Category: News

This past weekend Jeep Team’s athletes claimed podiums across the country, with Hank McGregor winning the FNB Varsity College Surfski Series, OCR’s Thomas van Tonder and Hlubi Mboya dominating the Jeep Warrior Series and rising multisport star, Mikaela Jonsson, securing a Silver medal at the South African Triathlon Championships.

Obstacle Course Racing

Jeep Team’s Thomas van Tonder claimed his second consecutive 2015 Jeep Warrior Black Ops Elite victory on Saturday, winning Race#2 of the eight-race series in 1h14mins, ahead of Greg Avierinos (second) and Louis Smit (third). Jay Jay Deysel, who finished second in the first event, fought hard for his seventh place finish after a week of illness leading up to the race.

Said Van Tonder after finishing, “It was a very high intensity race, as the Warrior Series always is. It feels great to have two wins in a row. Hopefully I can keep up the pace!”

Jeep Team’s “Ghost Athlete”, the talented actress, DJ and sports woman, Hlubi Mboya, also did exceptionally well, winning her second Warrior race of the season in the Women’s 10-km Commando event.

Multisport

In the Eastern Cape, 17-year-old Mikaela Jonsson fought hard to secure a Silver medal in her age category at the SA Triathlon Championships, which took place in Buffalo City on Sunday.

The event was a qualifier for the SA Triathlon Team, with Jonsson now waiting to hear whether she has been selected to compete in the ITU World Triathlon Grand Finale, happening from 15 – 20 September 2015 in the United States.

Paddling

World-class paddler Hank McGregor has won the 2015 FNB Varsity College Marine Surfski Series for the second year running.

While there are still two races left in the series, McGregor’s fourth consecutive victory in Friday evening’s IT Works Surfski Challenge saw him secure the series title ahead of Matthew Bouman (who McGregor shared the 2014 title with).

Said McGregor, “I got the news once I got off the water and I’m stoked to have won the title again! It’s always nice to be racing neck and neck with Matthew (Bouman), he’s a top class athlete and deserved last year’s title just as much as I did but it was nice for me to be able to come back this year and get the win.”

Jeep Team’s Barry Lewin placed fifth in last week’s challenge, behind Bouman (second), Wade Krieger (third) and talented U-18 paddler Bailey de Fondaumiere (fourth).

Cycling

On Saturday, Jeep Team’s Thinus Redelinghuys secured second-place after a thrilling sprint finish against Allen Britnell at Race#1 of the USN Mountain Bike Cup Series. Britnell’s winning time was a fast 1h46mins, with Redelinghuys just one second behind and Guylin van der Berg in third.

Jeep Team’s Dylan Rebello faced fierce competition to secure a sixth place finish in category (U23) at the season-opening event of the Stihl 2015 SA MTB XCO Cup Series, which took place in Port Elizabeth on Saturday. Rebello was racing against South Africa’s top cross-country specialists, who were out in full force to earn UCI points ahead of 2016 Rio Olympics selection.

The Hyundai Rock The Run is back on Sunday 1 March 2015 and it’s bigger and better than before. Modern Athlete chatted to Pascalle Gerrard, Assistant Marketing Manager at Hyundai, about the event’s appeal and what makes it a fun day out for all.

What makes the 2015 edition different?

We learnt a lot from last year’s first introduction. With the 21km and 10km, we were limiting the whole family taking part so we have introduced a 5km this year so the kids can get involved, too. It’s about everyone enjoying themselves. The route has also changed up a bit as we were limited to playing music in the suburbs last year. Now, the route goes along a more industrial part of Sandton.

What was the initial idea behind the event? Have you noticed a trend in the SA market for events that promote fitness in an alternative way?

Hyundai wants to create an iconic and unique event to Jo’burg – one that appeals to the masses. We want everyone to come out, challenge themselves and have fun. We wanted to have an event focused on our love for music, especially local musicians. As a brand, Hyundai is very innovative and we want to be involved in anything that separates us from the crowd. It’s a new way to keep active and it was very popular in 2014 because we created a whole day from it with the music element.

