The 8 Mile Club was started in 2004 by Stan Kozlowski and Mervyn Bremner. The objective is to raise funds for various charities by swimming all 8 events at the aQuelle Midmar Mile. Since 2004 The 8 Mile Club has raised over twelve million Rand.
The aQuelle Midmar Mile is an open water swimming race held annually in February at the Midmar Dam near Howick, north of Pietermaritzburg. Each year, it draws thousands of competitors, from serious international athletes and Olympic medallists to purely recreational swimmers. In 2009 the event, in which 13 755 competitors finished the race, was recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest open water swimming event. For the 2018 event all swimmers are able to raise funds for the official charities linked to the aQuelle Midmar Mile.
Following the success of the Midmar 8 Mile Club that was started in 2004 by Stan Kozlowski and Mervyn Bremner, 2016 saw the first group of 16 Milers taking part. Not only do they swim each of the 8 Mile events, but they also swim back to the start line in time for the following race. An incredible achievement and certainly worthy of plenty of support!
The Harcourts Foundation's annual Walk A Mile event supporting good causes in the community
After raising more than R4 million for various charities at the 2019 aQuellé Midmar Mile, the 8 Mile Club is venturing into wilder waters. Assisted by Roving Reporters and other supporting partners, the 8 Mile Club is arranging a pilot swim along a 22 km stretch of the Wild Coast earmarked for heavy minerals mining by an Australian mining company. This stretch of coastline falls within the Pondoland Marine Protected Area (MPA) and comprises a host of pristine estuaries and unique coastal habitats - home to many people whose lives could be adversely affected by heavy minerals mining if it goes ahead as planned. The mission of The Wild Swim is to raise funds for eco-tourism in the area and marine conservation initiatives within the Pondoland MPA. The fundraising effort is being driven by the Kydrin Foundation in association with the 8 Mile Club. The beneficiaries are Africa!Ignite and Sustaining the Wild Coast (eco-tourism); WildOceans (marine conservation) and Roving Reporters associated environmental journalism training programme. For safety reasons the pilot swim has been restricted to eight open water swimmers who will be accompanied by safety kayakers, two safety boats, a jetski rescue operator and a small pod of experienced Ocean Guardian divers equipped with Freedom7 shark shields – the world’s only scientifically proven electrical shark deterrent. Associated aerial surveillance and HD drone footage is to be provided by renowned adventure sports cameraman and safety officer, Gordon Date, who is directing the safety team in association with Med-Evac, the NSRI and SAPS. The pilot swim is scheduled to take place in five stages between April 26 - May 2, with swimming only taking place in favourable and clear sea conditions. Accommodation is to be provided to the swimmers and the safety team at community-owned homestays along the route.
The Telkom 94.7 cycle challenge is the world's second-largest timed cycle race. It is held annually on cycle challenge Sunday, the third Sunday of November. Between 20,000 and 30,000 participants complete the challenging 94.7 km (58.8 mi) course every year.
The ELB Extreme Road Challenge is about a group of Cyclist’s racing a team of Long Distance Runners. There will be 5 Runners in each relay team taking turns to reach their destination whilst hoping to arrive ahead of the rival Cyclists. The rules are simple; the Cyclists can only ride during daylight hours, but the Runners can run non-stop through the night. It’s going to be a tough, but exciting challenge!
The 2017 Capital K Swim at Midmar gets a new title sponsor with hosts, Penguins Swimming Club, teaming up with the Midlands company, Dairy Day, under their HoneyDew brand. The HoneyDew Capital K Swim, will take place at the Midmar Dam Resort on Sunday 3 December 2017.
The SkyRun is an Epic Mountain run of 100km considered by many athletes to be the toughest Trail Run in South Africa. The event is made up of three options, the SkyRun Marathon, the SkyRun 65, and the big daddy SkyRun 100
The Charity 8 Challenge takes place during the weekend of the aQuelle Midmar Mile where participants take part in all 8 events to raise funds for charity.
The Charity 16 Challenge takes place during the weekend of the aQuelle Midmar Mile where participants will be swimming 16 Miles. As well as taking part in each of the official events, they will also be swimming back down the course to the start before each event too. A monumental achievement done in order to raise funds for charity.