Triple Crown casts off on Saturday with Old Fisherman’s Trail Challenge

by Stephen Granger

The Trail Triple Crown casts off on Saturday (11 June 2022) with the running of one of the oldest and most popular races on the calendar, the Old Fisherman’s Trail Challenge, tracking the footsteps of fishers who used to trek over the South Peninsula mountain range in search of better fishing conditions.

They say it’s easier to complete the testing 24km mountain trail than getting an entry and once again the ‘Fishers’ sold out in a flash. This year the 250 runners permitted by Table Mountain National Park to take part will be contesting the ‘up’ run between Fish Hoek and Hout Bay.

A feature of the race is the often-changing route variations within the overall aim of connecting the coastlines across the mountains, with race director Richard Sutton never allowing participants to become comfortable with familiar routes.

While keeping the race dynamic and unpredictable, the route changes makes it difficult to compare the times of past winners but the 2022 champions will share trophy space with the best in the business over the past two decades. Warren Petterson, Michael Bailey, Ryan Sandes, Kane Reilly, Siviwe Nkombi and last year’s winner Llewelllyn Groenewald have excelled in the men’s competition and Michelle Lombardi, Landie Greyling, Annamart Laubscher, Meg Mackenzie, Bianca Tarboton and Lijan van Niekerk, who defends her title on Saturday, in the women’s.

Former Otter Trail champion, Robyn Owen, is a late withdrawal, but the women’s field promises to be one of the most competitive ever, and could steal the thunder from the men’s race, which looks to be a two-horse race.

Last year’s winner, Van Niekerk, will not lightly release her hold on the trophy, following a win with Marion Leiberich in the prestigious AfricanX trail team race and a strong second behind Leiberich at the Ultra-trail Drakensberg 32km, but faces strong competition from last year’s Hout Bay Trail Challenge winner, Kristen Heath, and 2021 Ultra-trail Cape Town 65km and this year’s Addo Elephant Trail 44km winner, Jade Bucklow.

Add strong trail-runners Lauren Granger, Marzelle van der Merwe, Caitlin Snethlage and veteran Chantel Nienaber to the mix and a top ten position will be hard-won.

Jarryd Dunn has twice taken the runners-up prize at the Fishers – placing second to top trail athlete Kane Reilly in 2016 and 2017 – before placing fourth behind winner Groenewald, Robbie Rorich and Kyle Bucklow last year. The winner of last year’s Muizenberg Trail Run would dearly love to move up from second and clinch line honours, but he will have to turn the tables on Bucklow.

The Fish Hoek athlete, Bucklow, can already boast two notable titles this year, winning the Milkwood Half Marathon on the road in February, and the challenging Special Edition 25km on Table Mountain last week against strong opposition, and like Dunn will be looking to improve his Fishers record with a win.

Kelton Miller, Oli Morris, Rob Shaff, Pieter Calitz and Michael Mackintosh are amongst those likely to be contesting the final podium position.

This year sees two route changes of note, with athletes taking a clockwise single-track route around the ‘amphitheatre path’ above the Silvermine Reservoir after reaching the half-way aid station, before joining the jeep track and path to the top of Blackburn Ravine, a change which will likely add around ten minutes to the winners’ race time.

The second change follows the crunching descent of Blackburn via East Fort to Hout Bay Beach. Instead of the traditional finish at Hout Bay Harbour, runners will follow the Hout Bay River Walk Trail 1,5km upstream to finish at the Hout Bay Riding Centre.

The 24km race gets underway from Fish Hoek Beach Sports Club at 07h30 with runners following the usual route through Clovelly and up towards Trappieskop, before crossing to Boyes Drive and ascending through Echo Valley past Cave Peek. Then it’s across to Ou Kaapse Weg and the Steenberg Plateau trail to the reservoir at half way.