For your competitive runners, your site hosts expert training advice and programmes and there are great incentives for category winners – is it also about turning the event into a must-do for some of the country’s top athletes?

We actually hope to make the event a benchmark for the top runners in South Africa. We want to see the event being used by top runners to prepare for their season. Our main focus is that we are giving people a chance to run in the heart of Sandton and also experience local acts that are so diverse. And their entry fee is all part of the rest of the day’s festivities.

Speaking of, the music line-up for 2015 also brings about a variety for every type of music fan in Matthew Mole, Mango Groove and Micasa – was the music and supporting local acts the initial idea behind the planning?

All the acts appeal to a broad audience. Runners can come with family and friends. It’s a chance to keep active, the route is challenging enough in itself and then you can stay around for all the entertainment and have some food and refreshments. The artists were also very excited about getting involved in the day!

The Sports Trust and the IMPERIAL Road Safety are the event’s charities – can you explain the relationship & why it was chosen? How can competitors get involved?

Imperial Road Safety is an important relationship for us because at Hyundai our main focus is on road safety for our customer so it definitely fits well with us. A portion of the runner’s entry fee will be given to them as well as The Sports Trust which ensures that all South Africans have an opportunity to partake in sport. We’ve been involved in sport for many years, across so many fields so it was an easy decision for us.

What are your goals for this race on the SA running calendar in the future?

We want to solidify the race on the South African running calendar – one that caters for family and one for the pros. We want to make it an annual event that becomes well-known and established. As we go through, we will improve on the experience and give runners the best experience we can.

It's all about seeking out that lifestyle – the one that makes you reach your potential

 

This weekend sees the Jeep Team competing in big events across South Africa, including the 64th Dusi Canoe Marathon, the Totalsports Xterra South African Championship and the season-opening race of the SA Cup Downhill Series and the Western Cape Provincial XCO.

Paddling

One of the world’s greatest paddling events – the Dusi Canoe Marathon – is taking place this weekend 19-21 February, with Jeep Team’s multiple world-champion paddler, Hank McGregor, set for an altogether different experience from previous marathons as he competes in the Mixed Doubles category for the first time with his wife Pippa.
The seasoned Dusi paddler, who has won two Dusi Marathons and two Non-stop Dusi Marathons, says that, while he is looking forward to paddling in the social ranks, he won’t forget his competitive edge. “If we can possibly win the husband-and-wife prize that would be a real cherry on the top!” he adds.

The 2015 Dusi Canoe Marathon is being held in honour of its founder and world-renowned conservationist, the late Dr Ian Player, who organised the first official race 64 years ago, on 22 December 1951.

Dr Player also competed in the first Marathon and was the only paddler out of a field of eight to finish. It took Dr Player an epic six days to complete the first race, during which time he was bitten by a Night Adder. Player crawled to a nearby road and managed to get a lift to a police station where he received anti-venom serum and then continued paddling till the finish line in Durban.

Cycling

An action-packed weekend for Jeep Team’s cycling crew sees MTB athletes, Pierre Smith and Thinus Redelinghuys, travel to Mpumalanga on Saturday for Race #2 of the Ashburton Investments National MTB Series, while Dylan Rebello will be competing in Round 2 of the Western Cape XCO Provincial Championships and on Sunday the 28km MTB leg of the Totalsports Xterra Grabouw. Also on Sunday, BMX athlete, Alex Dolman, will be racing in Round 1 of the Gauteng Provincial BMX Series.

Over 3 000 cyclists will be descending on the small town of Sabie, considered the ‘Mecca’ of mountain biking, to take on the 115-km UCI-classified National MTB event. Smith and Redelinghuys (who placed 38th and 17th respectively in Race#1) will be up against some of the best riders in the world, including Austria’s former world champion and winner of Race#1, Alban Lakata (Topeak Ergon); as well as South Africa’s Erik Kleinhans (Team RECM), Nico Bell (Team RECM) and Waylon Woolcock (Cannondale Blend).

