Oli Morris and Ebeth Marais raced to decisive victories at the Old Fisherman’s Trail Challenge over 22km between Hout Bay and Fish Hoek this morning (Sunday 2 November).
One of the oldest trail races in the country, which follows the trail of the fishers in past centuries who moved between seasonal fish stocks in Hout Bay and Fish Hoek, the race moved from its usual winter slot to November this year because of the closure of the Silvermine Nature Reserve to allow post-fire recovery.
For local trail runners, the later Fishers proved an ideal race preparation for the Ultra-trail Cape Town later in the year.
The steep climb up Blackburn Ravine presented runners with the biggest challenge in this year’s race from Hout Bay and it proved the key element in both the men’s and women’s competitions.
Brode Gleeson, slated to be Morris’ most likely challenger for the title, chose to bide his time on the climb and attack Morris on the descent through Silvermine. “But by the time I crested Blackburn, Oli was gone and the gap was too big to catch him.”
In the absence of perennial ‘Fishers’ campaigners, Kane Reilly and Kyle Bucklow, Morris proved in a class of his own, drawing further ahead down the Silvermine River Trail, down Echo Valley and over the Trappieskop Saddle to cross the line at the Fish Hoek Surf Life Savers Club in 1 hr 59 min 34 sec – almost seven minutes clear of Gleeson.
“I felt good out there,” said Morris. “It was part of my preparation for running the UTCT 100km later this month and I enjoyed being out on my own. It was good not have a Kane or a Kyle in the field for a change!”
Former cross-country star and a qualified doctor from Stellenbosch University, Marais is now working towards her specialisation in neurological science at Groote Schuur Hospital and took time out to enjoy mountain trails in the Southern Peninsula. Marais used her strength on the climb to power away from the rest of the field up Blackburn to win in 2:24:03, in ninth place overall and 27 minutes clear of second-placed Joanne Golding.
Results
Men
1 Oli Morris 1:59:15; 2 Brode Gleeson 2:06:21; 3 Alistair Broadhurst 2:06:42; 4 Piet Lourens 2:08:03; 5 Justin Chesterton 2:09:10; 6 Raydon Barrett 2:09:28; 7 Conor O’Sullivan 2:17:30; 8 David Frank 2:20:57; 9 Matthew Burke 2:21:34; 10 Darryl Cooke 2:31:29
Women
1 Ebeth Marais 2:24:03; 2 Joanne Golding 2:51:43; 3 Kim Woolrich 2:53:47; 4 Magdalena Hoerst 2:56:15; 5 Beckie Garbett 3:01:08; 6 Tania Wiggins 3:10:42; 7 Kelly Shepherd 3:12:38; 8 Kate Buchanan 3:16:25; 9 Nikki-Leigh Piper 3:15:24; 10 Kirsty Waugh 3:17:21
