Several Grahamstown runners took part in the annual 44km and 76 km Addo Elephant trail runs.
Several Grahamstown runners took part in the annual 44km and 76 km Addo Elephant trail runs.
Starting from the Kabouga gate of the Addo Elephant National Park near Kirkwood, athletes followed a rugged route on the jeep tracks and hiking trails of the Addo Elephant National Park to the Zuurberg Mountain Village Inn (44km) and then on via a gruelling dirt road section to the main gate at the Addo Elephant National Park (76km).
The weather for the race was fine and sunny, although during the course of the day the rising temperatures added to the challenge of distance and terrain, especially for the back-markers.
Albany Road Runners made a good showing, with Grant Wolff (46) showing his superiority on the trails by taking fourth overall and first veteran in the 44km race in 4.33.34 – a remarkable time given that the three men ahead of him were 10 to 20 years his junior.
This race tested each and every athlete who participated, offering as it did a total climb of around 1 400 m in two major hill sections, one of them the notoriously steep “Heart-attack Hill” from the valley floor to the plateau midway through the race, and the other the switchback ascent to Zuurberg.
While some like Rosaan Kruger and Christine Hart took advantage of the many rivers and occasional rock pools along the way to cool off, and others like Katie Dixie and Clementine Davies had fun along the trail, some runners had a personal best in mind.
David Stoloff went far beyond his previous 21km limit to put some serious kilometres in his log book, George Euvrard used the race as preparation for his participation in the Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon in October, carrying a 10kg pack and walking the course steadily, while Brian Bannatyne built the run into his Comrades training, achieving a solid result without overdoing things.
Laura Forster arrived at Zuurberg first amongst the masters women and grand-master ultra-distance athletes Jean and Carol Nepgen covered the difficult ground in their customary unhurried style to take them many steps nearer to their 1 000 Kilometre Challenge goals.
Andrew Slaughter was the only local runner to tackle the 76km “big one”, finishing in good form in under 12 hours, and thereby qualifying for the prestigious Western States 100-miler in California in 2014.
Andrew finished 16th in his category.
The top three men and women in the 76km race secured their places on the national team, which will represent South Africa at the World Trail Running Championships in Wales.
Finishers of both races received an iconic “dirt shirt” plus a beaded elephant necklace or bracelet for the 44s, and a hand-blown Ngwenya glass elephant for the 76-ers.
Results for Grahamstown athletes, 44km: 4. Grant Wolff (Albany Road Runners) 4:33:43 42. Brian Bannatyne (Albany) 6:14:53 51. Laura Forster (Albany) 6:34:10 59. Clementine Davies 6:49:17 (no club) 60. Katie Dixie (no club) 6:49:17 94. Christine Hart (Albany) 7:35:19 95. Rosaan Kruger (Albany) 7:35:19 101. George Euvrard (no club) 7:57:41 111. David Stoloff (Albany) 8:44:05 128. Carol Nepgen (Kowie Striders) 11:37:58 129. Jean Nepgen (Kowie) 11:37:58 76 km 30. Andrew Slaughter (Albany) 11:22:53
