World trail athletes aiming for the Top of the Table in RMB Ultra-trail Cape Town

by Stephen Granger

The eyes of the trail world will be focused on the southern tip of Africa this weekend as the RMB Ultra-Trail Cape Town (UTCT) hosts athletes from all continents,  participating in the 10^th running of Africa’s top trail event.

Over the years word has spread on the high quality of the event, the camaraderie amongst the trail community and the challenging, but spectacular, trails over Table Mountain and growing numbers of visitors from abroad have Cape Town as a regular November destination on their trail calendars.

In recent years many of the best-known athletes in the sport have enjoyed Cape Town’s late-season trail party with UTCT’s race podiums including trail luminaries Jim Walmsley, Courtney Dauwalter, Francois D’Haene, Beth Pascall, Hannes Namberger and Ruth Croft.

And this year’s line-up of athletes in the six races between Friday and Sunday looks to be better than ever in terms of depth of quality.

Not without reason is the Ultra-trail Cape Town 100km (UT100) known as one of the most competitive in the business. ‘The Queen’ of the weekend gets underway from race headquarters at the Gardens Tech Rugby Club in Oranjezicht well before dawn at 04h00 on Saturday and it is certain that podium positions will be hard-fought.

As much as local fans yearn for a South African UT100 champion, it will take an exceptional performance, this year or in the future, for a South African to win in either the men’s or women’s contests.

Some of the world’s leading ultra-trail athletes have graced the top of the UT100 podium, with Germany’s Janosch Kowalczyk, USA’s Cody Reed and Jim Walmsley, Germany’s Hannes Namberger and Russia’s Dmitry Mityaev wining the last five titles. Zimbabwe-born and KZN-domiciled, Prodigal Khumalo, who won in 2016 and 2017, was the last South African to win the title.

In the women’s competition Lucy Bartholomew of Australia, Emily Hawgood of Zimbabwe, England’s Beth Pascall, Courtney Dauwalter of the USA, French athlete Camille Bruyas or New Zealand’s Ruth Croft took line honours in the past six years, with Landie Greyling, who races the Peninsula Traverse 55km tomorrow, the last South African to have won the UT100 title in 2016.

Since COVID, only Daniel Claassen (5^th in 2021 and 2022), Matt Healy (6^th in 2021), Bongmusa Mthembu (7^th in 2022) and Sandes (8^th in 2023) among the men and Ann Ashworth (4^th in 2021) and Sam Reilly (5^th last year) in the women’s race have achieved top ten UT100 positions.

Who then are likely to prevail on Saturday?

The field reflects a mixture of UTCT regulars returning for additional honours, and some exciting newcomers. TERREX top-performer, Dimitry Mityaeva, crossed the line together with German Hannes Namberger in a dead-heat win in 2022, with the Russian winning on his own over American Caleb Olson in a tough contest last year, when athletes from nine different countries filled the top ten positions.

Remarkably, Namberger is virtually the only UT100 contender in both the men’s and women’s competitions who did not record a ‘DNF’ at Ultra-Trail Mont Blanc this year – either the 100 miler or the CCC 100km. Namberger bagged an impressive 4^th position at UTMB in August on the back of wins at Lavaredo 120km in Italy in June and the 37km Grossglockner Ultra-trail in Austria in July and the 35 year old ski-instructor and policeman must be a favourite for the title on Saturday.

Mityaeva won at the Marathon du Mont Blanc 90km in May, the 60km at the adidas Infinite Trail in July and again in the Ultra Pirinew 105km in Spain in September and his DNF at UTMB could prove a blessing on Saturday.

Swede Petter Engdahl races UTCT for the first time and will be out to enhance his already strong reputation following his 3^rd place in the Marathon du Mont Blanc 42km in May and his wins in the Eiger Ultra-trail 53km and adidas Infinite Trail 30km in July

Italian Andreas Reiterer returns to UTCT for the fourth time. One of the most talented ultra-trail athletes in world competition, Reiterer has not always matched his ability with consistency but on his day he is hard to beat.  He led the World Championship ‘long trail’ 85km for much of the race in Austria last June before finishing in second place – one up on his bronze medal in the equivalent race in Thailand the previous year.

Reiterer won the Innsbruck Alpine Trail Festival 65km race in May this year, as well as the Eiger Ultra-trail over 100km in July. He led the UTCT 100km for much of the race in 2018 before being forced to withdraw through injury and returned the following year to race to a record victory in Cape Town’s 35km race. He placed third behind Jim Walmsley in 2021.

