Trail newbies shine at the Otter African Trail Challenge

New-to-trail running, Joshua Nuttall and Mellusca Toovey surprised by topping the podium in the Otter African Trail Challenge run between Storm’s River and Nature’s Valley in cool and wet running conditions this morning (Thursday 5 October).

Nuttall, who only started in June to take trail running seriously, took the lead from experienced campaigner, Nelius Swart, early on in the race and ran away from his rivals, while former triathlete Toovey took over from Laura O’Donoghue after the technically challenging rocky section in the first 3km to dominate the rest of the race.

At one stage Nuttall was on course for a sub-five hour time, an exceptional feat in the ‘non-elite’ Challenge Race, two days before the elite event, but slowed in the final quarter to race on floating rafts in final 80 metres across the Grootrivier Lagoon to win in 5 hrs 16 min 11 sec – the fastest ever in the Challenge Race – and 32 minutes clear of Swart, who survived a race-long battle with cramps.

Local runner from the Kurland Community, Jason Swemmer, was a popular finisher, completing the podium in 5:54:40, keeping out fourth-placed Zimbabwean, Ross O’Donoghue, the first person to canoe the 2000km Maranon River, the largest tributary of the Amazon.

Toovey finished 8^th overall in an excellent 6:27:37, ten minutes clear of ‘local legend’ Natasha Pells-Gibson, with Millie Timms less than four minutes back in a close third position. Laura O’Donoghue and early leader emulated her husband Ross’ fourth place six minutes behind Timms.

“It was great fun out there,” said Stellenbosch-based Nuttall. “I played a lot of hockey and that led to two knee replacements in 2012 and 2019. I also did quite a bit of cycling but relatively little running till now.

“I was in Europe where I ran a road marathon in Spain on very little training then returned to South Africa and managed to run 1 hr 23 min for a half marathon.  But it was only in June this year that I thought I’d get more serious about trail running and joined up with a coach (leading Protea athlete and coach, Lijan Burger).”

An important dimension to the race is the outreach to surrounding communities, and the strong run by Nature Valley Trust-sponsored runner, Jason Swemmer, for third place was a celebration of the development of the Kurland running community, largely under Swemmer’s leadership.

“I aimed at running under 6 hours and was surprised that my 5:54 earned me a podium place,” Swemmer said. “This is my third Otter – I previously ran 5 hrs 41 min for the last two – but I haven’t had time to train this year. 

“My race went well until about 6km from the finish when my legs started cramping. If the fourth guy had come past me at that point, I probably wouldn’t have been able to continue! But I told myself ‘c’m aan’ and pushed to the finish!”

The women’s race was closely contested, but Toovey proved the strongest as the going got tough in the second half.

“It was super-challenging, but we women can cope better in the tough conditions,” Toovey remarked. “There was never a dull moment or breather.  But I really enjoyed it and will definitely come back for more.”

While the George-based Toovey has a solid background in triathlon with a few road marathons behind her, she is new to trail running. “When entries opened at the end of last year I said to my friends, let’s just go for it and enter the Otter, and that’s when I got started in trail.

“When I had kids, I found I couldn’t do all three triathlon disciplines – cycling, swimming and running – so it was a good time to try something new – trail running.  I was getting injured running on the road but I’ve found I don’t get injured on the trails.

“The rocks in the beginning were super-challenging. And the hill out of Andre hut (9km from the finish) was tough. But otherwise it went well and I enjoyed all of the river crossings.”

“I used to compete quite strongly in iron man and won a few titles,” Toovey continued. “I found I was stronger in the longer triathlons. But this was my first trail win.”

Pells-Gibson, who won the close contest for second place, is another newcomer to the sport. Another local, from Plettenberg Bay, she enjoyed strong support from the crowds.

“This was my first Otter and my first big trail race,” Pells-Gibson admitted. “I used to run mostly on roads and then I had kids and was out of running for a while.  I had a friend who started training for Comrades and we started running with her to help her train and that relit my love for running.

“I’ve always been active – I play hockey and netball – and this performance will motivate me to keep running. We are so blessed to have this around us, the beauty of the place, and the privilege of running in special places where people can’t usually go and the people you meet along the way will all bring me back for more.

“The race was hard with so many uphills. Just when you thought you were there, there was another hill around the corner. The first 8km were a breeze but the last 8 km were the longest 8km of my life!

“Coming down the hills I sometimes caught sight of Mellusca but never got close to her. I was running with the ladies who came third and fourth. At one point we were told we were second and third and I could just see the girls responded. The race was on!

“At the ‘munchie point’ at halfway I gained an advantage. I’m a mom and I always make sure I pack enough food. So I didn’t need to stop and ran through while the others stopped to refuel. Fortunately, I was able to stay in front of them and take second.

“I was surprised to discover how strong I am – I still don’t know quite what I can do.”