GAUTENG, MIDRAND - Attracting close to three thousand athletes, and a couple thousand onlookers, the 2018 season opener of the hugely popular obstacle course racing (OCR) series, the Toyota WARRIOR Series, powered by Reebok, was off to the perfect start this past weekend at Riversands Country Farm in Johannesburg. The OCR Toyota WARRIOR series is designed for adventure seekers from all walks of life, and, with no barrier to entry, makes obstacle course racing (OCR) accessible to anyone with a pair of trainers, t-shirt and shorts.  Course designer, Jono Hart, says Toyota WARRIOR 2018 will be the best year yet for OCR. “I build these courses to allow ordinary people to start somewhere and build themselves into who they want to be. None of the obstacles are easy but they are all manageable depending on your fitness level. Black Ops is an absolute monster.

These men and women are at the top of their game.”  With three categories on offer, Rookie, Commando, and Black Ops, the Toyota WARRIOR races have something for everyone who wish to have fun and challenge themselves across world-class obstacles. The Rookie, the shortest and easiest race, is all about fun and comradery - a wonderful opportunity to have real fun with your friends and colleagues. For those seeking a greater challenge, the Commando offers a greater test of physical and mental ability. The most difficult challenge is the Black Ops - the ultimate test of endurance, speed, strength and agility.  The main event of the day was Black Ops Elite. This tough course incorporates 35 obstacles over roughly 15 kilometres of trail. These athletes are either climbing, traversing, carrying or gripping from start to finish. It is intense and only the super-fit and trained make it to the end. Winner and ranked 2nd in OCR South Africa, Thomas van Tonder (Jeep Team SA) won the men’s race; the Women 2017 Series winner and #1 ranked female in OCR, Trish Eksteen (AOT) won the women’s race. Trish Eksteen came 4th overall, an indication of her strength and speed in this sport.

 In addition to the honours and the R10 000 prize purse, these two athletes each got to drive home in a WARRIOR-branded Toyota RAV4 - theirs to drive until the next event in Bloemfontein on the 17th of February. The men’s Black Ops Elite was initially a close fought race between South Africa’s top 3 OCR athletes, Bradley Claase, Thomas van Tonder, and 2017 series winner, Claude Eksteen.  The toughest obstacle in the race, Breaking Point, proved to be exactly this as it defeated Eksteen, who eventually finished 34th overall, and Van Tonder, a three-time Top 10-finisher at the OCR World Champs, calmly pulled off a superb win ahead of Claase in second and Jason Friedman in third. 

Says van Tonder, “Today, level-headed strategy beat bullish endeavour, which would be my normal stance. I took a good breather before starting on Breaking Point and this was my saving grace. I ran my own race and it paid off.  I am absolutely blessed to take home the win in the first Toyota WARRIOR Race of 2018. I had to dig deep today, mentally, as it was a very tough race.” In the women’s race, 2017 series winner, Trish Eksteen, showed her racing prowess, taking the win ahead of Carla van Huyssteen in second and Nedene Cahill in third. What makes their achievement even more impressive is that the top 3 women all finished in the top 10 overall. Another interesting fact is that both Van Huyssteen and Cahill have made their mark in other sporting disciplines. Van Huyssteen is an accomplished trail runner with many stage and ultra-trail podiums under her belt, and Cahill is an ex-MTB XCO SA and World Champion. The cream always rises to the top.  “These women are really strong.

Everyone forgets how hard these obstacles are and yet, year after year the women get stronger and stronger and get through the obstacles with more ease. Well done to Trish. She is an amazing athlete, and I hope I can learn a lot from her coming into the next few races,” concludes van Huyssteen. Race 2 of the 2018 Toyota WARRIOR Race, powered by Reebok, takes place on 17 February in Bloemfontein, Free State, and promises to be equally impressive.  Says Hennie Scheepers, co-owner of the Warrior Series and race organiser, “This is the Free State’s first Toyota WARRIOR and we are super excited to meet new warriors. The Free State has always produced strong, sporty individuals, so we are really looking forward to seeing them in action.”

 Results - Toyota Warrior #1Black Ops EliteMen

1. Thomas van Tonder 01:23:10

2. Bradley Claase        01:24:45

3. Jason Friedman       01:29:51

 Women

1. Trish Eksteen             01:31:01

2. Carla van Huyssteen 01:34:01

3. Nedene Cahill            01:34:55

 Commando EliteMen

1. Kelvin van Wyk   00:50:29

2. Conrad Herbst    00:53:02

3. Calen Hastie       00:53:29 

Women

1. Sammy Nel      01:10:15

2. Sam Ryder      01:12:24         

3. Tarryn Butler    01:13:16 

Rookie EliteMen

1. Nick Oberholzer         00:36:45

2. Simeon de Bruyn       00:37:03

3. Jasper Mutsindikwa    00:37:16 

Women

1.Tumi Matlou              00:45:11

2.Monique Els             00:46:15

3. Megan van Tonder   00:49:15

###Written and distributed by Hot Salsa Media on behalf of Advendurance.Images and Enquiries to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For the full results of Toyota Warrior #1, visit www.jumpertrax.com.

For more information or to enter, visit www.warrior.co.za. Written and distributed by Hot Salsa Media on behalf of Advendurance.Images and Enquiries to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.Editors NotesToyota Warrior Race 2018 Dates: 

Warrior 1                             27 - 28 January                 Riversands Farm, Johannesburg, Gauteng

Warrior 2                             17 February                      Bloemfontein, Free State

Warrior 3                             17 - 18 March                   Soweto, Gauteng

Warrior Namibia                   24 March                        Midgard Country Estate, Windhoek, Namibia

Warrior 4                             14 - 15 April                     Cape Town, Western Cape

Warrior 5                             14 - 15 July                      Blythedale, KwaZulu-Natal

Warrior 6                             11 August                         Nelspruit, Mpumalanga

Warrior 7                             20 - 21 October                Meerendal Wine Estate, Cape Town, Western Cape

Warrior 8                             24 - 25 November            Tierpoort Adventure Farm, Pretoria, Gauteng Toyota

WARRIOR, powered by Reebok, is back with mud and obstacles built to sustain and delight the thousands of athletes, large and small, tall and short, thin and large that are ready to challenge themselves having fun building better humans. The event calls adventure seekers from all walks of life – whether a weekend WARRIOR or an elite athlete hoping to snatch up the series title. With a Rookie, Commando, and Black Ops category on offer, WARRIOR has something for everyone.

For the first time in the popular series there will be an escape route for those who don’t find the idea of mud particularly appealing. Instead of diving into the infamous Mud Monster, participants will have the option of taking a penalty loop that will take them the same amount of time to complete. The ‘mudless’ option will not be made available to any Elite athletes, however. Adventure seekers looking for some extra high-speed excitement have the option of entering the popular Reebok Sprint Race.  A specifically designed children’s obstacle course will be available for little adventurers, as well as a WARRIOR Kids Zone under the supervision of child-minders. 

There are some exciting things in store at the 2018 TOYOTA WARRIOR SERIES, powered by Reebok:You can choose your own batch start times again, so enter soon to choose the batch you prefer. The theme for 2018 is Māori Warrior, so expect to see a lot of tattoos and funky designsIn 2018 the Mud Monster will not be compulsory, non-Elites can do a penalty loop and skip the mudSprint Race: we have changed the Sprint Race format to make it more exciting and involve more age categories.Two one-day action packed events added in Bloemfontein and Nelspruit Warrior is going International! On 24 March 2018 we will be hosting a Toyota Warrior event in Windhoek, Namibia. Entries opening soon!  

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