Multisport

Jeep Team’s cross-triathlon African champion, Michael Lord, will be competing in Race #2 of the Totalsports XTERRA Series, taking place at the Grabouw Country Club from 21 – 22 February.

The second event also doubles up as the Xterra South African Championship, with Lord aiming to hold on to podium, after finishing 3rd overall at Xterra Buffelspoort.

Lord will be racing the Lite (400m swim; 12.5km MTB; 5km Trail Run) and Full distance (1.5km swim; 28km MTB; 12.5km trail run) events.

OCR

To prepare for Race #2 of the Jeep Warrior Series (happening next weekend), Jeep Team’s Thomas van Tonder, Jay Jay Deysel and Claudia Richard will also be travelling to Grabouw to race the 12.5km Puma Trail Run on Saturday.

“I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging,
and it’s very difficult to find anyone.” J.R.R Tolkein

If he’d mentioned that it would wind through magical woodlands, over the enchanted Amatola Mountains of the Eastern Cape and under its cascading waterfalls, his only difficulty would’ve been turning all the adventure keen applicants away.

The Merrell Hobbit Trail Run entices runners bewitched by the beauty of placing footprints in an indigenous forest to spend a weekend in the spectacular Hogsback region on the 25th and 26th April 2015. Earlier than its normal November slot, the two-day 100km, 38km, 16km and 5km fun run was moved forward to comply with landowners’ regulations.

A small band of just 45 spirited trail runners will gain entry to tackle the two-day 100km journey along the Amatola Hiking trail, ascending over 5000m, making this one of the toughest multi-day trail running events on the calendar. Both days are long, with average finishing times of 7-12 hours each day, giving the runners plenty of time to reflect on life’s subtleties, as they experience the physical, mental and emotional highs and lows that come with covering this extreme route. The camaraderie experienced at the communal and rustic overnight Cata Hut makes this truly a unique and wonderful event.

While the 100km runners make their journey from the overnight hut on Sunday 26th April, three other one-day events are undertaken around the mystical town of Hogsback. A 38km loop has runners ranging out and over the famous Hogsback Mountain as the 16km racers hurtle through the surrounding forest. The gentle 5km route gets families and kids firmly under the spell of single-track trail running.

Spoilt for choice with plenty of accommodation options in the region, this event offers a magical weekend for all participants as well as non-competing partners in South Africa’s very own mystical fairytale land.

Entries for all events are now open with limited entries available for the two-day Merrell Hobbit 100km.

Look to www.mountainrunner.co.za for full details.

An epic weekend for the all-new Jeep Team SA saw the athletes representing across the country in the various sporting codes and living the Jeep brand to the full.

Thomas van Tonder and Jay Jay Deysel claimed first and second in Race#1 of the Jeep Warrior Series; while Hank McGregor won the SA K1 River Championships and was shortlisted for the World Paddle Awards’ Sportsman of the Year. In BMX, 15-year-old Alex Dolman raced to a second place finish at Kempton Park, Gauteng, in the Elite Men’s category, while Jeep Team’s MTB athletes, Dylan Rebello and Thinus Redelinghuys, both finished in the Top 20 after facing fierce international and local competition in Race#1 of Ashburton Investments’ National MTB Series.

JEEP TEAM RESULTS:

Obstacle Course Racing (OCR)

Jeep Team’s Thomas van Tonder dominated Race#1 of the Jeep Warrior Race from start to finish, claiming victory in one hour, 54 minutes – the only athlete to finish in less than 2 hours. Team mate, Jay Jay Deysel, clawed his way back to the front of the field after a consistent start to take 2nd place on the podium to give the newly formed professional Jeep Team SA OCR squad the best result that they could have hoped for going into the 2015 Jeep Warrior Season.

Says Van Tonder, “The first half of the race was very close. I thought to myself, ‘Everyone put in a lot of training this December; it’s going to be a hard one.’ But then I was in front and kept telling myself, ‘You trained hard, you trained hard, you’re not going to slack, you trained hard.’ My mantra paid off.”

