Some people are just born with more energy than the rest of us. They run on 440 volts while the rest of us lesser mortals run on 220 volts.
The Wild Coast FKT (fastest known time) showcases Liam Victor and Shale Biggs in particular.
Paul Carter documents the story: “On Saturday, August 23 2025, two groups of trail runners left the Haven Hotel with a single audacious goal: to traverse the Southern Wild Coast, 125km of untamed shoreline in one continuous push.
“Their destination lay far to the south at Crawfords Beach Lodge in Cintsa, a journey usually reserved for the three-day RB Africa Wild Coast Challenge each March.
“This time, however, there would be no aid stations, no support crews, and no soft beds waiting at the end of each day.
“No Jason or Alan from Aldersons tending to tired feet, no luxurious three-course meals to restore weary bodies. Just the ocean, the sand and the runners’ resolve.”
Conditions matched the scale of the challenge. A black moon and spring tide stripped the coastline of ambient light and left little firm sand to run on.
Yet in this darkness, the night sky revealed its reward: the Milky Way stretching brilliantly over the runners as they traced their way southward along one of SA’s most remote and spectacular shorelines.
The Wild Coast demanded more than steady legs. Eight rivers stood in the runners path.
Some to be swum in the pull of high tide, others in the blackest hours of night.
Winter added another layer of hardship, with icy winds and repeated swims across wide rivers dragging body temperatures down and testing resolve.
The distance itself was a daunting 125km with roughly 2,000m of climbing and descending, a true test of endurance, resilience and spirit.
By the time they reached Cintsa, two achievements had been carved into the record books.
The group of Jocelyn Gilfillan, Jani McLean, Dominique Davies, Darryn Birch and Paul Carter completed the Wild Coast FKT in a self-supported time of 31 hours and 56 minutes.
Their effort demanded not only physical stamina but also careful management of nutrition, navigation and the cold night hours where every kilometre felt longer than the last.
Meanwhile, the faster pair of Biggs and Victor, who set off at 3.01am on the same day, pushed the limits even further by setting a new fastest known time, finishing in 19 hours and 36 minutes later that evening.
Their run combined speed and precision, balancing the time of river crossings with an unbroken rhythm that carried them through the day and into the night.
The Wild Coast is famed for its beauty: long beaches broken by rugged headlands, river mouths spilling into the sea, and cliffs battered by waves.
But it is also unforgiving. Each kilometre demands respect, each crossing carries risk and the isolation offers no second chances.
For the runners, this was precisely the allure, the chance to test themselves against raw nature, stripped of comfort and supported only by determination.
In the end, the numbers tell one story but the spirit of the adventure tells another.
As Victor reflected after reaching Crawfords: “The best runs aren’t always measured in time, they’re measured in freedom, flow and connection.”
Daily Dispatch
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