This year’s popular Sabrina Love Ocean Challenge presented by Discovery was the biggest and most successful of all events to date with nearly 3,000 entries over three days on 27, 29 and 30 December 2019.
Almost R1 million was raised for the Sabrina Love Foundation which will go to caring for children with special needs in the Bitou area of the Garden Route.
Eleven events had participants running, paddling, swimming and cycling at Plettenberg Bay’s Central Beach and the beautiful Kurland Estate. This year saw the trail runs and MTB races split over two days and the introduction of two new events to get participants moving more: a 21 km trail run and a 45 km MTB race through the pristine forests and fynbos landscapes of Kurland Estate which both proved immensely popular.
People turned out in their droves to support these events as well as the 10 km Beach and Road Run, the Splash & Dash paddling challenge, the Beach Walk to the Sabrina wishing well, the 1 Mile Ocean Swim, the 6 km and 10 km Trail Runs and the Kids of Steel adventure trail run.
Sabrina Love Foundation “ambassadors” from around the country were in Plett to support the events with Olympic swimmer Chad Ho competing in the Ocean Swim, trail runner Chantel Nienaber coming second in the new 21 km Trail Run, Dawid Mocke and his son Sam winning the Splash & Dash, and XTERRA World Champion Bradley Weiss coming second in the 10 km Beach and Road Run.
Owners and founders of the Sabrina Love Foundation, Tony and Suzy Lubner said that they loved the new formula. “Splitting the trail running and mountain biking events over two days gave participants the opportunity to do both events,” said Tony. “It is always lovely to see family members walking and running together and collecting their Sabrina medals at the finish line.
“We were very fortunate with the weather and every single event ran seamlessly. For me the most important thing was having so many people on the beach and at Kurland that just get what this event is all about and the impact that it has not only on our kids with disabilities but on our entire community.”
Suzy Lubner said that she wanted to add her gratitude to headline sponsor Discovery and the beautiful host venue Kurland Estate which made it possible to host the event. “We are always overwhelmed by all the support and love shown by thousands of people for our Sabrina and her charity.”
Mark Collins of Magnetic South Events said it was a fantastic three days. “The new events with a trail run day and an iconic 21 km run worked extremely well for both the crew and participants, while having a day dedicated to mountain biking meant we could give cyclists the attention they deserve. Numbers were up for all events – what a fantastic way of raising money for the Foundation.”
Photo: Glenn Murray