Storms River Mouth, South Africa – Muddy conditions underfoot and humid forest sections greeted runners on Friday as they took on the 4.4km Race Prologue of the Otter TERREX Trail, presented by EasyEquities. The challenging conditions did not slow the runners down, though, as Kenya’s Simon Ngumbau blitzed a time of 19:16 to finish top of the men’s list, while four-time women’s winner, Bianca Tarboton dominated the women’s times with a 23:26.
With the 18th edition of the marathon-length main race due to take place on Saturday morning (26 September), the Prologue served as a short, seeding time trial for the main event. The Prologue times are used to determine the main event’s starting batches, in order to put runners of similar ability on the trail at the same time. This is because the route is predominantly single-track, with long stretches where overtaking is hard. The top 24 men and 16 women in the Prologue are seeded in the elite, first seeding batch, known as the Abangeni.
The Otter TERREX Trail presented by EasyEquities is known widely as the Grail of Trail, as it is the only opportunity in the year that the iconic Otter Trail can be run in one day. The rest of the year it is strictly reserved for hikers, who usually cover the route in five days, with night stops along the way. The trail running event does it one day, with a strict nine-hour cut-off time for an official finish and intermediate cut-offs along the way. This year will see runners taking on the Retto route (Otter in reverse) from Storms River to Nature’s Valley, which is run in alternate years to the original Classic route.
Bringing Kenyan Speed to Otter
Ahead of tackling his first Otter, Kenyan Ngumbau put his natural speed to good use as he crossed the line in 19:16, going faster than the list-topping 19:31 that Jacques Buys posted in the previous edition of the Retto Prologue in 2024. This year, Buys had to settle for second on the list with a 19:52, while Frenchman Bastien Perez finished the day third-fastest with a 20:14 effort.
In spite of posting the fastest time, Ngumbau says he will need to take a slightly more conservative approach in the main race tomorrow. “The Prologue was technical and a little muddy, but it was good, and I am happy to have posted the fastest time today. But because this is my first Otter, I think tomorrow I need to follow the guys who know the course, and maybe from there we can see what happens.”
Other notable names to make the men’s Abangeni list were perennial Otter podium challengers Robbie Rorich and Kane Reilly, who finished fourth and sixth on the day. Just behind them, in 10th place, was Johardt van Heerden, three-time winner in 2019, 2021 and 2022. Asked how he is feeling ahead of the main race, Van Heerden says, “It’s such a privilege to be back this side of the world, and the weather is going to be interesting, so that’s going to bring another element… as if the Otter doesn’t have enough elements already being thrown at you!”
“I think it’s a very strong field this year. Kane and Robbie are back, and I always expect them to be up front, but there are a couple of young, exciting guys coming through, doing their first Otter, so I’m excited to see what they can do. I think there are one or two dark horses, but it’s going to depend on how they tackle this Race. The Otter is a different beast,” he adds.
Multiple Winner Leads the Way
Fastest woman Tarboton has run the Otter seven times before, with four wins in 2021 and 2023 to 2025, and she is all too aware that ‘winning’ the Prologue is no guarantee of a win in the main race. “The goal is to run my best race, and if that means a fifth win, I’ll be super, super happy. But I’d say my top goal is to have the best race that I can in this direction, because I feel I haven’t executed the Retto yet in a way that I think I could. That’s what I’m hoping for, but I don’t know… with the rain, you never know.”
Finishing second-fastest on the women’s list in the Prologue was Switzerland’s Julika Pahl (24:34), with Nadia Booyens rounding out the top three with a 24:41 effort in her debut at the event. Booyens was understandably upbeat after her run today: “It was so muddy, and I started a bit fast, but I got a good shake out of my legs. I’m so excited about tomorrow. Someone said to me that I actually have an advantage, because I’m the unknown, the underdog, so I can just go out and have fun. I can’t wait to get going!”
Coming Back Year After Year
Amongst the 2026 entrants, the runner with the most Otter finishes is Alexander Roux, on 15 thus far. He is followed by MelikhayaMsizi and Juan Ferreira on 14 each, while Kane Reilly has 13 to his name, and Ralph Enslin and Johan van Zyl currently sit on 12 apiece. Two more runners in double figures are Neil Mackenzie and Mvuyisi Gcogco, on 10 each.
