South African trail athletes bag Golden Tickets

Leading South African trail athletes, Johardt van Heerden and Toni McCann, bagged the sought-after golden tickets on offer for the leading male and female performance on the Table Mountain Golden Segment when they finished on top of the table when the segment “closed for business” last Friday, but now face the stress of travel uncertainty before realising their dreams.

The Golden Ticket represents an all-expenses paid trip to take part in the four-day Golden Trail Championships in Azores at the end of the month, taking on the world’s best marathon-distance trail athletes on spectacular mountain trails, with rich prize money and other incentives on offer.

While injuries to top athletes, Bianca Tarboton and Hayley Preen, made it a comfortable ride for McCann, intense competition in the final week all but toppled Van Heerden. When stormy weather had been predicted for the final days of the segment competition, last Tuesday turned out to be the day when action reached fever-pitch.

Early in September, Robbie Rorich and Daniel Claassen kicked the segment contest into orbit with stellar performances.  Rorich chose one of the wettest days of the year to post an excellent 2 hr 47 min 45 sec, easily eclipsing the table-topping time set by Johannesburg athlete Bruce Arnett the previous Saturday. But less than 24 hours later Claassen, held the lead with a 2:46:05 effort.

Claassen’s lead also proved short-lived as leading trail athlete in 2019, Johardt van Heerden, exploded on the circuit on the first Saturday of the month, improving on the mark by eight minutes with an exceptional 2:38:30, which appeared safe and beyond the reach of any challenger.

But Claassen and Rorich, representing the future of trail running in South Africa which looks healthier than ever, had other ideas, and the younger athletes both planned final attempts to topple Van Heerden last Tuesday. 

Claassen chose early morning and improved by four minutes on his previous time, clocking an impressive 2:42:38 to edge into second place on the table, past top athlete, Kane Reilly by just 90 seconds. “I never really thought I could better Johardt’s time so was really happy to have achieved what I did,” said Claassen.

But Rorich chose late afternoon for his effort, keeping ahead of record pace for much of the segment, only slowing marginally on the final kilometres between Newlands Forest and the finish on Kloof Corner to finish agonisingly 58 seconds short in 2:39:26.

“Big lessons learnt,” admitted a rueful Rorich in reflecting on his narrow failure to win top prize. “I learned a lesson on the strength of will-power. I very clearly saw yesterday that without the will, nothing is possible. I absolutely could have willed myself to run faster on the last six kilometres, when I slowed and lost the record.

“And the other lesson was the importance of not thinking that we’re alone. A few friends offered to run with me on the contour and I said ‘no’ and isolated myself. I do think that having friends running with me in the final section would have made a difference. But I would rather learn lessons, than get what I want.  I wanted to be given the (fastest) time, but learning big lessons is the main thing. I think that’s really why we’re here.”

McCann posted a challenging 3:17:58 early on, fully expecting to return for a more competitive outing later in the month. But injuries to her close rivals Tarboton and Preen, made her victory safe and she chose to invest her energy in solid training towards the championship rather than in another fast competitive run.

Having secured their Golden Ticket, both Van Heerden and McCann face three weeks of COVID-travel uncertainty before arriving on the Azores Islands, not ideal mental preparation for “the race of their lives”. Both athletes would be reluctant to pass up on a “once in a lifetime” opportunity, but are resigned to current travel uncertainties and would be delighted to be able to defend their respective titles at the Otter African Trail Run, scheduled on the same weekend as the Golden Trail Championship.

“I’m still a bit in the dark as to the actual competition,” admitted Van Heerden, whose only international exposure came in 2015 at the World Mountain Marathon Championships in Switzerland. “But I’ve run stage races before, I’m fit and ready and I think my body will stand up well to the challenge.  I know that the competition will be intense though.”

“The idea of running in the championship really excites me,” said McCann. “But I’m torn at the travel uncertainties and missing out on the Otter.  But in the end its an irresistible opportunity and I’m doing all I can to get there.”

Final Leaderboard: South African Golden Segment

Men

1                     Johardt van Heerden 2:38:28

2                     Robbie Rorich 2:39:26

3                     Daniel Claassen 2:42:38

4                     Kane Reilly 2:44:07

5                     Bruce Arnott 3:02:29

6                     Iain Peterkin 3:09:05

7                     Christiaan Greyling 3:13:26

8                     Kelton Miller 3:14:11

9                     John Faure 3:19:32

10                 Matthew Burke 3:22:44

Women

1                     Toni McCann 3:17:58

2                     Kristen Heath 3:51:46

3                     Marzelle van der Merwe 3:58:29

4                     Cleo Albertus 3:59:44

5                     Hayley Preen 4:12:15

6                     Pip Dickson 4:15:48

7                     Caro Jordaan 4:29:17

8                     Sylvie Scherzinger 4:40:42

9                     Janeske Oosthuizen 4:44:31

10                 Colleen Browne 4:57:06

King of the Mountain (first up Platteklip Gorge):  Kane Reilly

Queen of the Mountain: Hayley Preen