Obstacle course racing is a new, but fast growing sports discipline in South Africa, with the Jeep Team being the only professional OCR team in the world. In the Jeep Warrior Series, obstacles range from insane body twisters, rope climbs, log flipping, sand bag carrying, muddy barbed wire crawls, jumping from high towers, larger-than-life mud pits, climbing over walls, jumping over fire, climbing over high nets and much more.

Says Van Tonder, “The way this event, and the sport has grown over the last two years has been amazing. Companies like Jeep jumping on board, pushing it along, definitely goes a long way.”

Unfortunately, Dominique D’Oliveira, Jeep Team’s female OCR athlete and last year’s Jeep Warrior Series Elite Ladies winner, had to pull out within the first 100m of the start line due to a calf muscle injury.

Jeep Team’s Hlubi Mboya showed pure class in the Warrior Series’ Commando Race, storming across the finish line in just over 1 hour and 44 minutes with a huge smile on her face and nothing but good things to say about her Jeep Warrior Race experience.

Paddling

Jeep Team’s Multiple World Marathon Champion, Hank McGregor, has been shortlisted for the Sportsman of the Year Award in the 2014 World Paddle Awards as voted by the public and Awards committee. The other two contenders are Fabien Lefevre (Slalom Canoe World Champion) and

Sebastian Brendel (reigning Olympic champion in sprint canoeing). Winners will be announced at the World Paddle Awards ceremony, taking place on 9 May in Augsburg, Germany.

On the racing front, McGregor continues to shine; this weekend winning the two-day SA K1 River Championships in a time of 4:40:56 on the Klip River Race in Gauteng. Siseko Ntondini (4:43:54) finished second, followed by Thando Ngamlana (4:43:55).

Says McGregor, “I went into the race blind but I had a really great time! It was super fun with surprises around every corner which was something that I really appreciated; it was a great adventure!”

In surfski, Jeep Team’s Barry Lewin finished third at the Thule Surfski Challenge (part of the Varsity College Marine Surfski Series) that took place on Friday, 30 January in Durban. Lewin finished in a time of 00:39:26, behind Matthew Bouman (00:37:26) and Wade Krieger (00:38:32).

BMX

Alex Dolman raced to a second place finish at Kempton Park, Gauteng, in the Elite Men’s category. This was another exceptional result for the 15-year-old racing out of category against South Africa’s best.

MTB

In MTB, Jeep Team’s Dylan Rebello, Pierre Smith and Thinus Redelinghuys finished an impressive 16th, 19th and 22nd respectively at Race#1 of Ashburton Investments’ National MTB Series, which took place at the Meerendal Wine Estate on Saturday, 31 January.

The three athletes were racing against a star-studded cast of some of the best MTB endurance athletes in the world, including former world champion Alban Lakata of Austria and his Topeak Ergon team mate, Kristian Hynek (Czech Republic), as well as South Africa’s Erik Kleinhans (Team RECM), Nico Bell (Team RECM) and Lourens Luus (Contego Swift).

In the 107-km Men’s Elite race, Lakata finished top of the podium in 4hrs38min16sec, Kleinhans in second (04:39:49) and Hynek in third (04:40:19). With 2900m of climbing, this route compares with some of the toughest one-day events in the world.

2016 Rio Olympic-contender and South Africa’s Multiple World Marathon Champion paddler, Hank McGregor (Jeep Team South Africa), has been shortlisted for the World Paddle Awards’ Sportsman of the Year Award.

McGregor is the only South African who has been nominated for an award. The other two contenders in the category are: the United States’ Fabien Lefevre (Slalom Canoe World Champion) and Germany’s Sebastian Brendel (reigning Olympic champion in sprint canoeing).

