Moka Trail Track Open All Year Round

The original article was first published by our collaborator platform moka.mu.

This beautiful day was blessed with a gorgeous sunshine and nearly 2,100 participants gathered at La Laura-Malenga to take part in the 8^th edition of the Moka Trail on Saturday 3 October 2020. They set off early in the morning for the 5, 7, 14 or 28km races according to their sporting level. Some of them were in contention for a medal while others wanted to spend an unforgettable day and get the adrenaline pumping!

The marked trails you discovered during the Moka Trail are now open all year round. The Smart City teams have put in some hard work to make them more easily accessible to the public free of charge 24/7.

This initiative was carried out in collaboration with three different District Councils and the Forestry Service. Several million rupees have been put into cleaning and marking a total of 6 trails: Les Deux Mamelles (7km), Le Petit Both (14km), La Classique du Pouce (3.8km), Le Dauguet (12km), Le Grand Pouce (20km) and Moka Range Challenge (29 km).

In addition, the Strava app contains different Segments that enable joggers and trail runners to track and compare their performance with their peers. Strava features the 6 marked trail paths as identified Segments. An annual ranking will be announced and the “champions” will be rewarded.

This is the ideal opportunity to embark on a unique exploration of the heart of the island and start trail running now to prepare for the next edition of the Moka Trail!

There were more than 2,000 participants, but only two winners for each race! This year, Jonathan Cotte and Simon Desvaux de Marigny finished first in a tie in the Moka Range Challenge (28km – 1,350m elevation) with a time of 02:55:33. Rosemary Le Gac grabbed the victory in the women’s race in 04:03:29. Freddy Roux and Luxmee Priyanka Pittea won the Petit Both (14km – 650m elevation) in 01:15:04 and 01:45:07 respectively.

Apart from the trail runners, about a hundred Moka’mwad volunteers contributed to the success of the event, helping with the signing-off and refreshments, among others. In addition to the vendors catering for the participants and public on site, there was a photo booth to allow everyone to leave with beautiful keepsakes offered by Moka Smart City and a face painting workshop to keep the kids busy.