Midmar

Some of the world's most extreme races are held in South Africa, where elite athletes – and ordinary people – pit themselves against the unforgiving elements and huge distances. Perhaps the most well-known is the Comrades Marathon, a gruelling 90km run between Durban and Pietermaritzburg.

Defending women's champion Ashley Twichell is going to be tough to beat at South Africa's Midmar Mile this coming weekend, having just proved her form by winning the Swim the Swan 10km open water event at the Aquatic Super Series in Perth, Australia.

Adventure athlete extraordinaire Sean Conway, the first and only man to swim the length of Britain, says he's excited to return to South Africa to swim the 2014 Aquelle Midmar Mile - a race he last did as a nervous schoolboy.

There’s more to the Bloodhound SSC than just mind-boggling speed – the project is aimed at inspiring a new generation of scientists, and a Northern Cape community is benefiting through job creation, better communications infrastructure, and tourism.
• SKA: who gets what

Despite facing a very tough challenge from an elite field in the Fina Olympic marathon swim qualifier in Portugal in June, Troyden Prinsloo came through with flying colours to book his second visit to the Olympic Games.

From a book drive to help underprivileged schools build libraries, to a marathon commemorating the 1962 arrest in the KwaZulu-Natal town of Howick, Mandela Day events are all the buzz.
• Schools to benefit for Mandela Day

Two important records fell in the 2012 aQuelle Midmar Mile on Sunday as South Africa's Chad Ho won the men's title and Great Britain's Keri-Anne Payne claimed the women's honours.

Blessed with a beautiful coastline almost 3 000 kilometres long, South Africa is a watersports playground - and in 2010 the country's watersport athletes shone in a variety of disciplines. Brad Morgan looks back on the year.

Guinness World Records has recognised South Africa's famous ultra-marathon, the Comrades, as the event with "the most runners in an ultra-marathon". The 2010 race had 23 568 entries, with 14 343 runners finishing before the 12-hour cut-off time.

Natalie du Toit made history when she took to the water in the women's 10-kilometre open water swim at the Olympic Games in Beijing on Wednesday, becoming the first amputee to take on able-bodied athletes in the biggest sporting event of them all.