The nomination adds to McGregor’s already star-studded list of achievements, including winning the SA K1 River Championships, which took place from 31 January to 1 February, at the Two Day Klip River Canoe Marathon, in Gauteng. McGregor finished in 4:40:56, followed by Siseko Ntondini (4:43:54) and Thando Ngamlana (4:43:55).

In September last year, McGregor rewrote the history books by becoming the first South African paddler to win both K1 and K2 gold medals at the ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships in the United States.

Says McGregor of his win at the weekend, “I went into the race blind but I had a really great time! It was super fun with surprises around every corner, which was something that I really appreciated. It was a great adventure!”

Later this month, McGregor will be competing in the Dusi Cano Marathon, happening from 19 – 21 February. The 2015 event is set to be a very different experience for the Dusi veteran as he will be racing in the
Mixed Socials category with his wife, Pippa. This is due to McGregor’s shift in focus away from races such as the Dusi Canoe Marathon, instead focusing on purist river marathons, flatwater marathons and surfski races as well as a bid to claim a sixth ICF Canoe Marathon world title.

“I don’t think I have ever started a paddling event socially. Ever. So it is going to be something new for me. If we can possibly win the husband-and-wife prize that would be a real cherry on the top!” says McGregor, who finished second in the 2014 K2 Dusi with partner Jasper Mocke and first in the Non-stop Dusi with partner, Sbonelo Zondi.

The winner of the Sportsman of the Year Award will be announced at the World Paddle Awards ceremony, taking place on 9 May in Augsburg, Germany.

Jeep Team South Africa is geared for another weekend of podium wins, with Hank McGregor and Barry Lewin racing the Varsity College Surfski Series (6 February), Mikaela Jonnson and Michael Lord taking on Race#1 of the Momentum Health Dual X series (7 February) and Gregg Brown competing in the first leg of the KZN Provincial Downhill Championships (8 February).

Surfski

On Friday, Jeep Team’s Hank McGregor and Barry Lewin will be competing in the Bay Union Surfski Challenge – Race#5 of the Varsity College Surfski Series. McGregor is a firm favourite, having won Race#1 and claiming victory at last weekend’s SA K1 River Championships at the Two Day Klip River Canoe Marathon in Gauteng.

After a solid start to the season, Lewin will be aiming to remain in the top 3; he has finished third in the previous two Varsity College Surfski Series races.

Multisport

In Multisport, Jeep Team’s rising star, Mikaela Jonnson, and Michael Lord (one of the team’s newest athletes) will be travelling to Gauteng to compete in Race#1 of the Momentum Health Dual X series, taking place on Saturday, 7 February, at Hakahana.

Jonnson (17) has had an impressive start to 2015; coming second overall in the Elite Women’s Category at Totalsports XTERRA Buffelspoort on 25 January. Jonnson was also first in the U18 category. A week previously, she won the KZN Triathlon Championships in her age category.

Lord (19) will be geared for gold in his new Jeep Team colours after an outstanding 2014 saw him finish in second place at the 2014 World Cross Triathlon Championships in Germany. Lord is also the 2015 SA and African Cross Triathlon champion.

The season-opener of the Dual X series will see athletes take on a 5km run, 30km MTB ride and then a further 2.5km run.
MTB

Jeep Team’s Gregg Brown (18) will be competing in Series 1 of the KZN Provincial Downhill Championships, taking place at the Karkloof MTB Club on Sunday, 8 February.

Brown will be racing for victory after a successful 2014 saw the young Downhill star represent South Africa at the 2014 DHI World Championships in Norway and place second in the Junior category at the 2014 SA National DHI Championships.

Jeep Team SA is going to be a force to be reckoned with in 2015 as they announce a change in focus to Junior, Under 23 and Elite sports men and women by forming a smaller, more compact squad of 15 world-beating, South African athletes.

Started in 2001 as an adventure racing team of six athletes, Jeep Team SA has become one of the most successful teams of its kind, producing local, national and world champions across eight sports disciplines – Adventure Racing, Mountain Biking, BMX, Surfski, Canoeing, Multisport and Extreme Sport with Trail Running and Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) added to the 2015 portfolio with the explosion of these two sporting codes across South Africa.

