The Midmar Mile has the petrol restrictions in 1973 to thank for its small beginnings. Mike Arbuthnot, Dick Park and Brian Glover were unable to travel from Natal to East London to compete in the Buffalo Mile. They decided to organise a similar race in Natal and the Midmar Dam was chosen as the venue.
On a warm February day in 1974, 153 swimmers entered the inaugural race, with the youngest competitor being 10 years old. Trevor Strydom took first place, with Owen Ryan and Martin Godfrey coming in second and third. Women were only able to enter the race officially in 1975. Several women swam in 1974 but their entries were unofficial. The total field in 1975 was 315 swimmers, 220 men and 105 women. The Seals Midmar Mile celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1998 with a record of 9 600 entries. The 2003 Halfway-Telkom Midmar Mile broke all previous levels with 16 050 entries.
The Guinness Book of Records acknowledges this race as the world’s largest open water swimming extravaganza. Near-perfect weather conditions made this the best event in the 30-year history of the Midmar Mile. In 2007 appalling weather conditions forced the organisers to cancel the men's 14 to 30 category event for safety reasons. The first time this occurred in the history of the swim. The 2009 swim was special. No less than 13 Olympians took part. Britain’s Keri-Anne Payne and South Africa’s Riaan Schoeman took respective honours in their categories.
The race continues to grow and in 2010 the race drew yet another record field, exceeding the weighty numbers that earned it a place in the Guinness Book of World records. The 2011 event once again drew enormous crowds. The first race on Saturday featured various disabled categories. Craig Groenewald won in the mentally disabled category for the 13th time out of 13 swims. There was an air of glamour as the event was graced by our own faerie tale princess and previous Olympic swimmer, Charlene Wittstock; who married Prince Albert of Monaco in 2011. Other celebrity draw-cards included ‘The Human Polar Bear’ Lewis Pugh and swimming hero, Roland Schoeman. Both accompanied the princess in her swim.
The race will be held for the 42nd time in 2015.
EDITORS NOTES
Race packs containing your compulsory swimming cap, number tag and the timing chip can either be collected before your event or at the Midlands Mall on the same days that registration takes place. It is advisable to take the opportunity to get your race pack at the Mall as it greatly simplifies things on the day of the swim. With the growing number of participants, a seeding system has been put in place for various categories of swimmers. Each event is split into groups of swimmers of varying competency.
This means that unless you have swum in one of the seeding events, you will start with the slowest of the swimmers. Competitors in each event are split into five groups of varying competency, each distinguished by different coloured caps. The fastest seeded swimmers go off first wearing red caps. For many, getting a red cap is an achievement in itself.
The main reason for the seeding is to reduce the number of swimmers starting at any time, which reduces the crush at the start. Seeding events are other races held during the season that have been licensed for the Midmar. Since the seeding events are subject to change, it is best to confirm the official seeding events on the Midmar Mile website. Swimmers who have not participated in a seeding event may still take part in the swim. In the future swimmers may have to take part in a seeding event to qualify.
The 8-Mile Charity Club raises funds for various charities. The fundraiser was started in 2001 to raise funds for the Conservation Trust. The quest is to swim in all eight mile events over two days. To join the 8-Mile Club there is a R1,000 entry fee which includes kit, food and entry into all the races. You will also be required to raise a minimum of R1,000 for the charities. You will be required to pay in the difference if you do not get to the R1,000. Entries close on 30 November 2016.
Time Limit: 55 minutes
Finishers: 25000
ACCOMODATION