At inception PUFfeR was the longest trail race in the Western Cape. You had to write a letter of motivation over and above being a super athlete aka slightly cooked to contemplate that distance (at the time).

Through the years we also had Tougher Puffer – at least nine of them where you get to Green Point, turn around and head back the way you came. Ask Beaumont Cooper, he ran all of them. This was a qualifier for Western States.

There was at least 1 RuFfer PuFfeR which cut out the road almost completely. This was successfully undertaken by 4 or 5 runners in the late 90’s. Rumour has it this will be attempted again.

The Peninsula Ultra Fun Run was initially inspired by the lack of a challenging ultra trail run in the Western Cape at the time. The run capitalizes on the scenic beauty of our Peninsula mountain range. It is scheduled for Sat. 5th August ’95. The course starts at Cape Point, runs through the Peninsula’s various mountain areas and nature reserves, to the Waterfront. The total distance is about 65kms.

This is a no-frills, not-for-wimps ultra for runners who run for the fun of it. There is NO prize money, NO sponsorships, NO big media coverage, NO fame. If you want to run it we expect you to be independent, self-sufficient and environmentally aware i.e. you don’t need to be told not to throw away any rubbish along the route, you know which mountain stream water is safe to drink and how to survive if things go wrong.

          You run this because you love running, you love the mountains & nature, and you love distance.

          However, the run is not made `tough’ just for the sake of it: we picked (more or less) the shortest possible route with the best running tracks and views, hoping to provide seconding points wherever it is practical. Although it is rated more difficult than e.g. Comrades, it isn’t meant to be a macho thing or `the ultimate killer ultra’.

– 1 –    Because of the terrain and reserve restrictions, this cannot be a mass run.

– 2 –   You undertake to provide one seconding person to the organ­iz­ers whom we will assign responsib­il­ity for (wo)manning a fixed check­point/water table along the route.  Details of the seconding arrange­ments (± 2-3 hours duty) will be sent to accepted entries.

– 3 –   You have run a least one ultra in the last six months.

– 4 –   You have considerable mountain running experience e.g. you know how to survive if the weather turns bad; if you sprain your ankle on top of a mountain; or if a seconding point is unmanned.

You will disqualified from this run (& any future PUFfeR) if:

– Your second does not turn up at the time and place arranged by the organizer.

– Either you or your second does not attend the pre-race briefing evening at FHAC on Thu 3rd August 19:00.

– You leave any piece of rubbish (be it as little as a sweets wrapper or squeezy sachet) along the route.

– You wilfully disturb/destroy any animal or vegetation (excepting mosquitoes and Port Jackson)

– You disobey any official, warden, traffic officer, or the organizers.

– You don’t buy the organizers a drink at the finish 😉

– You obstruct, verbally abuse or are obnoxious to other trail or road users or any member of the public.

– You flagrantly ignore the normal rules of conduct in the mountains (and on the road), especially the rules re­lat­ing to safety, waste, erosion & hygiene.

Route descriptions will be sent out to all accepted entries. You can also view the proposed route at the FHAC club house. Some parts of the route are still under negotiation with the relevant authorities. In summary, the route will be Cape Point through the Cape Point nature reserve to (not over) Red Hill, via the Simon’s Town Water Catchment Area to Black Hill, via Ou Kaapse across Fish Hoek Valley to Silvermine Nature Reserve, via Tokai Forest Plantation (top forest track) and the Vlakkenberg footpath to Constantia Nek, via Table Mountain (along the jeep track past all dams to Maclear’s Beacon, then down Platteklip Gorge) to Kloofnek, via Signal Hill to the Waterfront.

PUFfeR 2022