Says Max Cluer, co-founder and manager of Jeep Team SA, “Jeep Team SA continues to evolve in 2015 with a whole new look and feel. The core focus will be on showcasing up-and-coming Junior athletes while continuing to mentor and work with the Under 23 athletes and Elite athletes at the top of their game while teaching them the business of sport, media, sponsorships and relationships.

“We’ve re-signed a new three-year contract with our Title Partners Jeep Apparel SA and Jeep Vehicles – ensuring incredible support and security in the years ahead for Jeep Team SA. Jeep has been supporting us now for nearly 14 years, which is nearly unheard of in modern day sponsorships. We are fortunate to have such an incredible relationship with them where they understand our passion and vision for the team and they support us 100%.”

2014 in review:

In 2014, the Team achieved success across all disciplines. Highlights include Jeep Team’s Hank McGregor rewriting the history books in September by becoming the first South African paddler to win both K1 and K2 gold medals at the ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships in the United States.

Barry Lewin continues to impress with his vast experience and media presence in the world of paddling with his core focus on surfski both locally and internationally. He continues to travel around the world on his quest to document and compete in the sport that he loves so much while still remaining competitive in the elite bunch.

Jeep Team’s rising multisport star, Mikaela Jonsson (17), won the KZN Triathlon Championships in the Junior category, finished on the podium at both the ATU Cross Tri and SA Triathlon Championships, and represented South Africa at the ITU Cross Tri World Champs in Germany.

Jeep Team mountain biker, Matthew Beers (20), was crowned overall U23 winner of the MTN National MTB Series, with Pierre Smith (22) finishing second. Seventeen-year-old Julian Jessop is the 2014 SA Junior MTB Marathon Champion and 2014 Junior SA Cup Series winner in the competitive cross-country discipline, while his younger brother, Tom Jessop, is currently SA’s Youth Marathon champion. Gregg Brown represented South Africa at the UCI MTB World Championships in Hafjel, Norway, while Dylan Rebello took part in 2 UCI MTB World Cup Races in Germany and the Czech Republic.

In BMX, Jeep Team’s youngest athlete, Alex Dolman (15), was named Gauteng’s BMX Provincial Champion for 2014, won both the South African and All African Continental Championships and represented South Africa at the UCI BMX World Championships in Rotterdam, Holland.

Jeep Team CSI

The team continues their support of Qhubeka and remains firm on their stance of zero tolerance in sport surrounding doping and drugs in sport with their allegiance to Bike Pure.

Qhubeka is a South African NPO that helps disadvantaged communities “move forward and progress” by giving them bicycles in return for work done to improve communities, the environment or academic results. Since 2005, the NPO has distributed 51 000 bikes to people across South Africa.

Bike Pure is a global NPO that promotes honest and ethical cycling. The organisation has become the independent voice for honest, ethical cycling on a global scale, sending a powerful message that athletes don’t have to resort to taking illegal performance-enhancing drugs to compete.

Jeep Team “Ghost Athlete” Program
In 2015 a “Ghost Athlete” Program will also be introduced into the Jeep Team stable whereby elite athletes, celebrities or specialist athletes will be brought into the team for a short period of time under ring-fenced terms and conditions. The first athlete to fill this position in 2015 is the talented actress, DJ and athlete, Hlubi Mboya, who will be representing the team in the Jeep Warrior Race Series.

