‘Hoerikwagga’ to host leading trail athletes in top trail marathon tomorrow

Tomorrow’s Cape Town Trail Marathon (Saturday 15 October) fulfils the dream by race founder, Ryan Sandes, in showcasing the ‘Mother City’s’ trails to the world and is shaping up to be another rich chapter of high-profile trail racing in South Africa.

Top South African and international athletes will compete on some of Cape Town’s best trails in two races over 46km (with 2200m of vertical ascent) and 22km, in what has become a powerful addition to the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon (SCTM) weekend.

“We have some of the best trails in the world on Table Mountain and I’ve always dreamt of showcasing these trails to the world,” said Sandes. “We have great landscapes, stunning scenic vistas, amazing biodiversity and perfect October spring weather.”

The partnership with SCTM is a perfect match, joining ‘Hoerikwagga – the mountain which fall into the sea’ (better known as Table Mountain) with the continent’s leading road marathon to celebrate two of the strongest distance running disciplines – road and trail.

This year’s line-up features many of the country’s leading trail athletes – and a number from across the borders, as ‘The Sandman’s’ dream starts to become reality.

An interesting aspect of the race pits those who raced the Otter African Trail ‘Retto’ Run marathon last weekend against those who did not.  Just five days after finishing second at the Otter, neither Kane Reilly nor Bianca Tarboton showed any sign of leg-weariness in yesterday’s Sanlam Cape Town Marathon’s innovative new trail event – a Vertical Challenge up Table Mountain. Both athletes ran the respective fastest times on the day for the 930 vertical metres  climb, run over 5,6km between St Cyprian’s School in Oranjezicht and the upper Cableway Station on Table Mountain.

Reilly’s time was 100 seconds faster than that of fellow Cape Town athlete, Siviwe Nkombi, with Gauteng-based Two Oceans trail champion, Colin Kanyimo, close behind in third. Tarboton, who will not race tomorrow, was two minutes faster than her British adidas TERREX teammate, Holly Page (who has only recently returned to running after a prolonged absence due to injury) with Olympic cyclist Hayley Preen enjoying a welcome return to the trails another minute back in third.

Apart from Reilly, those who ran the Otter 42km include race defending champion, Johan van Heerden, strong-running Kyle Bucklow (5^th at the Otter and 8^th in the vertical challenge) and Simon Tshabalala, one of the country’s foremost 100km athletes.

Defending champion, Van Heerden, and Reilly are regarded as the country’s premier marathon-distance trail athletes and are clearly good enough to repeat the double. But an element of doubt remains as to whether residual muscle tiredness from the Otter could inhibit their chances of success.

If the top pair should falter, the likes of Kanyimo, David Krone (winner of the Ultra-trail Drakensberg 32km this year), David Gatebe (former Comrades and Two Oceans winner), Jacques Buys (Six Peaks Challenge record-holder), Siviwe Nkombi (top local athlete who placed second in the Vertical Challenge) and strong-running German runner from the adidas TERREX camp, Marcel Höche.

Kanyimo led last year’s race in through the early stages but faded badly in the final 5km to finish a distant third behind Reilly. He has improved his strength-endurance over the past twelve months and will want to add the Ryan Sandes title to his Two Oceans win in July.

Gatebe is another in the line of Comrades winners to turn his feet to trail, following Bongmusa Mthembu, Gift Kelehe, and Ann Ashworth. The distance will not be a factor for the Rustenburg-based runner, but his ability on tough Table Mountain technical terrain could well be.

Höche is one of a number of athletes from the adidas TERREX stable who has chosen to base themselves in Cape Town for six weeks through to Ultra-trail Cape Town (UTCT) – a major shot in the arm for local trail running – and will likely be a strong contender for line honours. ‘Pacy Macy’, as he is known to his teammates, ran a record-breaking 3:34:25 for last year’s UTCT 35km and at that pace he could be hard to stop.

Nkombi and Krone completed the podium with Höche at the UTCT race last November and will be eager to rejoin battle with their German rival, hoping to turn the tables and secure a slice of the attractive prize money.

The absence of the Otter’s top two, Toni McCann and Tarboton, in the women’s race opens the door for another Landie Greyling – Kerry-Anne Marshall duel, with these seasoned trail campaigners approaching their best form.

Greyling has had the edge on Marshall in recent months, winning by four minutes in the George MUT 42km and by two minutes at the 53km Whale of Trail and will want to keep winning, although former UTCT 100km champion and Comrades gold-medallist Marshall was formidable in her recent win at the Mont Rochelle Sky Race and will be eager to turn the tables on her friend and rival.

“Last year I had a bit of a running reset after two babies and this year I’ve gone from focusing on the longer distances to racing marathon-distance races,” said Greyling at the 40-day launch last month. “My preparation has gone well. I’m enjoying my running and looking forward to the race.”

Marshall feels she has unfinished business with the Cape Town Trail Marathon, after struggling to fourth place in last year’s run. “Last year it was my second race after Andrew was born,” Marshall said. “And I found it a grind from the start!”

The presence of Nicolette Griffioen in the field, however, could change the agenda, with the Gauteng-based athlete also recapturing her best form this year. While 46km is short of ultra-trail specialist Griffioen’s optimal distance, her strength on mountain climbs could see her finish strongly tomorrow.

In the 22km race, Kholwani Tranquil Gumbo will look to upgrade his third-place last year and take the title, while the women’s race could see a close battle between defending champion, Lijan van Niekerk (6^th at the Otter last week) and Spanish athlete, Yaiza Miñana Marin, who is part of the adidas TERREX squad.

The 46km race gets underway at 06h00 with the winners expected back at the finish in Vlei Road, Green Point, shortly after 10am.  The first batch of runners in the 22km starts at 06h45 with winners likely to be home from 07h30.