‘When you get to the bottom of Yellow Wood Valley, watch out for the elephants on your left.’
Among all the pre-race pep talks I’ve had in my time, this has to be the most bizarre yet. It’s pushing nine o’clock on a Saturday morning in June and I’m on a start line with 213 other runners from 25 countries, about to take on one of the wildest challenges of all.
The Big Five Marathon is held annually on South Africa’s Savannah of Entabeni and sees participants take on a challenging route – covering 1,702m of elevation – through the habitat of African game. There is nothing to separate you from the wildlife, though rangers have been keeping track of the lion prides throughout the night and diverting them away from the marathon route. The rest of the big five – rhinos, leopards, buffalos and elephants – along with wildebeest, giraffes, zebras and smaller animals, are all fair game.
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Of the 213 runners, 78 of us are bravely – or foolishly – taking on the full marathon route. The rest will take on the half marathon. But for all of us, this is more than just a race. Entry to the event – one of nine Albatros Adventure Marathons – gives you the chance to mingle with fellow running-minded travellers for six days, exploring South Africa’s nature on safari and enjoying the local cuisine. I’m here with Marathon Tours & Travel, whose package covers accommodation, meals, transportation and activities.
Entabeni Game Reserve, South Africa
I arrive into Johannesburg on Wednesday morning, following an 11-hour flight from London. A representative from Albatross is there to greet a dozen of us who have flown in, before we board a bus for the drive to Entabeni – a 22,000 hectare private game reserve located in the Limpopo Province of South Africa, which forms an independent part of the UNESCO-accredited Waterberg Biosphere Reservation.
Just over three hours later, we pull into a site that’s a little like something out of Jurassic Park, with a handful of jeeps waiting to take us to our respective accommodation.
I’m staying at Wildside Camp, located within the reserve, which offers 20 en-suite safari tents, an open lounge/bar area, an informal dining room and a fire pit. For sociable, solo travellers like myself, I’m told it’s the best option for mingling with other runners – and as our jeep bundles along the dirt track and into the African bush, I’m already chatting to a friendly German couple.
By now, it’s late afternoon in Entabeni and golden hour is in full swing, illuminating the savannah in a dazzling glow. Very soon, the sun will set behind the majestic cliffs of the Waterberg Mountain – the backdrop to Wildside Camp. It’s the middle of winter in South Africa and while temperatures can get up to 24°C during the day, they can plunge to as low as 2°C at night.
Clambering off the jeep, we’re greeted by Lena, our straight-talking but friendly camp host, who sets out some basic ground rules (‘No walking back to your tent without a ranger after dark’). I’m then shown to my ‘tent’ – a clean and comfortable double-bed chalet – where I recoup for an hour before our first communal dinner. It always amazes me how quickly people can go from strangers to friends in these situations, and I soon find myself exchanging banter and stories of epic running challenges with my new campmates over a buffet dinner.
More than a race
On Thursday morning, we’re up before dawn for our first sunrise game drive. It’s as spectacular as you’d imagine, like a scene straight out of The Lion King, as a lioness and her four cubs prowl the open plains, bathed in the orange glow of first light. Our ranger Noddy is fantastic, enthusiastic to share his knowledge of the bush. It’s evident how connected he is to the environment here, and the animals seem so used to the rangers and their vehicles that they hardly bat an eyelid, providing us with a front-row seat.
Returning to camp for a hearty breakfast, I’m starting to forget that I’m running a marathon in two days’ time.
By Friday, however, the suspense is well and truly building. We’re driven to Lakeside Lodge – the starting point of the marathon – for a short briefing about the route and to collect our race packs. Then, we head out on a mandatory route inspection, safari convoy style. Seeing the hills and the more technical parts of the terrain does little to settle our growing nerves, but there's not much time to dwell on it – it’s time to drive back to camp to carb up before an early night ahead of race day.
Running wild
Saturday. Marathon day. I’m up early for breakfast (an African take on porridge) before we board the jeeps for the start line. With no set race goal except to ‘finish the damn thing’, I’m surprised to find myself feeling oddly calm – if you discount the small matter of trying not to get eaten.
At 9am, the start gun goes off and I try to settle into a steady rhythm. Easier said than done – within the first three kilometres, I meet the first hill. I tackle it through a mix of running and walking, then spend the next few kilometres trying to get used to the altitude, my heart rate rising higher than usual.
Soon, though, I’m flying – moving just a few seconds shy of my normal marathon pace. That is until I reach Yellow Wood Valley.
This, I’ve been told, is the most dreaded part of the course – touted as ‘the steepest hill of your life’. Locals even call it ‘the cluff’. For three kilometres, my quads scream at me as I navigate the sharp decline and try to stop my legs from flying out in front of me. Half-marathoners are already painstakingly making their way up it and we cheer each other on as we pass.
The cluff finally complete, it’s time to enter lion country. But while the next nine kilometres are flat, you’re running through fairly deep sand – not something training on the paved streets of London has prepared me for. I do my best, treading on the firmer looking parts of the banks. Then, reaching a pond – where I’m later told that there are hippopotamuses sunning themselves – I’m stopped in my tracks.
‘Are you the full marathon? What are you doing here?’ asks a race official.
Turns out, I’ve hit a wrong turn and followed the half marathon route for an entire kilometre. Cursing to myself, the official kindly tells me to hop into a jeep – a ranger will then drive me back to the right turning. The whole debacle is almost too ridiculous for me to feel frustrated. Jumping out of the vehicle, I spot two marathon runners who I’d passed at the 12km mark. It looks like I have some catching up to do. Thankfully, my little setback has spurred me on, and I manage to navigate the remainder of the sand section well enough to reclaim my original position in the race.
Now, I’m back at the Cluff once more – this time, going up it. Hands on my knees, I drag myself up as quickly as I can, though by the time I reach the top my legs are heavy with lactic acid and it’s a struggle to break into a run again. I cycle between spurts of running and walking, frequently swapping positions with the two guys in front of me and trying to keep one eye on a group of charging wildebeest in the distance.
As I pass the 40km mark, I find myself running side by side with a man called Glen, and we encourage each other to keep moving.
At last, a marshal tells us we only have 200m left to go.
‘You deserve to finish in front of me,’ says Glen, pulling back as I muster a final sprint, crossing the line in 4 hours, 40 minutes – fourth female and a respectable ninth place overall. It’s undoubtably one of the hardest marathon courses that I’ve tackled in my life, testing me from beginning to end. But it’s also an experience of a lifetime, and once we’ve cheered the last runner over the line, our final two days are filled with delightful food, a post-race party under the stars and more stunning games drives.
When it’s finally time to depart for the airport on Tuesday morning, I feel a pang of sadness that my week in Entabeni has come to an end. The Big Five Marathon is so much more than just a race: it’s a chance to get up close and personal with Africa’s incredible wildlife, form meaningful connections with other runners and test your physical and mental resilience. Are you wild enough to take it on?
How to book
- The next Big Five Marathon takes place on 14 June 2025. The Marathon Tours & Travels Package will start from £2,299 + £259 for race entry, including six nights of accommodation on a full-board basis, group transfers and game drives. Sign up to the waitlist at marathontours.com/en-gb to be the first to hear when these packages go on sale for 2025.
- Fly via British Airways from London into Johannesburg.