After his Prologue run, Enslin said he is looking forward to tackling his 13th Otter, even though his legs may still be feeling the Prologue. “Wow, today was super tough. It was nice and cool, but it was either hard because it’s muddy, or hard because it’s downhill and muddy, or hard because it’s uphill… and muddy! But it’s the day we got, so we just got on with it, and I loved it. I was a bit worried about where my fitness was, but this is a nice little taster, and I think I feel all right, so I’m positive for tomorrow. Let’s go for it!”
Amongst the women in the 2026 event, the most Otter finishes is eight, by Esmerelda Ellis, and she is followed by Bianca Tarboton as well as Riana Scholtz, on seven finishes apiece. Ellis and Scholtz tackled the Otter Challenge event yesterday – a slightly more relaxed event over the same course, but with an 11-hour cut-off, while Tarboton will be in action in the Otter Race (the main event with a nine-hour cut-off). Sadly, Ellis missed the final cut-off yesterday, crossing the line in 11:33:22, but Scholtz made it home in 10:16:01.
A Small Taste of the Otter
Also on today’s programme was the Dassie Trail Run, an 8.55km standalone event that enables family and friends and runners from the local communities to also get a taste of the Otter TERREX Trail, presented by EasyEquities. Line honours went to Luwellyn Du Toitin 43:18, with Hesroline Rossouw the first female participant over the line in 58:19.
One of the highlights of this event is the excitement and energy of the young athletes, many of them tackling their first race, and Dassie Trail Run Race Director Msimelelo Nqabeni says that’s the chief motivation behind the event. “When these young kids run the Dassie, they experience trail running for the first time and get a little feel of what the Otter is. We can see the impact and the difference that it makes in their lives, and that’s what it’s all about. And maybe someday they will come and run the Otter themselves.”
RACE PROLOGUE RESULTS
The leading men and women who will start in the Abangeni elite seeding batch of the Race on Saturday are listed below, along with their Prologue finishing times. All athletes are South African, except where another nationality is listed.
Men’s Abangeni
1 – Simon Ngumbau (Kenya) – 19:16
2 – Jacques Buys – 19:52
3 – Bastien Perez (France) – 20:14
4 – Robbie Rorich – 20:20
5 – Philani Sengce – 20:37
6 – Kane Reilly – 20:40
7 – Tsielo Tsanyane – 20:44
8 – Collin Kanyimo (Zimbabwe) – 20:50
9 – Jacques Du Plessis – 20:54
10 – Johardt van Heerden – 20:59
11 – Sinovuyo Ngcobo – 21:08
12 – Andreas van Heerden – 21:10
13 – Lovemore Nyaude – 21:12
14 – Brendan Lombard – 21:15
15 – Remaketse Lekaka – 21:24
16 – Mvuyisi Gcogco – 21:36
17 – Ralph Enslin – 21:43
18 – Bradley Weiss – 22:05
19 – Kelton Miller – 22:25
20 – Connor Hubert – 22:29
21 – Nardus Matthysen – 22:36
22 – Michael Coles – 22:37
23 – Joshua Nuttal – 22:40
24 – Kevin Evans – 22:46
Women’s Abangeni
1 – Bianca Tarboton – 23:26
2 – Julika Pahl (Switzerland) – 24:34
3 – Nadia Booyens – 24:41
4 – Samantha Kruger – 24:57
5 – Julia Hunter – 25:01
6 – Emilie Vidal – 25:03
7 – Lijan Burger – 25:21
8 – Inge Visser – 26:08
9 – Samantha Pringle – 26:16
10 – Maryke van Zyl – 26:17
11 – Mila Geldenhuys – 27:06
12 – Estee Cockcroft – 27:15
13 – Briony Botha (Great Britain) – 27:23
14 – Anya Bruwer – 28:03
15 – Kim Corry – 28:08
16 – Sarah Wild (Zimbabwe) – 28:08
DASSIE TRAIL RUN RESULTS
Men’s Results
1 – Luwellyn Du Toit – 43:18
2 – Rick Swemmer – 44:29
3 – Diego Scheepers – 45:07
Women’s Results
1 – Hesroline Rossouw – 58:19
2 – Tanielle Powter – 1:01:22
3 – Lara van Tonder – 1:04:26
For more results, please visit www.otter.run. For any media-related queries, please email renata@faces.africa
