The Experience
The Rhodes Run, South Africa's iconic breathtaking trail run, is staged in the tranquil beauty of the southern Drakensberg mountains in the Eastern Cape Highlands, surrounding the Victorian-era village of Rhodes.
The atmosphere before and after the race is extremely festive. It is common for the temperature at the start to be below zero (usually around -10 degrees Celsius!).
The race has a limited field of about 300 runners. Entry for the 2024 event will be via a 3 tranche process.
In the true spirit of trail running there are no financial prizes, other than a few floating trophies. All our runners are treated equally with the same pre and post race hand-outs, which in themselves are usually rather special.
About Us
The idea of the race came during a discussion between Rhodes property owners over a couple of drinks one night in 1986. The intention was to put Rhodes back on the map before it followed the same fate as other small platteland villages which faded into obscurity. This vision led to the birth of a unique event on the South African sports calendar. The first event was staged in July 1989, and almost did not happen thanks to very heavy snow falls during the night before the event.
Since then, the event was held each year until COVID-19 interrupted everything for two years. The Raubenheimer family were involved in the race from the second event in 1990. They took the mantle of race organisers from 1998 to 2023. They handed over the reins to Rudi Hiestermann and Heather Ralph, allowing the Rhodes community to continue hosting the event. They look forward to a bright future for the run challenging many runners.
Since 1989
run colours
30+ runs
20+ runs
3+ runs
Our partners
Please support our partners wherever possible!
For the last 140 years KISCH IP (formerly DM Kisch Inc) has built a respected reputation as a leading South African legal practice, offering the full suite of intellectual property law services including patent, trademark, copyright, design and the commercialisation of intellectual property. KISCH IP is known for the specialist capabilities and expertise of our 16 skilled partners and more than 110 dedicated support staff, for our capacity across Africa, and for our superb global representation via a network of trusted agents. In the late 1800s, DM Kisch registered patents for various famous inventors such as Dr von Siemens, Thomas Alva Edison and Guglielmo Marconi. Since then, the firm – now KISCH IP – has secured patent and trade mark rights for some of the most important inventions and brands of the previous and current centuries.
The Organ Donor Foundation is a non-profit charity, which aims to address the critical shortage of organ and tissue donors in South Africa. Currently there are over 3,500 people awaiting organ & cornea transplants. Tragically less than 1,000 will this year receive a transplant and the "Gift of Life" due to this critical shortage. Please support organ donation. Let's ensure that South Africa remains a centre of excellence for organ and tissue transplantation. Transplants save lives.
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