GAUTENG, PRETORIA - WARRIOR OCR events burst onto the scene in 2013, immediately spearheading the meteoric rise of obstacle course racing (OCR) in South Africa. Today, Toyota Warrior, powered by Reebok, remains at the forefront of OCR South Africa with world-class obstacles, innovative courses and over 4000 athletes competing, including many of the country’s top OCR competitors, who push their mental and physical limits with the aim to reach the pinnacle in their sport, to gain respect and recognition, to take them onto the world stage. In support of the continued growth of the South African OCR community, Advendurance and Toyota Warrior have created an athlete programme, providing a platform for athletes to grow and develop to their full potential.

 Thomas van Tonder is arguably one of South Africa’s top OCR athletes and a household name in the South African and International OCR community, so it is no surprise that Toyota Warrior have selected him as their first Warrior Brand Ambassador. Thomas started racing OCR in 2014. He took up training with Warrior Fit Coaching on an OCR specific programme, which led him to straight victories back to back. It was clear that OCR was his sport and he has never looked back.  

Max Cluer, founder/manager of Jeep Team South Africa, spotted van Tonder’s talent early on and invited him to join the Jeep Team. Van Tonder became teammates with the likes of paddling legend, ten-times World Marathon Champion, Hank McGregor, trail running champion, Christiaan Greyling, and World Multisport Champion, Robyn Owen.   Fast forward to 2018, and van Tonder’s pedigree is clear to see. Competing at the highest level in OCR for four years, his scoresheet is impressive and consistent.  Amongst many other wins, van Tonder has won 16 Warrior Black Ops Elite titles, placed second in 18 races and one third place. He won the National Championship and Series Championship in 2016 and was runner up in 2017.

Van Tonder has also won all 14 of the Beast OCR elite titles since The Beast’s inception. Internationally, Thomas has also competed in four OCR World Championships, placing Top 10 in three of them and a Top 20 finish in 2016.  Thomas will make an outstanding WARRIOR Ambassador, embodying the values of excellence, friendship and respect, and displaying commitment to giving back to the sport he loves, by setting a good example for the next generation. Says Fritz Pienaar, co-owner of the WARRIOR Series, “Thomas is an important compass to all new athletes on the OCR scene. He is a true professional who is well-respected both locally and internationally. We want to build meaningful relationships that benefit both the athletes and the Warrior Race.”  Van Tonder will be the first Warrior Athlete in the programme with his eyes set on the first South African OCR Championship happening at Blythedale Coastal Estate on the KZN North Coast on the 14th and 15th July 2018, and future OCR World Championships.

 ###For more information or to enter, visit www.warrior.co.za.

See this release online - https://warrior.co.za/warrior-announces-first-brand-ambassador/ Link to Thomas van Tonder’s sport bio: https://warrior.co.za/warrior-ambassador/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:

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 designs In 2018 the Mud Monster will not be compulsory, non-Elites can do a penalty loop and skip the mud Sprint 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! 

GAUTENG, PRETORIA, - Toyota #Warrior3, powered by Reebok, is coming to Tierpoort Adventure Farm in Tierpoort, situated just outside Pretoria East, so if you want to get out and enjoy the outdoors while getting a serious workout in, it may be high time you look into signing up for an obstacle course race. This full, two-day event, happening on the 17th and 18th March 2018, will have the three traditional Warrior distances: 15km Black Ops with 35 Obstacles, 10km Commando with 22 Obstacles, 5km Rookie with 15 Obstacles, plus Reebok sprint races over the 2 days - individual sprint race on Saturday and team sprints on the Sunday. This venue is a trail runner’s dream.

The hilly and technical terrain will take warriors over some of the best trails that Gauteng has to offer, but if you are like most of us and don’t really enjoy running, the appeal of obstacle course racing, to most, is that you hardly notice you're running, because you're more focused on dealing with intense, oftentimes military-inspired obstacles that will challenge your mind and body. Every race at Warrior is all about having a good time with your friends and making your weekend fun and active.  Mud Monster, Eliminator, Terminator, Intimidator and Maze are just a few of the names given to obstacles at this family-friendly event, which gives anyone and everyone the chance to experience the thrill of Obstacle Course Racing, the fastest growing sports code in the country.  Some of the highlights over the weekend include a brand-new Tower of Rage; it’s tall and scary.

