By Stephen Granger
Prodigal Khumalo and Toni McCann start as favourites to take the inaugural titles in the long-awaited Sanlam Cape Town Trail Marathon to be run over Table Mountain.
The Ryan Sandes’ signature race has all the potential to become another “biggest and best” on the country’s trail running calendar and will undoubtedly attract top world athletes in the future. But with the COVID dust still settling, this one is about showcasing local talent, and many of the country’s leading proponents of the sport will be in action.
The men’s fields will see fierce competition. Several top athletes, among them Johardt van Heerden, Kane Reilly, Kennedy Sekhuthe, Bruce Arnott and Robbie Rorich, raced the Otter African Trail Run just seven days ago and will no doubt be in various stages of recovery.
Others, such as Khumalo, Thabang Madiba, Siviwe Nkombi, Admire Muzopambwa and Simon Tshabalala will likely be better prepared and able to take on the challenging Sandes-designed 46km of trails in the Table Mountain National Park with 2200m of vertical ascent with fresher legs.
The course overlooks a city that regularly polls in the top three of the most beautiful cities in the world and will pass through the rarest and smallest floral kingdom on planet earth – the Cape Floral Kingdom.
Zimbabwe-born Khumalo holds the Ultra-trail Cape Town (UTCT) 100km record, with his 9 hrs 51 min win in 2017, and is well-acquainted with Cape Town’s trails. He comfortable won the Ultra-Trail Drakensberg 30km earlier this year and his combination of speed and endurance could see him take honours.
Tshabalala, though, could have other ideas. The Gauteng athlete is at the top of his form, following his record win in the challenging Four Peaks ultra in the Free State a few weeks back and the MaXi Winelands 100km winner is also no stranger to the Western Cape.
McCann is likely to be in a class of her own, although may not be completely recovered following a hard season of racing in Europe. Nonetheless, the world-class Cape Town athlete should have too much for the likes of 2018 Comrades winner, Ann Ashworth, who is growing in confidence on the trails, former UTCT winner, Kerry-Anne Marshall, now back in competition following the birth of her second child, and this year’s Hout Bay Trail Challenge winner, Kristin Heath.
The race gets underway from the Cape Town Stadium precinct at 05h45 on Saturday, October 16, with the 22km Peace Trail Race underway at 06h30.
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