Portugal’s top trail athlete, Miguel Arsenio, makes his UTCT debut on the back of a strong season with a win in the Swiss Canyon 111km in June and a second place at the Festival des Templiers 80km last month. As a final warm up for Cape Town, he won a 50km race in Portugal just three weeks ago.

Other leading contenders include French athletes Thibault Garrivier and Hugo Deck, American Michelino Sunseri and Cape Town regular and winner of Cappadocia Ultra Trail 64km in October, Marcel Hoeche of Germany.

The withdrawal of American Rachel Drakes has left the women’s field strong, but somewhat less daunting than that of their male counterparts.

Ekaterina Mityaeva, wife of Dimitry, finished 4^th in the UTCT 100 in 2022, 3^rd last year behind Ruth Croft and Canadian Marianne Hogan, neither of whom is racing on the weekend, and looks a strong contender to add to the Mityaev trophy cabinet on Saturday.

Her compatriot, Antonina Iushina, doubles in road and trail ultra-marathons, finishing 6^th in this year’s Comrades Marathon, and will look to a strong return to top trail competition after her successes pre-COVID.

German veteran, Eva Sperger, 2^nd at the Eiger 100km in July and 20^th at the World Championships 85km last year, Canadians Jazmine Lowther and Genevieve Asselin-Demers and a quartet of Americans, Addie Bracy, 3^rd in the Speedgoat 50km in her home country in July, Erin Clark, Brittany Peterson and Briana Grigsby are all capable of racing into the prize money on their day.

While Cape Town athletes, Kyle Bucklow and Oli Morris, boast solid results in local trail races this year, given the strength of the field they could struggle to improve on Ryan Sandes’ 8^th position last year. Their fellow Capetonians, Samantha Reilly and Emily Djock, appear better placed to challenge for top five positions in the women’s competition.

While ‘The Queen’ undoubtedly rules Ultra-trail Cape Town, competitive international racing is promised in the other races. Here’s what could unfold over the weekend.

Scot Robbie Simson will make it three in a row in the Peninsula Traverse 55km, which gets underway from Llandudno Primary School at 07h00 tomorrow, although ever-improving South African, Mvuyisi Gcogco will run him close with American Jeshurun Small likely to grab the third podium.

Landie Greyling, one of South Africa’s best and longest-achieving athletes, will regain the title she won in 2022, holding off French athletes, Louise Serban (3^rd in the Cote d’Azur 50km in October) and Axelle Henry (winner of the 48km Le Grand Raid Trail in Reunion last month).

Russian athlete from the TERREX stable, Aleksei Tolstenko, won the UTCT 100 miler by a staggering two hours last year after taking the runners-up berth in the inaugural year of the race in 2022.  He will repeat his win over Belgian Jerome van der Schaeghe, who won the Grand Raid 73km in Reunion in May, in this year’s race, which gets underway from the Gardens Tech Clubhouse at 17h00 tomorrow.

Vavara Shikanova has the credentials to join her compatriot Tolsteknko in a double victory in the women’s race.  Third in the UT100 in 2022, Shikanova is likely to be too strong for the South Africans, although Kerry-Ann Marshall, Naomi Brand and Jo Keppler will contend strongly should the Russian falter.

The Explorer 23km (EX23) offers South Africans the best chance to shine.  Look to Protea trail athlete and steeplechase athlete, Sibiniso Soldaka, to outrun last year’s winner, Brandon Keeling, with Underson Ncube likely to complete the podium.

These three athletes may not, however, be the first three past the post, with Bianca Tarboton likely to be close to the male action and in a class of her own in the women’s competition.

The race gets underway at 09h00 on Saturday on the Alphen Green Belt.

Bringing down the curtain on the weekend’s racing, the Table Mountain 35km (TM35) promises early morning Sunday fireworks with little to choose between defending champion Bastien Perez of France, Daniel Jones of New Zealand and fast-improving Swiss Martin Anthamatten (wins in the Matterhorn Ultraks 26km in August and the adidas Infinite Trails 34km in September) in the men’s race.

Germany’s TERREX athlete, Kim Schreiber, lost the UTCT 55km title two years ago through severe cramps but looks to have the class to win the women’s 35km title on Sunday ahead of French athlete, Isabelle Iamy and Caterina Stenta of Italy.  The race gets underway from the Gardens Tech Clubhouse at 06h00 on Sunday.