The Essence
of Wildrun
Who we are
The heartbeat of the Wildrun® is exploring & experiencing truly wild places on the run. Be it on the Wild Coast of South Africa, the remote mountains of Lesotho, the geologically & botanically rich Richtersveld desert or the bushveld of Mapungubwe, each Wildrun® is unique and will be sure to leave an indelible impression on your life.
No markers. No massive crowds. Just you, your sense of adventure and a truly wild place. Be prepared to experience a run like no other.
The Story of
Wildrun(ner)
What we're about
Three or more days of wilderness trail running through some of the most rugged and beautiful scenery in Southern Africa. This is the backbone of a Wildrun®.
The Wildrun® is organised by Wildrunner, premier trail running event organisers in South Africa. We focus on pure trail running with a heartbeat born from a lifetime's passion of exploring wild places on the run.
Wildrunner was established in November 2007 and has held over 200 trail running events in seven South African provinces, as well as Internationally in Lesotho, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana.
With this comes a wealth of trail and mountain running event management experience that is unmatched in Africa.
The Wildrun
Management Team
Who runs the world
Owen Middleton
Founder & Managing Director
Trail running, sailing, mountaineering, adventure racing, orienteering, surfing, paddling, kloofing, rock climbing, fly fishing, scuba diving & mountain biking are the life-blood of what makes Owen tick.
Tamaryn Middleton
General Manager
The Real Boss. She is the backbone of Wildrunner and will put a smile on your face any time of the day. Her passion is people, with a healthy dose of scuba diving, trail running and general adventure-seeking thrown in!
Marion Siebrits
Chief of the 100 acre wood (and damn good at catering to!)
Marion's ability to cook up a feast in the middle of nowhere is a gift. She is never short on laughter or practical jokes, but when it comes to delivery always the consummate professional, and when you taste her food you will no doubt agree!
Jason Sharrock
Hospitality & logistics
When not organising events Jason can be found smashing the waves on his surfboard or cruising the cattle trails on his Momsen mountain bike. From entertaining guests to making a plan with broken trailers, Jason is the wild asset working tirelessly behind the scenes to keep operations moving ahead smoothly.
Wildrun
Testimonials
What people are saying
"I just want to say a huge thank you to you and Owen and your entire caring professional team. The attention to detail in making this a memorable life experience didn't go unnoticed. I am super grateful for the amazing goodie bag and the kit bag! How you guys managed to make the camping so very liveable in such a remote place, I'll never know! Thank you for creating an experience which allowed me to experience what could easily be the most beautiful place I've ever been."
Brenda Taylor
The Namibia Crossing 2022
Just wanted to say thank you very much for such an inspiring unbelievable experience.
Kim Bulltemier
Safari-on-the-Run™: Mapungubwe 2017
What a privilege to be able to participate in the journey event over the past few days. Trail was indescribably beautiful and was a pleasure to run. Thanks to Owen and team for the world class basis in which you have organized this event. I will definitely be back.
Mark van Houten
Wildcoast Wildrun® 2015
Still can hardly believe that we were lucky enough to experience such a unique adventure . It really was special the attention to detail, the food , the animals and the amazing staff .
Frances Orzechowski
Safari-on-the-Run™: Mapungubwe 2017
Thanks to you and Owen (+ team of course) for a brilliantly organised event – was fab, what a course, what a place, and would do it year after year if there wasn’t so much else out there to do and see. And I think the absolute best was that AMAZING blanket – I had a very cosy Sunday afternoon snooze beneath it last w/e, what bliss!!!!!!!
Jane MacKinnon
Lesotho Wildrun 2012
Thanks again to the entire team for a fantastic and memorable event
Daniel Schuurman
Safari-on-the-Run™: Mapungubwe 2017
Wildrun Africa’s Rwanda 2019 inaugural trip was an absolute treat – from start to finish. Owen, Chris and their team of four local Rwandan youngsters Jado, Olivier, Emanuel and Danny laid on a completely unique trail-running experience. The Rwanda Wildrun was a bucket-lister of note that exceeded all my expectations. Rwanda has a very tangible soul – she is powerful, positive, hopeful. As a country, she has drawn me in hook, line and sinker and I have fallen quite hopelessly in love.
Karoline Hanks
Rwanda Wildrun® 2019
It's hard to really pinpoint what the very best thing about the Richtersveld Wildrun™ was for me. One would think the amazing, breathtaking rough beauty of the area would win hands-down… but on second thoughts, I think the warmth of the hosts and the people of the area, and the camaraderie of the fellow runners might just have snuck in and taken first place in my heart.
Melanie Nijland
Richtersveld Wildrun® 2014
As with all Wildrunner’s events, the organisation is slick and everything happens like clockwork – and achieving that in remote regions is often harder than running the routes themselves! Huge thumbs up to Owen, Tam and the rest of the Wildrunner team for this great Lesotho gem of an event.
Linda Doke
Lesotho Wildrun® 2013
"It was amazing! I enjoyed each moment and we saw more wildlife I thought we would see!! Also the landscapes were amazing, especially in Mapungubwe."
Marine Drouilly
Safari-on-the-Run™: Mapungubwe 2017