BULL of Africa Race Directors - Hano & Sonja Otto ... who are they?

In 2000 Hano and Sonja met through Adventure racing, being in the same Team that prepared for the Borneo Eco Challenge. After the Race (a huge test for their relationship), they got married and started the Company, the Adventure Centre of Excellence. Since 2001 they have been organising numerous events in and around Africa.

From 2000 to 2003 they have been racing in a Team ranked as one of the top 3 in South Africa, winning numerous Events. In 2004 they took on the task of organising the BULL of Africa, South Africa’s premier Adventure racing Event on the Calendar, and have been focusing ever since to make the BULL one of the biggest and most exotic Races in the World.  

Hano Otto (43)

Hano has been a Sport freak since he can remember. At a very young age he already excelled in various disciplines with rugby and athletics (cross country) his main focus.
After school he spent some time in the Army – Special Forces, before going to University to study Law. When he started working as PA for one of the High Court judges, he focused more on Road Running with numerous achievements which include: 12 Comrades marathons (5 silver); 2nd place in Rhodes Mountain marathon and 9th place in the Karoo 80km marathon.
In 1999 he was introduced to Adventure racing and his first Race was the Cederberg 500km, which they finished – Hano hates quitting. He was invited to race with the only SA Team competing in the Borneo Eco Challenge, only his second Adventure race, and after more than 11 days of racing through the jungles of Sabah, the Team finished officially.
After 11 years of practicing Law, his last few years as a State Prosecutor in the Drug Court, the opportunity arose to start his own Sport Business, together with the love of his life, Sonja. The Adventure Centre of Excellence was born, organizing Adventure races, doing Corporate Team Building and also Training and personal Development. Hano has a passion for Adventure racing, and with the help and blessing of God, has never looked back since.

Sonja Otto (41)

Sonja has a Masters degree in Sport Science. She established and managed the Triathlon Academy under Prof. Tim Noakes at the Sports Science Institute in Cape Town.
She is an extremely talented athlete with a long history of sporting achievements in various sports, which includes squash, underwater hockey, running, triathlon and duathlon. Since 1994 she received her SA National colours in the Elite category for triathlon and duathlon numerous times. In 1996 she started to concentrate on the Ultra triathlons and competed in 6 Ironmans (including the Hawaii Ironman) and various Half Ironmans all over the globe.
In 1999 Sonja converted to Adventure racing when she won her very first Adventure race together with Mark & John Collins – a 250km Event in the Drakensberg. After finishing 2nd in the Cederberg 500km AR, she was invited to join the only SA team that competed in the Borneo Eco Challenge in 2000.
With her encouragement and support, the Adventure Centre of Excellence, came to fruition. Sonja is the backbone of the Company, being responsible for all the Sponsors, Logistics and Marketing. She makes miracles happen, and with her excellent people relations skills, is invaluable to the success of the Centre. Sonja is, like Hano, a devoted Christian, and together they make a good team.

Adventure racing Achievements:

• Eco Challenge Borneo: 2000 - 33rd out of 76 teams
• Winners of various Sprint Adventure races
• St. Lucia 200km AR: 2001 - 1st place
• Swazi Extreme AR: 2001 - 1st place
• Namibia Desert Challenge: 2001 - 1st Mixed Pair
• Battlefields AR: 2002 - 1st place
• Swazi Extreme AR: 2002 - 1st place
• Adventure Quest Africa 500km: 2002 - 2nd place (Qualified for ARWC in Newfoundland)
• Podium finishes in various other AR Events