with them!

Date: 6 March 2021
Venue: aha Alpine Heath, supported by Greenfire Drakensberg

As a family business, the family aspect has always been very important to us, and Alpine Heath and Greenfire Drakensberg offer DNT a platform to take our beautiful race into a space that is very family and group orientated. Most participants will now be able to stay at the venue and enjoy the vibe and extensive facilities available.
If you have run the Mountain Marathon you will know about Greenfire Drakensberg Lodge. They are offering a luxury package that includes all your meals. It’s only a few minutes’ drive from Alpine Heath and transfers between the lodges will be available.

Alpine Heath & Greenfire have offered a great rates for the race weekend:

1. Entire chalet for you family or group (self-catering, sleeps 6 in 3 rooms with 2 bathrooms):
   – R4400 for 2 nights
2. 2 sleeper room within a chalet (self-catering, 2 bathrooms serve 3 rooms, sharing):
   – R1600 for 2 nights (1 or 2 people)
3. Book the
   Greenfire Drakensberg Lodge
   Luxury package that includes all your meals (a few minutes drive from Alpine Heath, transfers between the lodges will be available):
   – R2800 for 2 nights per person sharing

Visit the website (link below) for race entries & accommodation bookings.

We know that the new date will not suit all of you ☹ for which we are very sorry! If you have already entered and this applies to you, please send us an email so that we can make arrangements to transfer or credit you.

To Windmill Farms and the Phatt Cheff, thank you for being the home of DNT through the race’s formative years! We have made many memories there and wish you all the best.

And we look forward to new challenges and memories as we move forward with DNT!

DNT2020 is set to take place on the 5th of December from the top of Oliviershoek Pass, as it has for the past 5 years. This year its just a little later, but it will still be a summer event that shows off the beautiful Drakensberg in a clear, green and crisp state.

While the race was fully subscribed, the date change has opened some capacity, and the opportunity to get some trail time into 2020!! Entries are available for all distances (6k, 10k, 20k,40k).

Accommodation must be booked separately.

Mountain Marathon Series is still taking place – just a little later…
We know many participants are eager to return to the mountains, for many some of these events will be a first.
The new official start of the Mountain Marathon Series (MMS) will now be at the Kruger2Canyon Challenge on 4- 5 July 2020. Both the Drakensberg Northern Trail and Mnweni Marathon will now be shifted to the second half of the year, where we hopeful that the COVID-19 situation is under control.

New MMS dates:

• Kruger2Canyon Challenge: 4 – 5 July 2020 (Official start of the series)
• Mnweni Marathon (Spring): 5 September 2020
• Uitsoek Mountain Marathon: 10 October 2020
• Lesotho Ultra: 31 October 2020
• Drakensberg Northern Trail: 05 December 2020 (Official end of the series)

All race entries and accommodation bookings remain valid for the new dates of Drakensberg Northern Trail and Mnweni Marathon. We will contact all participants with the new dates.

All entries processed for the above events stand and are automatically transferred to the new date.

Full series entries are now available again at a very reasonable entry fee.

Dear Trail Runners, Hikers and  Walkers,

It is with great sadness that we inform you that Drakensberg Northern Trail 2020 will be postponed. The decision to delay the race was taken from us during President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address last night in which he declared a national state of disaster due to the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the many measures imposed to curb the infection rate of the coronavirus is a ban on all gatherings of 100 people or more. 

Although this is a massive blow for all of us, we believe that our Government has made the right decision in trying to address this global crisis. We support the measures Government has elected to impose to slow the spread of the Covid-19. 

At this stage, we don’t have a proposed date for the 2020 edition of Drakensberg Northern Trail and ask for your patience and understanding. We will be monitoring the situation closely and endeavour to keep you updated as soon as Government lifts the restrictions due to the national state of disaster. 

We encourage all participants to remain calm and healthy. We appreciate that many participants are still travelling to the area this weekend, and we hope that you can still have a great weekend in the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains. Unfortunately, the Drakensberg Northern Trail route runs across private land and is not accessible to participants outside the race. There are many other options to run and have fun in the area this weekend. From Drakensberg Canopy Tours to Drakensberg Adventures to the spectacular Royal Natal National Park, the ‘Berg is made for memories – and no virus can ever take that away! 

We have to adjust in these unique times, and we look to better times ahead. We are staying positive and will be looking at ways to provide exceptional experiences for you in the outdoors. 

See you on the trail,
The KZNTR Team

The Mountain Marathon Series is a brand new series showcasing Southern Africa’s best trails and talent. The Mountain Marathon Series combines five prestigious mountain races in a format that hasn’t been done before locally.

The five marathon distance races in the series are run in different parts of the Drakensberg mountain range. Each race is approximately 40km long and has an elevation between 1650m and 2550m. These are the races that every trail runner should experience, and now we’ve brought them together in one exciting series: five races, one male and one female winner!

The series is for the competitive elites hunting prestige and prize money, the weekend warriors looking for a new challenge, road runners wanting to experience the Drakensberg, general mountain goats, and families looking for a memorable weekend away.

The Mountain Marathon Series takes you from the border of KZN and the Free State to Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Lesotho, across the ridgelines, rivers and ravines of the Drakensberg mountain range. Expect altitude, expect leg-burning climbs, expect dramatic descents, expect exhilarating racing at the front of the field, expect wild weather, expect a challenge and look forward to feeding your soul from the foothills to the summit.

This is a marathon series unlike any other in Southern Africa. Be one of the first to complete it and/or take home your share of the R140,000 prize purse.

Dear Trail Runners and Walkers,

I have spent a lot of time in the Drakensberg Mountains in the last few months, I go there in search of a headspace that I find nowhere else. To get into that headspace I need to be out there for at least six hours and push myself quite hard up hills, across valleys and down mountain passes. A dull ache slowly but surely envelopes my legs and body, and only then I am able to find my sought-after headspace that means I can focus in on the moments, the time and space spent moving quickly through the mountains.

For many people, accessing the mountains quickly and safely is not easy, and that is why an event like Drakensberg Northern Trail is so valuable. It draws a crowd of like-minded people who enjoy the mountains and outdoors. Some prefer to tackle shorter distances, while others could run all day. Beautifully located just over 3 hours from both Durban and Johannesburg at the top of Oliviershoek Pass, it’s a chance to find a healthy headspace in the mountains.

Why are you drawn to the mountains?

Warm Regards

Andrew Booth

Additional Information:

• Date: Saturday, 23 March 2019
• Venue: The Border Post, Oliviershoek
• Events: 6km | 10km | 20km | 40km
• Start times: 8:00 am | 8:00 am | 7:30 am | 6:00 am
• Registration from 4:00 pm on Friday, 22 March 2019.
• Finish line hydration sponsored by Aquellé.
• For more information and entries, click HERE.
• Please note that entries for the 20 and 40km are sold out and that there is a waiting list if any potential entries become available. Tickets for the 5 and 10km are still available.