Mickey Witthuhn, a Grahamstown resident and employee at St Andrew’s College has recently completed the latest Surfers Challenge in East London.
Mickey Witthuhn, a Grahamstown resident and employee at St Andrew’s College has recently completed the latest Surfers Challenge in East London.
Witthuhn has competed in 36 out of the 40 races.
He started competing in 1976, the second Challenge to be held, where he ran the 18 kilometre stretch in 78:56 minutes, coming fourth.
The marathon started in 1975 and is now in its 40th year.
The challenge began when a group of rugby players, runners and surfers from various clubs around East London were discussing which of the sports produces the fittest players at the Dolphin Hotel which was situtated in Nahoon but was knocked down to create a block of flats.
They then dared and challenged each other to an 18 kilometre run from Yellow Sands on the East coast of East London to Nahoon Corner in the West. Some of the original pioneers were John de Smit, Nicky Webb and Dougie Kunhardt who has actually run the race all forty times.
The race became an annual event.
Witthuhn says the beginnings of the Challenge were quite humble. There was no regard for the tide or water levels of the rivers, so the runners would swim through.
Witthuhn says the race has gone from strength to strength.
He says in the beginning the race consisted of less than 40 people but now boasts a hefty crowd of around 4 000.
The race now includes categories such as surf-skiing, non-athletes, juniors, women, veterans and walkers too.
The race has even become a family event for Witthuhn, who this year competed with his son.
“I ran with my son this time around, although we could not run the whole way together as I picked up an ankle injury and told him to go on without me,” he said.
“Everyone should try it at least once,” says Witthuhn.
“It is such a unique run and the after-party on the beach really makes it worth it.”