The much-loved Mud Monster will now be the all-new Mud Mile – the clue is in the name. The short, sharp Reebok Sprint Races, which are really exciting to watch but very tough to do, will be a little longer at 250m with 10 obstacles, a few of which will be natural. This is considered to be the best sprint course yet by the organisers.There will be two kids races on Saturday and on Sunday. WarriorRic will start the kids off under the Main Warrior Arch, which the Black-Ops Elites use, and lead them out from there. Energy Drinks Partner, Monster Energy Hydro, will be hydrating athletes throughout the weekend keeping athletes and spectators full of energy and replacing the necessary electrolytes.  

There will be a separate Elite registration desk for Black-Ops, Commando and Rookie Elite athletes. Here elite athletes will get their tags scanned and receive DQ wristbands.  If you are lucky enough to drive a Toyota, make sure you park in the Toyota parking, plus the first 200 vehicles get a free Toyota hamper.  Look out for the Toyota Chill Zone for free massages and the all-important post-race Ice Bath, which will be on the back of a Toyota Hilux.  In support of the continued growth of the South African Obstacle Course Racing community, a partnership between The Warrior Race, the Obstacle Course Racing World Championships (OCRWC), and South Africa Obstacle Course Racing (SAOCR) was announced on the 12th March.  This partnership of the major players in OCR South Africa are launching the first-ever South African Obstacle Course Racing Championships. It has been agreed that Toyota Warrior Race #5 at the Blythedale Coastal Estate KZN will host the inaugural event this July, and will double up as the South African Obstacle Course Racing Championships.

 For more information visit www.warrior.co.zaImages credit-BeSnapped.co.za

Written and distributed by Vivienne Cooper-Quann for The Warrior This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

FREE STATE, BLOEMFONTEIN, MASELSPOORT RESORT – Toyota WARRIOR saw approximately one thousand Obstacle Racers from the Free State and around the country pull into Bloemfontein’s Maselspoort Resort this past weekend to compete in the Free State’s first-ever Toyota WARRIOR, powered by Reebok. Already well-established in Gauteng, Western Cape and KZN, attracting thousands per event, Obstacle Racing is poised to take off in Free State.  WARRIOR Race #2 course was built around the Maselspoort Resort by Warrior course designer, Jono Hart. Heavy rains prior to the event forced event organisers, Advendurance, to change the course and create a lap race, which shortened the running element, but doubled the number of obstacles athletes had to do. As it turned out, this version made this race more spectator-friendly, which is always a key factor for this type of sport. 

Course designer, Jono Hart, said “Toyota WARRIOR Maselspoort was outstanding. The venue was green and fresh with a totally different terrain, but unfortunately, heavy rains over a number of days prior to the event forced us to change the route. This created the lap version for the 2 longer races – Commando and Black Ops, which slightly shortened the running element but drastically increased the obstacles. In the end, Commandos had 40 obstacles over 9km and Black Ops Elite had 54 obstacles over 13km.”  The massive monster-slide, Slippery Dip Super-Tube, will be remembered as the highlight of the weekend for every athlete that was faced with it.  Toyota Warrior #2 Maselspoort attracted all the top-ranked OCR athletes in the country.

