When you think of Race Week, you probably picture bib numbers, elevation profiles, finish lines, and high-fives as you cross the final river. But behind the scenes, there’s a different kind of race unfolding, one built on checklists, timing points, and calm heads under pressure. Pierre Jordaan is at the centre of that world.
For Pierre, and his team, Race Week isn’t about medals or personal bests. It’s about scenario planning, counting runners one by one as they pass through remote checkpoints, and captaining the Bloukrans crossing with a level of precision that only years of experience can bring.
Starting at the Fringe, Staying at the Core
Pierre’s story with the Otter began back in 2012, when a friend from pilot school gave him a call. That friend was involved in the early days of the race and invited Pierre to join one of the first scouting missions. At the time, it was all hands on deck. Everyone pitched in wherever needed, testing sections of trail, carrying gear, building makeshift infrastructure. Pierre already knew the founding Collins family through the trail running community, so stepping in felt natural. Before long, he found himself marking the route from start to finish.
What started as a once-off favour quickly became something more. Pierre kept showing up, year after year, becoming a key part of the team that designs and implements the Otter’s safety systems. Aside from a few years when he was completely immersed in exploring the Drakensberg, he’s been a constant presence. Today, he’s a cornerstone of the crew. “If I’m having a boring day at the event,” he says, “it means everything’s going right.” And that’s exactly how he likes it. If your day on the trail felt smooth and seamless, chances are Pierre had something to do with it.
A Pilot’s Brain, a Trail Runner’s Legs
Outside the Otter, Pierre is a pilot, and in many ways his job in the air has shaped how he works on the ground. In flying, threat and error management isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s required. That mindset has become second nature for Pierre. He builds out every possible scenario, every loose end, every “what if,” until the entire course has been mentally stress-tested before the first runner has laced up their shoes. Annoying to some, yes, but absolutely necessary to Pierre, this habit has seen him at the helm of many smooth events, even the 2023 one where we were faced with an unexpected downpour and icy conditions. “Sometimes I think I come across as a pessimist to the team with all my what ifs,” says Pierre, “but when those what ifs happen, everyone already knows what to do and it’s seamless”.
He’s also one of the fittest people on the team, which makes his contributions even more absurd. While most people train all year just to survive the Otter, Pierre might casually clock it as a recce on a Wednesday, sweep the route on Saturday, and somehow still have enough in the tank to run trails in the Titsikama “for fun” post-event.
Over the years, Pierre has forged deep, lasting relationships within the team, especially with Marco Barnardo, whose own story we recently shared. Together, they form a highly effective risk and safety unit. Pierre builds out potential scenarios, while Marco draws on his search and rescue experience to ground those plans in real-world application. “We’d sit and dream up all the ways things could go wrong,” Pierre says. “And then figure out how to make sure they didn’t. Marco brings the practical, boots-on-the-ground thinking, and I bring the what-if mindset. It works.”
They’re both the kind of people who’d rather be behind the scenes, but whose impact runs through everything. What makes it all the more meaningful is that both Pierre and Marco are avid trail runners themselves. They’ve run the Otter. They know what it feels like to climb those stairs, to take that final plunge into the icy river, and to stand at the finish. That understanding shapes how they show up, for the runners, for the crew, and for the legacy of the race itself.
