Dan and Sam surprise pundits with big wins at Cape Town Trail Marathon

Daniel Claassen and Samantha Reilly confounded the pre-race predictions and ran to impressive victories at the Cape Town Trail Marathon by Ryan Sandes (CTTM) this morning, while recently crowned Proteas, Siboniso Soldaka and Lijan Burger, triumphed in the shorter version over 22km.

Hundreds of runners enjoyed a sunny day out on the mountains, running trail over 11km, 22km or 46km while thousands took part in the 10km Peace Trail along the Sea Point Promenade. While conditions were cool in the first half, soaring temperatures which touched thirty degrees in the latter stages of the racing, made conditions tough for the 46km runners, in particular.

Defending champion, Kane Reilly, was tipped to win again, but Claassen raced one of his best races ever on local soil to take control from King’s Blockhouse three quarters into the race. A visibly exhausted Claassen held on to win in an impressive 4 hrs 25 min 08 sec, just under three minutes quicker than Reilly and 11 minutes outside Reilly’s race record set last year in cooler conditions.

Robbie Rorich, who with Reilly raced the Otter African Trail Run a week ago and the Vertical Challenge up Table Mountain on Thursday evening, made a last-minute decision to race the 46km. “I loved being on the mountain on Thursday and I guess wanted a bit more time up there,” Rorich explained.

Undoubtedly the accumulation of muscle fatigue played some part in their performances, but both athletes put together solid runs to claim podium places.

But it was left to Kane’s sister, Samantha, to ensure a CTTM title stayed in the family and she ran the race of her life to cross the finish line back at the Stadium precinct at Green Point in a stunning 5:09:11 to claim the biggest prize of her life – R50 000 for first place. Her time was 15 minutes inside Landie Greyling’s winning effort last year and just 6 minutes off international star, Toni McCann’s winning time in 2021.

British athlete, Catherine Williamson overhauled Greyling up Platteklip Gorge and held on to her second place throughout the race to finish 14 minutes behind Reilly in 5:23:49, with Greyling holding on for third, 12 minutes later.

“It was a hell of a day out there,” said Claassen after he had recovered from acute dehydration. “It was really hot out there and I likely pushed a little too hard to stay ahead of Kane. The last kilometre felt really long and after the race my body just gave in.

“But it was very good – shorter than I normally run but I really enjoyed it. I was unsure how to approach it but, in the end, ran my own race.  Kane went up Platteklip quite hard and I decided not to follow. Then Robbie Rorich passed me on the Table Top.

“But a group of us slowly closed the gap to Kane and I was surprised to see him at De Villiers Dam. We were five guys running within a minute of each other – it was proper racing out there!

“I finally dropped Robbie on the contour path, about 3km before the blockhouse, then caught Kane at blockhouse. He was clearly fatigued at having run three races in 7 days and I’m aware it was not a fair boxing match from the get-go! We are very good mates but when we race, we race and are mates afterwards! In fact, he told me ‘go go go’!

“I decided not to race the Vertical Challenge this year and focused just on the marathon. It paid off – by far the biggest pay-cheque of my career!”

“Daniel’s a great athlete,” Reilly emphasized. “He is one South African who can really make it internationally, particularly over longer distances.  I’ve never come across anyone who is as mentally tough as Daniel.  He seems to get stronger when the conditions got hotter and tougher!

“I felt good out there – not fresh but not terrible either. And I’m very happy with how I still ran. It was pretty hot out there around the face of Table Mountain – when you suffer it’s always harder to suffer in the heat.

“When you look at the Otter results as well, it’s awesome that our standard seems to have moved up a notch or two. And Philani (Sengce) is going to be a great trail athlete. He might have been disappointed with his 8^th position, but in his second trail race, that was really impressive.

“He likely overcooked it a bit climbing Platteklip Gorge with Collin Kanyimo and they both paid for that later. These are the kind of races where you learn a lot – 46 km on Table Mountain is quite a lesson!  He’s a strong athlete – and I hope he’s happy with his run”.

Sam Reilly admitted it was likely her best race ever. “I guess results-wise it is – I had a really good run! I so enjoyed it – it was a beautiful run,” Reilly said. “I felt good and happy and everything just seemed to flow. Even my cramping wasn’t bad and I managed to get that under control.

“I enjoyed the climbs and floated the downs. I ran with Tarryn King early on, but was on my own by the time I reached Kloof Corner (9km). I was never sure how far behind the others were.

“I expected Landie to come through at any moment – she knows how to race and is a class runner. I didn’t get any splits on the others till the lower cable station at 37km and I was still looking over my shoulder right to the end!

“It was really hot on the contour after King’s Blockhouse, and I had to fill up with water in mountain streams quite a lot. The last 7km seemed to go on for ever and I felt like dying. But it was great in the end to win!”

KZN athlete Mlungisi Maziibuko finished strongly to take fourth place, four minutes off the podium, with Johannesburg veteran from the Entsika Club, Solly Manduwa, close behind in fifth.

Exciting newcomer to trail, Stellenbosch-based Philani Sengce, found the going tough in the final quarter, dropping back to finish 8^th behind Kyle Bucklow and Collin Kanyimo, and will have learnt many lessons to translate his undoubted potential into podium positions in the future.

French athlete, Olivia Dubern, ran consistently to finish fourth, ahead of KZN trail veteran Ruth Cozien, with Brazilian Ninive Oliveira 6^th.

Adriaan Wildschutt continued his record-breaking season adding the 10km Peace Run course record to the 3 000m, 5 000m and 10 000m national records which he set on the track in 2023 at the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon today. The 25-year-old from Ceres, who now lives and trains in the United States made the most of the perfect weather conditions to run 27 minutes and 53 seconds. In so doing he became only the ninth South African to dip below the 28 minute mark and shattered William Kaptein’s course record by 41 seconds.

Irvette van Zyl returned from injury and to winning ways, claiming the women’s crown in 33 minutes and 56 seconds.

46km Marathon

22km Peace Trail

11km Peace Trail

10km Peace Run