BLOEMFONTEIN – A strength team of twenty men and women are pulling a 15-ton truck through the scorching heat of the Free State.

The Bigg Pull power team hauls a truck 1 671 km from Pretoria to Cape Town over 41 days, aiming for a world record and raising funds for charity.

The team and their huge load walked along the N1 through Bloemfontein after the pitstop in Winnie Mandela (Brandfort) last night. BloemNewsExpress joined the team sweating in the 34-degree heat around 10:00 between Sunny Hill and the Raymond Mhlaba off-ramp on Friday on their way for a brief pit stop at Sangiro Lodge next to the main road.

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Moving at 4-5km/h, tien men and women pulled the truck, supported by vehicles from their 20-member support team including a bus transporting the rest of the power team. They plan to do around 40 km/day, go through 40 towns and reach their destination in 41 days. Bloemfontein will be their base for the weekend while they push on to Trompsburg, Philippolis and Colesberg on this part of their journey.

Pulling the truck with a specially designed rope system, the team work together, at times pulling the full weight of the truck. After half an hour, team mates swop on the move.

The Bigg Pull aims to raise funds for several charitable organisations.

This is the second attempt by organiser Wayne Price, the Gentle Giant. In 2003 he led an all-men’s team from Centurion to Cape Town in 35 gruelling days.

“More than two decades later, that rope is picked up again. The 2026 Bigg Pull honours the original journey and reimagined it for a live audience and a new generation.”

The whole experience is captured on film and video on the website thebiggpull.co.za. Anyone can become part of the effort by subscribing for a donation and following live footage of the effort.

The Bigg Pull isn’t just a journey, it’s a world record attempt. Every kilometre from Centurion to the Western Cape is measured and logged by category, so the record stands up to scrutiny.

Price explains the truck is controlled for the safety of the power team. “Especially on a downhill, every controlled metre is measured and logged. On the uphills, all 20 members of the team pull together assisted by the truck driver. When the road is flat, between five and 20 team members pull the truck unassisted.” He explains: “This free-pull distance is what stands for the world record. For the world record application, every kilometre is logged by category — controlled, assisted and free pull. It was done and tested 23 years ago, now we’re back, bigger, better, and going for the record.”

The Power Team walks every day, rain or sun, for 12 hours, and leaves a message behind for every community it passes.

Have a look at the website, follow this great effort and be part of something special — pulling the nation together, the rope carried by many and pulled by One.