1st Strikers
The first 100 to enter each year. Preference and rewards for life: early entry access, discounts, special opportunities.
The mountain remembers
Chapters
Every Strike is a chapter: the story, the podiums, the results and the photographs. Each winner holds the trophy for a year, and must return to defend it.
2026 Chapter 2 · Strike II
The journey continues
- 4 distances
- New 33 km from Noordhoek
- All distances sold out
- First live broadcast
Chapter 2 is written on the mountain on 24 October. Results, winners, the film and the photo gallery are added here within days of the finish.
Results after 24 October
2025 Chapter 1 · Strike I
The Cobra awakens
- 42 · 21 · 14 km
- 7 wine farms
- Rerouted twice for fire
- Finish moved across the mountain
It began as a vision: a trail marathon worth earning. Three distances emerged. 42 km of grit, 21 km of fight, 14 km of chaos.
A week before race day, a fire tore through the route. We rerouted. With only days to spare, another blaze struck the new section. The choice was brutal: hold the course and risk the race, or move the entire finish line across the mountain.
Three days of grind followed: building new routes, testing, marking, cutting lawns for 400 cars and coordinating seven wine farms. Would the Cobras follow? They did. Every one of them.
They are the Founding Class of 2025. They believed first, before the reputation, when Cape Cobra was still only a promise and a route. Their names belong to the beginning.
No official route records this year: this wasn't the official course.
Full results →Apex Cobras · 2025
42 km Men
- 1JJ Van Der Merwe
- 2Anele Bans
- 3Underson Ncube
42 km Women
- 1Emily Djock
- 2Landie Greyling
- 3Daisy Myburgh
21 km Men
- 1Oli Morris
- 2Siboniso Soldaka
- 3Jacques Du Plessis
21 km Women
- 1Ebeth Marais
- 2Lanah Nel
- 3Jenna Bowes
14 km Men
- 1Luwellyn Du Toit
- 2Brandon Keeling
- 3Athenkosi Nkonki
14 km Women
- 1Ridwana Ridz
- 2Fazlin Martin
- 3Clarice Gomes
Once is never enough
Shed your skin
A cobra sheds its skin to grow. Every Strike you finish is one skin shed, and the tiers are counted across every year.
First strike
Your first finish. Your name enters the Chapters.
Second skin
Back for more. A returning-runner mark on your results page.
Your number for life
Three Strikes earn a permanent bib number, yours every year, plus a reserved entry window.
The full ladder
Finish all four distances, in any years, for a special mark in the Hall of Fame.
Cape Cobra · permanentC·007Example
Every finish since Strike I · 2025 counts. Three Strikes and the number is yours. The first permanent bibs are earned at Strike III and worn from Strike IV in 2028.
The Hall of Fame
Written in wood, resin and rock
The Cobra Full
Conceived by local artist and trail legend Robbie Rorich. Melted metal cast into the form of the Cobra, mounted on stone pulled from the mountain. Names are plated onto its granite base.
The Cobra Half
Handcrafted by San artisans of the Kalahari. The initials and times of each champion are carved into its wood over the years.
The Vineyard Labyrinth
Designed by Jesse, brought to life by a Netflix special effects team, 3D printed in resin and hand-painted.
Gallery
From the mountain
Each chapter gets its own gallery after the race.