The seven new athletes on Jeep Team SA are:
Michael Lord, Multisport
Dominique D’Oliveira, OCR and Trail Running
Claudia Richard, OCR and Trail Running
Thomas van Tonder, OCR and Trail Running
Jay Jay Deysel, OCR and Trail Running
Thinus Redelinghys, MTB Marathon
Kyle Dodd, BMX

The seven returning athletes are:

Dylan Rebello, MTB Cross-country and Marathon
Pierre Smith, MTB Marathon
Gregg Brown, MTB Downhill
Alex Dolman, BMX
Mikaela Jonsson, Multisport and Trail Running
Barry Lewin, Surfski
Hank McGregor, Surfski and Canoeing

“Ghost Athlete”
Hlubi Mboya, OCR

Have a look at the following platforms to keep up to date with the Jeep Team SA’s antics in 2015.
Website: www.jeepteam.co.za
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jeepteamsa
Twitter: @jeepteamsa
Instagram: JeepTeamSA

Jeep Team SA Title Partners:

Jeep Apparel
Jeep Vehicles
Jeep Team SA Partner:

Salomon
Jeep Team SA Product Partners:
Puermotion Sports (POC, ICEdot & Muc-off)
Luksbrands (Skull Candy & Ogio)
Schwalbe
GoPro & RED-E
Thule

IainDon-Wauchope has won the 2014 Salomon Skyrun powered by Powertraveller in a new course record of 12:08.

Don-Wauchope triumphed over the strongest international field ever, in the iconic mountain challenge over an unmarked 100-odd kilometre route through the alpine region of the north-Eastern Cape. Canadian Gary Robbins –current course record holder for Hurt 100 in Hawaii–finishing second in a time of 13:47 with South African Jock Green rounding out the podium in 14:12:53, after out-sprinting Rhodes local Hylton Dunn.

“It was a tough day,”commented a visibly exhausted Don-Wauchopeat Wartrail Country Club after his win. “I really had to dig deep and just focus on myself the whole way,”he said.

Don-Wauchope, who had glandular fever less than two weeks prior, found himself in the chasing bunch on the first climb. “I wasn’t 100%,”he says. “I could feel it on the first climb and I was a bit back, but then when we left the first checkpoint I saw most of the international guys couldn’t run the tufty grass too confidently so I just went at my own pace and quite soon opened up a bit of a gap.”

That ‘bit of a gap’would see him lead all the way to the finish. “I’m very surprised that no-one came from behind and caught and passed me,”he commented. “I struggled with really bad headaches and kept getting stones in my shoes…by the time I got to Balloch Wall (the halfway mark) I was ready to bail,”he said.  

“It was Mike de Haast (race director for Pure Adventures) who told me I was on 12-hour pace and urged me to keep going. So I pulled myself out of the transition and I was so slow up the wall. It was a real grovel up there.”

At around 75 kilometres in Don-Wauchopegot the proverbial ‘second wind’and started pushing the pace. “I could go a lot faster because it there were good roads, it was relatively flat and some downhills, but I actually ended up going too fast there and tore my left calf and had to ease up and hobble along. I’m very stoked with the win,”he concluded.

Landie Greyling won the ladies race in a time of 16:12 and finished seventh overall.

Despite the good running conditions and her largely unchallenged run, Greyling echoed Don-Wauchope’s sentiments about it being a tough day out. “The first thing I thought when I crossed the finish line was that I’m just happy to be alive and in one piece,”said Greyling shortly after. “It was really hard day for me out there. I was trying for the 14:30 record and I was on par until Balloch, but on the other side of the wall I basically just started feeling not so great, but very happy with the win and to close the year off with a highlight is really awesome,”she said.

“I’ve had a tough year so I’m quite chuffed that it is actually over now and that I can take a break from racing,”concluded Greyling.

Neither Greyling nor Don-Wauchopeclaimed the $10 000 incentive, on offer for the first male who goes under 12 hours and first women under 14). “Sub 12, is definitely achievable,”Don-Wauchopesaid, confirming that he would definitely be back to challenge for it in 2015. “I made so many bad route choices and stopped four times to empty my shoes of stones. And, I lost around 20-minutes up-and-down Balloch. So I think if I’m 100% fit and healthy and better prepared in terms of the route –do a bit of scouting –then it's definitely achievable.” 

Skyrun Lite, over 65-kilometres was won by Nico Schoeman in 9:59. Karoline Hanks comes in second overall and was first lady in 11:03  This year for the first time the Lite also finished at Wartrail Country Club.