The Men’s Black Ops Elite winner and ranked 1st in OCR South Africa, was Claude Eksteen (Supa Mama); Race #1 winner and ranked 2nd in the country, Thomas van Tonder (Jeep Team SA) came second, with Team Nevarest’s Greg Avierinos, in 3rd, Armin Botha in 4th and Trevor Lagerway in 5th.  Said Eksteen, “Today, as in the past 3 years, was an awesome but tough battle between Thomas van Tonder and myself and to get the win is a sweet victory. I loved the venue and the lap version, which made it very interesting. Second time round you get better at it. I’m very chuffed to have the win.”  Winner of Women’s Black Ops Elite Gold medal was physiotherapist from KZN, Carla van Huyssteen (Team Nevarest), who is also an accomplished hockey player, mountain biker and trail runner with many stage and ultra-trail podiums under her belt. Sabrina Daolio (BattleRush) took Silver, with Race #1 winner, Trish Eksteen (Supa Mama) taking Bronze.  Said van Huyssteen after the race, “I enjoyed the venue. The lap racing was very exciting, and mentally tough. I quite enjoyed the lap setup. I got better and learned from my previous lap.

The trail was fun and technical with a bit of varied terrain around the resort, so all in all it was a momentous day for me taking the win against the OCR greats! And the Monster Slide was awesome!” In addition to the honours and the R10 000 prize purse, the two Black Ops Elite winners, Van Huyssteen and Eksteen, each get to drive a WARRIOR-branded Toyota RAV4 until the next event in Tierpoort on the 17th of March 2018.  In the Commando Elite race, also affected by the rain, the course ended up being just under 2 laps - 45 obstacles over a 9km trail. In the men’s race, Anrich Zimmerman took the gold medal, with Kelvin van Wyk taking the silver medal, and Calen Hastie taking the bronze. In the women’s Commando Elite race, Tate Stewart took 1st place, Kaelee Lushington took 2nd, and Sammy Nel 3rd place.  Unaffected by the course changes, the Rookie Elites ran a 5km trail lap with 15 obstacles and saw Nick Oberholzer, Cayde de Waal and Casper de Villiers take 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively in the Men’s. In the women’s, Monique Els came 1st with Megan McLuckie in 2nd and Megan van Tonder in 3rd.  

The high-intensity Sprint Race and Sprint Team Race is a leg- and lung-busting 200m dash over 10 obstacles. The Sprint Race saw Dominque D’Oliveria take the win beating 2nd placed Cindy Wills and 3rd placed Sabrina Daolio. In the men’s, Juan-Pierre Mare took the win with Trevor Lagerway in 2nd and Tom Basson in 3rd.  The Sprint Teams was won by Kaapse Klopse with Team Nevarest in 2nd and Liquid Salt/BattleRush in 3rd.  Says Fritz Pienaar, CEO of Advendurance, “This is the Free State’s first Toyota WARRIOR and what a fantastic venue and hospitality we received from everyone. We will be back. Having to change the course last minute is just how it goes. By doing this, we introduced lap racing, which ended up being awesome. The spectators loved it and the athletes did what they do best and raced whatever was in front of them. That’s the sign of true champions. We can’t wait to get back to the Free State!” Results - Toyota Warrior #1

Black Ops Elite

Men

1. Claude Eksteen            01:29:16
2. Thomas van Tonder    01:30:39
3. Greg Avierinos            01:31:52 

Women

1. Carla van Huyssteen    01:38:34
2. Sabrina Daolio             01:49:06
3. Trish Eksteen               01:50:01 

Commando Elite

Men

1. Anrich Zimmerman      01:06:50
2. Kelvin van Wyk            01:06:54
3. Calen Hastie                01:11:10 

Women

1. Tate Stewart                 02:02:34
2. Kaelee Lushington       02:04:29
3. Sammy Nel                   02:10:08 

Rookie Elite

Men

1. Nick Oberholzer          00:32:03
2. Cayde de Waal            00:32:05
3. Casper de Villiers        00:32:54

 Women

1. Monique Els                00:34:34
2. Megan McLuckie        00:36:06
3. Megan van Tonder      00:39:01

###Written and distributed by Hot Salsa Media on behalf of Warrior PTY LTD.

Image requests and enquiries to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. here - https://www.dropbox.com/sh/xj5vdmopq9pjiww/AABCFuzBFsvw67rcMqFOtgSja?dl=0Image cedit – Kevin @ Be Snapped  

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!  

End