Overview

About this event

The 2027 The Gauntlet 18-hour Ultra takes place from Saturday, 21 to Sunday, 22 August 2027, from 18:00, at Kruistementvlei Farm in Piketberg, Western Cape. It is a single 8km trail race. Online entries are open. Details for this event have been verified by RunningCalendar.

The Gauntlet is an 18-hour backyard ultra run on a working farm in the Western Cape, where a deck of cards decides how far you run. It’s produced by Ghost Miles Events, and 2027 is its third year.

Every hour, on the hour, the race director draws one card for the whole field. The number on that card is how many kilometres everyone runs on that lap, anywhere from 4 km to 8 km. Nobody knows the distance until the card is turned. Make it back before the next bell and you go again. Miss it and your race is over, but every lap you finished still counts.

It’s billed as South Africa’s most unpredictable ultra. It’s also one of the friendliest ways to try an ultra for the first time. The whole field starts every lap together, camp is at the start line, and you decide where your own finish line is: one lap or all eighteen.

Races

Distances & fees

Distances, start times, cut-offs and entry fees.

Sunday 22 Aug 2027 1 race

Distance	Entry Fee	Early Bird	Late Entries	Type	Start	Cut-off	Details
8km Lap	ZAR 1,150	ZAR 950	ZAR 1,350	Trail	18:00	12:00
Minimum age 18 years Prize-giving 14:00

Goodies

Merchandise

T-Shirt

Race shirt included in every entry

Free with entry

Entry

How to enter

Information on how to enter this event.

Online entries

Enter Now

Entries via RacePass

Closes 20 Jul 2027 · or when sold out

• Early-bird cutoff: 31 Dec 2026

• Late entry: 1 May 2027

Entries close on 20 July 2027, or earlier if all 150 places are taken.

Every entry includes:

• a race shirt

• a medal

• a goodie bag

• camping on the farm from Saturday to Sunday

Refunds

Entries are non-refundable and non-transferable. There are no refunds, no deferrals and no swapping to someone else.

Entry Limit

Field size: 150 runners maximum

Substitutions

Entries are non-refundable and non-transferable.

Pre-race

Number collection

Collection venues, dates and times.

Race-morning collection

Available (10:00 – 16:30)

On the day

Race Day Information

Practical information for race day.

Start Kruistementvlei Farm, Piketberg Click for directions

Finish Kruistementvlei Farm, Piketberg Click for directions

Handouts

a medal

Medical

Follow all instructions from race officials, medical staff and crew.

Parking

Parking

Pets

The event is pet-friendly, but it's a working farm with other animals on it.

Prize Giving

14:00

Refreshments

vendors selling snacks and some food

Showers

Showers

Walkers

Can I walk? Yes. The only rule is being back before the next bell. Walk, run or shuffle.

Tog Bag

Bag Storage

Toilets

Portable toilets available

Water Points

This is a self-supported event: bring your own food and drinks.

Refunds

Entries are non-refundable and non-transferable. There are no refunds, no deferrals and no swapping to someone else.

Entry Limit

Field size: 150 runners maximum

Substitutions

Entries are non-refundable and non-transferable.

Where

Location

Where the event starts and how to get there.

Kruistementvlei Farm

Get directions

Contact

Contact the organiser

Entries are open.

You enter on RacePass, not through this form.

Enter now

Organiser

Danica Lubbe

[email protected] +27789054471

[email protected]

Anything else? Send the organiser a message and they'll reply to the email you give.

Your name

Email

Message

Send message

Stay

Accommodation

Places to stay near the start. Booking through this map supports RunningCalendar at no extra cost to you. Affiliate

Train

Training programs

Hand-picked training pathways to get you to the start line ready.

Coach Parry

Structured, app-delivered plans for every distance from 5 km to Comrades — daily workouts, pace targets, Strava sync and a South African coaching community.

Affiliate · disclosed Join Now

OwnMyRun · Gerda Steyn

Free, self-guided training plans built by Comrades & 2 Oceans champion Gerda Steyn — a great starting point if you want structure without a subscription.

View plans

Energy Lab

A South African running community with a built-in training app — adaptive plans whose paces recalculate as you get fitter, plus club runs, results and event RSVPs. Free while in beta.

Join Energy Lab

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History

Past editions

Previous edition: 2026

View all previous →