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Meet the team

While the full time Wildrunner team is a small band of passionate and efficient individuals, we have grown an extended network of trustworthy and essential people from all specialities from radio communications to marshals that ultimately make our events safe, fun and proffesional.

Owen Middleton Founder & Managing Director

Trail running, sailing, mountaineering, adventure racing, orienteering, surfing, paddling, kloofing, rock climbing, fly fishing, scuba diving, mountain biking and many many other adventure sports...

Trail running, sailing, mountaineering, adventure racing, orienteering, surfing, paddling, kloofing, rock climbing, fly fishing, scuba diving, mountain biking and many many other adventure sports are the life-blood of what makes Owen tick and the foundation of a business in the outdoor industry. 

Owen started Wildrunner in 2007 with the original short course trail running events in South Africa called the Trail Series® - a brand of events that is now a 26 event national trail running series held across five provinces.

Owen has been running in the mountains since he was 8 years old.  Other than hundreds of kms of exploratory hiking & trail running in most of South Africa's mountainous regions, Owen's trail running resumé includes: Wildcoast Wildrun (x3), Skyrun (x3), Mauritius Royal Raid 80 & 25km, Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon 250km, Three Peaks, Bat Run, Table Mountain Challenge (full x3), Hout Bay Trail Challenge, Rhodes Run & Otter Trail. 

Owen can more often be found running in his favourite 'local' mountains of Silvermine Nature Reserve with his trusty companion Shadow.

Tamaryn Middleton General Manager

Tam spent her formative years in Europe, in the UK for 6 years then moving to Belgium for most of her schooling years. After school at 17, she decided to get out of Europe and headed 'back' to SA,...

Tam spent her formative years in Europe, in the UK for 6 years then moving to Belgium for most of her schooling years. After school at 17, she decided to get out of Europe and headed 'back' to SA, to attend UCT. Her passion is people, with a healthy dose of scuba diving, trail running and general adventure-seeking thrown in.

Tam's trail running resumé is not nearly as extensive as Owen's - although cross country was her sport of choice while in school, she only began trail running in 2008 and some of the longer events she has completed now include: Outeniqua Traverse, Mauritius Royal Raid 35km x2, Four Peaks, Table Mountain Challenge 36km and the Wildcoast Wildrun®.

After meeting Owen in 2005, Tam has spent most of her time just trying to keep up with him. And enjoying the awesome experiences Southern Africa has to offer, tripping along in the trust Landy.

Karin Bartley Compliance & Logistics Manager (freelance)

Karin brings her German efficiency to the table in our constant battle to stay on top of the mountains of paperwork needed to remain compliant and keep our logistics on track.  When not organising...

Karin brings her German efficiency to the table in our constant battle to stay on top of the mountains of paperwork needed to remain compliant and keep our logistics on track.  When not organising the back end of events, Karin can be found trail running or spending time with her husband and their two four legged kids.

Kim Stephens (Walker) Sports and Outdoor Communication Specialist

Kim Stephens (Walker) is a Sports and Outdoor Communication Specialist, who works with the Wildrunner team to ensure that their stories are told and magic shared. When Kim isn’t Tweeting,...

Kim Stephens (Walker) is a Sports and Outdoor Communication Specialist, who works with the Wildrunner team to ensure that their stories are told and magic shared. When Kim isn’t Tweeting, Posting, Gramming, writing or on the mic, she can be found running on the mountain, where she particularly enjoys looking down at the rush hour traffic, and planning her next move in a life lived without boundaries. Sometimes known as #UltraMama Kim has three children of her own, but many others that form part of her extended tribe of future trail warriors. She is dedicated to raising the profile of South African trail running, and growing the number of women represented at trail events. Sometimes she rides a mountain bike, sometimes she runs on tar, but she’s happiest trotting solo on a single track, surrounded by big sky and endless opportunities.