It’s just before 10am on Friday April 25 — a cold, clear morning on the Lesotho side of Sani Pass in the southern Drakensberg. Locals call it the Kingdom in the Sky. It’s the start of the RMB Ultra-Trail Drakensberg race: 44 brave souls are about to run 163km to Underberg in KwaZulu-Natal, to earn the title “100-miler”.
Among them is Kennedy Sekhuthe, a constable from Pretoria. He’s not focused on the next aid station but on the entire distance. For Sekhuthe, running is a passion. He got into it growing up in Witpan in North West.
“I will have night runs, whether it’s raining or not. As long as there’s no lightning. You get used to whatever comes during the race,” he tells the FM, speaking about his training rituals.
He started training for longer distances in 2013. His first ultra, the Addo Elephant Trail Run in the Eastern Cape, was a few years before Covid. “During that race, I got lost for 60km, but I still finished 11th, in 33 hours.”
This year’s event took place over the last weekend of April. The 100-milers were joined on Saturday April 26 by hundreds of others taking part in the 100km, 65km, 36km and 25km races, with the finish on Sunday.
At the Sani Pass start in Lesotho, several community volunteers made sure the runners were looked after. Among them was Mapaseka Makoae, a tourism guide and conservationist from the village of Makhapung in the Mokhotlong district of Lesotho.
Makoae says the race brings a much-needed boost to the area. As part of her role in sustainable tourism, she helps monitor the endangered bearded vulture (lammergeier) population, which ranges from 320-400 individuals, with only 100-220 breeding pairs.
“I grew up with tourists around me. I went to South Africa and met a guy who said he’d really love to go to Lesotho but didn’t have anyone to show him around. He asked if I could show him the places that I knew and it grew from there.”
She says tourism is a big source of income for the country. “We provide homestays where you can stay with a family for a night. It’s growing daily. We get people from all over the world and they love this kingdom in the sky. They love the mountains and landscapes.”
She says the race also brings an opportunity to raise awareness of the vultures, whose population has recently declined by about 30%, mainly due to habitat loss, poisoning, collisions with power lines and human disturbance. “People have been misled into thinking that they eat the animals,” says Makoae. “Ever since we have raised awareness, it has brought a positive impact. [The vultures] clean the carcasses of the dead and decaying animals, which could have caused diseases,” she says.
Before the race begins, the runners get a briefing via e-mail about the safety gear they need. This includes a waterproof rain jacket and an emergency number. Their drop bags are taken to the aid station at Crystal Waters, a trout-fishing lodge, at the 97.4km mark.
Race founder and director Spurgeon Flemington, a local dairy farmer, says the 2025 race represented a “whole new level” for the event. “I certainly couldn’t have imagined back in 2017 that [the race] would attain the heights and magnitude that it has. It’s been an amazing journey.”
He tells the FM that the bedrock of the race is the support of the communities along the route. These range from Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and various local clubs to the Underberg community, who come out in numbers to volunteer. Underberg Primary School feeds many of the runners, and hiking and trail club members also volunteer. “It would be impossible to stage [the race] without the support and buy-in of these various communities,” he says.
Flemington says most of the race takes place within the Maloti-Drakensberg Park world heritage site, of which Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife is the custodian.
“Right from the beginning, [the race] needed the permission and long-term support of [Ezemvelo] for the event to even exist. The local branch of Ezemvelo has been tremendously supportive over the years. We see our role as being able to support projects in the southern Drakensberg that Ezemvelo deems important and we back them wherever we can. These projects can range from basic trail and hut maintenance to the bearded vulture recovery project.”
The race gives part of every entry fee to Ezemvelo; it has raised more than R880,000 since inception.
The race has grown since Rand Merchant Bank came on board as sponsor last year. Michael Edwards, marketing sponsorship lead and an avid runner, says the bank recognised that trail running didn’t have mainstream investment. The bank’s first foray into the sport was sponsoring Ultra-Trail Cape Town in 2022. “We look for partnerships where we can make a difference. Trail running represented an opportunity to do good in society,” he says.
Another 100-miler, Martin Malherbe, tells the FM that while the weather was good at first, you could “see some snow” on the higher peaks in Lesotho. “The aim,” he says, “was to push as hard as I could and get as far as I could while it was still fairly light because I knew I was going to see my crew again at the Sani Valley Gate aid station.”
When he got to the station on Friday evening, the weather had turned. It was getting colder and starting to drizzle. He changed into a new top, put on his rain jacket and kept going. In total, there are 13 aid stations for the 100-milers.
Malherbe says he knew he had about six hours in the new clothes until he reached the Crystal Waters aid station, which marked almost 100km of the route.
“I love the night sections where you can stop and there’s a full moon and you can see stars, but this was very different because it was rainy and a bit wet, so it was like head down and just keep plodding along. Because I’ve done this race a few times, I was just thinking that if I can get to the next aid station, tick it off, that’s 10km away,” he says.
When asked about his tactics, he jokes: “I was just trying to keep up with Kennedy.” He finished about 30 minutes after Sekhuthe.
At about 5.45pm on Friday, the weather was still relatively clear. At the Sani Valley Gate aid station, dozens of supporters were waiting with cowbells, an ultra-trail tradition to cheer runners on.
A distant torchlight became clear. It was Sekhuthe, running fast and looking strong. He’s the second runner to reach this mark.
A few hours later, just after 9pm, he took the lead, a lead that he held for much of the race into Saturday morning.
He tells the FM he prepares for all conditions. “When I knock off [work], I take off my bulletproof vest and firearm and I go for a run. I am a different person. I am focusing on the goal. It really does help a lot. After the run, I [feel] new. It helps to reduce stress.”
He says one of his goals is to “inspire” the communities he works with. “If I come across them [young people], I will definitely talk to them. Most of them do come back and say they are looking for the guy who is always wearing the rain jacket.”
Sekhuthe says he has been preparing for this race since November. He plans to run several races this year, including the Mountain Ultra Trail in George this month and the Cappadocia Ultra Trail in Türkiye later in the year.
It’s a race that he has run before and he says it is “good to be exposed” to the international events.
“We started in Lesotho and came down to Underberg. The whole course was tough and challenging, but you need to be determined. You need to make sure you prepare your mind and body. Get ready for whatever will come.”
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Just after 11am in the race village, Sekhuthe is close to the finish line. He’s there in an outstanding time of just over 25 hours. He’s immediately embraced by his partner, Michelle. Nicolette Griffioen is the first woman finisher, just shy of 26 hours, and third overall.
At the race village in Underberg, there is a festive vibe. As they cross the finish line, runners from different categories are greeted by family and friends.
Flemington says it takes family commitment, dawn training schedules, discipline and a financial commitment to complete one of the races at the event.
“Kennedy had a fantastic race and I’m very pleased for him as he was long overdue for a win here. He’s the epitome of an athlete who has to make tremendous personal sacrifices just to get to the start line, never mind compete at the sharp end of the field. I think all the people who toe the start line have made sacrifices to get there.”
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