The Hout Bay Trail Challenge had its origins in the proverbial pub-challenge twenty-four years back, when Hout Bay paddlers and running mates, Richard Sutton and Mark Preen conceived of the idea of circumnavigating the imposing amphitheatre of mountain peaks and ridges surrounding Hout Bay in a single day! On Saturday (2 August) Joshua Chigome did it in less than five hours, with ‘mountain queen’ Lisa Geffen not far behind.
The idea, born over a beer in 2001 after the pair had enjoyed a kayak across the bay, led to the birth of the race, one of the earliest trail races in South Africa (still regarded as one of the toughest) with Sutton holding the organizational reigns and Preen unbeatable in the early years.
Many of South Africa’s leading trail athletes have taken on the HBTC, and while today’s calendar is crowded with racing opportunities, many with more ‘bells and whistles’ and attractive prize money, trail aficionados return year after year to Hout Bay to enjoy a ‘back to basics’ no-frills event, celebrating the best of the sport.
Almost two hundred (solo and team) participants lined up at the new race venue at Kronendal Primary School on a perfect winter’s day for running to test their physical and mental limits on mountain trails.
Winter illness took a toll on the entries, with multiple winner and record-holder, Kane Reilly, a notable absentee. Reilly won the last edition of the race in 2023, with his sister Samantha taking victory in the women’s section and his absence opened the door for Chigome to pocket his second significant trail win this year, following his joint-victory in the Pass to Pass 65km in March.
The move of the start to Kronendal lengthened the route and the original 36km challenge has now been extended to close to the official standard marathon distance of 42km.
Chigome completed the circuit in 4 hrs 46 min 35 sec to set a benchmark for the new course, with Piet Lourens having an impressive day out, finishing 12 minutes in arrears – a 15-minute improvement on his 2022 effort in finishing third.
Geffen has an impressive record in local races, with Puffer podium places as well as line honours at last year’s Muizenberg Trail to her credit, and she was in a class of her own on the Hout Bay mountains, finishing third overall in 5:40:25, almost half an hour ahead of Amelia Bergh. Mia Uys completed the podium.
The day’s most competitive racing came in the team competition, where the ‘Lucky Number 17’ trio of Whale of Trail winner, Kyle Bucklow, Oli Morris and Dave van Ginkel held off Team Gnarvana (Zibele Bala, Siviwe Nkombi and Siyabonga Sakwe) by just over a minute to clinch victory. Team Altra Burg Btches, aka Gina Giloi, Tarrin van Niekerk, Shaakirah Jaftha, had an easier ride in winning the women’s team competition.
The race got underway pre-dawn and was not all smooth sailing for Chigome, with the champion running off-track soon after the start while leading together with team competitors Kyle Bucklow and Johardt van Heerden, the latter competing with wife Sumé in the mixed team competition in a welcome return to racing following ‘paternity leave’.
On regaining the correct route, the trio were forced to thread their way through the entire field up the Karbokelberg. But their hardship was of short duration with the three ultimately securing victories – Chigome overall, Bucklow in the men’s team and Van Heerden in the mixed team competitions.
Just a week after his win at the Whale of Trail 53km, Bucklow made light of the navigational error to hand over to Oli Morris at the first check-point at Suikerbossie Restaurant, two minutes clear of Kelton Miller of Team Unchained. Bala came in third for team Gnarvana, handing over to ‘Lion King’ Nkombi shortly ahead of solo-running Chigome.
Morris ran impressively over the Back Table on the second leg, handing over to master athlete, Van Ginkel at Constantia Nek, four minutes clear of Nkombi, whose team had moved into second place, with the speedy Nedbank athlete, Sakwe, anchoring their trio.
In the most exciting competition of the day the speed of Sakwe was measured against the hill-climbing ability and technical skill and experience of Van Ginkel. In the end, the testing ascent of Vlakkenberg and the technical nature of the trail counted in Van Ginkel’s favour, and he held of his rival by just 1 min 17 sec to clinch the win for his team.
Chigome maintained a constant pace in the final leg, crossing the line shortly after the fourth team finisher and claim a notable victory. “I had a couple of navigational problems with the second one taking Kyle (Bucklow) and I off to Hangberg rather than up and over the Karbonkelberg,” Chigome said. “But after that things settled down and it felt good to be racing in Cape Town again.”
Geffen slowed in the third leg as the temperature increased, but was a popular winner as she crossed the finish line on the fields at Kronendal Primary. “I had such fun out there and managed not to get lost for once!” Geffen joked. “But to be honest, I found it very hot and the heat took its toll on me.”
Nonetheless, Geffen running solo still had too much speed for the team competitors, finishing nine minutes ahead of Team Altra Berg Btches.
The team was spearheaded by the top two finishers in the Pass to Pass 65km in March – Erika Holland and Tarrin Van Niekerk – with Van Niekerk playing her part in trail action, while Holland, five months pregnant, cheered from the sidelines.
RESULTS: 2025 Hout Bay Trail Challenge 42km
Men
1 Joshua Chigome 4:46:35; 2 Piet Lourens 4:58:03; 3 Nardus Matthysen 5:44:58; 4 Guido Tagge 5:46:01; 5 Armand du Plessis 5:58:07; 6 Grant de la Mare 6:10:54; 7 Connor Williams 6:24:58; 8 Frederik Gerner 6:30:19; 9 Dale Symons 6:34:37; 10 Robert van Eck 6:47:52
Men Teams
1 Lucky No17 (Kyle Bucklow, Oli Morris, Dave van Ginkel) 4:27:07
2 Gnarvana (Zibele Bala, Siviwe Nkombi, Siyabonga Sakwe) 4:28:24
3 Unchained (Kelton Miller, Justin Chesterton, Nicholas Lambrecht) 4:37:09
4 We Were Drunk Last Night (Rob Shaff, Rob Tweddle, Peter Copeland) 4:40:00
5 Vlakkenberg Fliers (Ben Derman, Gareth Ahrens, Mark van Deventer) 4:58:45
Women
1 Lisa Geffen 5:40:25; 2 Amelia Bergh 6:09:57; 3 Mia Uys 6:33:05; 4 Nikki-Leigh Piper 7:14:36; 5 Clare Travis 7:34:50; 6 Lisa Hattingh 8:10:49; 7 Nicole Court 8:27:42; 8 Tracy Forbes 8:37:10; 9 Tania Anderson 8:37:12; 10 Fairooz Kana 9:38:17
Women Teams
1 Altra Berg Btches (Gina Giloi, Tarrin van Niekerk, Shaakirah Jaftha) 5:49:16
2 Friends on the Fly (Hanlie Rennie, Michelle Rolfe, Michelle Putter) 6:24:17
3 Ashelex (Alex Eales, Ashlyn Quenet-Meintjes, Emma Kotze) 6:33:35
Mixed Teams
1 The North Face (Johardt van Heerden, Sumé van Heerden, Johardt van Heerden) 5:07:57
2 Julie and the Jocks (Julie Huckle, Allan Benn, Brenton Ashby) 5:14:26
3 Blister sisters (Jennifer Mitchell, Ethan Breetzke, Paul Mitchell) 6:01:00
