Category: News

Due to popular demand the race organizers of the Sun City Ultra Triathlon have kept pre entries open until the 16th of April. “Our race office has been inundated by emails and phone calls post ironman from athletes wanting to enter depending on how their legs recover” says race director Damian Bradley. ” We have therefore decided to keep the pre-entries open for another week. Pre entries will now be open until 5pm on the 16th of April. Thereafter late entries will be allowed if there is space available.

Sun City's first Ultra Triathlon looks to be taking Gauteng by storm. Organisers , B-Active Sports have increased the allowed field to 1200 athletes, across the two distances. This field will make it Gauteng's biggest triathlon and the 3rd biggest Triathlon in South Africa. Athletes will be treated to one of the most beautiful running routes in Africa, with a 2 lap 21km running course around the Gary Player and Lost City Golf courses. Athletes will also be treated to free entrance to the Valley of the waves as well as some exclusive Race merchandise and apparel. There will be loads for the family to do while Mom or Dad competes, so get to Sun city on the 10th of May and show your support for the athletes sweating it out to the finish line.

TO ENTER.

With less than two months to go to the 90th Comrades Marathon, the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) launched its 2015 Amabeadibeadi Charity Drive in Sandton, Johannesburg on Friday, 10 April 2015.

The initiative is aimed at fostering wider support for charitable fundraising for the CMA’s six official charities; namely The Community Chest, PinkDrive, Sports Trust, Starfish Greathearts Foundation, Wildlands Conservation Trust and World Vision South Africa.

A significant aspect of the 2015 Amabeadibeadi Charity initiative is the Toyota Win-a-Car Competition, where a brand new Toyota Corolla Quest will be up for grabs on Comrades Race Day, 31 May 2015. This is a meaningful contribution to the greater good from South Africa’s largest automotive manufacturer.

The ‘Toyota Win-a-Car Competition’ has been a driving force for Amabeadibeadi fundraising and sees thousands of rand channeled into the charitable fund every year. Runners and the greater public can enter the Win-a-Car competition by sms’ing “TOYOTA” to 34068 at a cost of R1.50 per sms.

Another exciting part of the 2015 campaign is the continuation of the Race4Charity initiative. Via this development, runners have the opportunity to “secure” their spot closer to the front of the Comrades start line and improve their seeding batch, while raising funds for a good cause. Comrades runners have raised over 1,2 million rand to date, with 445 runners signed up. So far, the current top donor is Carel Nolte who has raised more than 40-thousand rand.

Race4Charity gives individuals the opportunity to not just make a difference, but to get people involved and race collectively for the benefit of charities. Runners can go to the Comrades website www.comrades.com and follow the Race4Charity link. Runners can sign up and choose which of the six Amabeadibeadi charities they would like to support.

CMA Vice Chairperson and Head of the CMA’s Charities Sub-committee, Cheryl Winn says, “The Amabeadibeadi Charity Drive has been a defining part of the CMA since 2000. It is the aim of the CMA to give to the needy and less fortunate in a meaningful way and the Amabeadibeadi charity drive does just that. We are grateful for the hard work done by the various charities that benefit from Amabeadibeadi.”

Toyota Senior Sponsorship Manager, Delia Jackson says, ‘It is important for us to be involved in this race as Durban is a key base for our company and a significant part of our dealer network. We hope that our contribution to both the Comrades Marathon and Amabeadibeadi Charity drive will continue to make a difference in the lives of those charities they support.’

CMA General Manager, Chris Fisher says, ‘The Amabeadibeadi Charity Drive is in line with the indomitable Comrades spirit and gives back to the people of South Africa via the amazing work of our charities. We urge our runners to sign up and run for charity in order to effect a greater positive change in our country.’

(Words: Sarah Hearn)

Autumn: waiting on the platform in the dust of a departing Summer, anxiously peering down the tracks for the scheduled train of Winter. Bikini on body, beanie in hand. The Merrell Autumn Trail Night Series embraces this period of transition by easing us through the change from sweaty hot sports to shivering cold ones with good humoured races through the vineyards in the moonlight shadow of Table Mountain.

In its third year at Groot Constantia Wine Estate, the first of three in the series had a remarkable turnout on Wednesday night. Each race demands a different route and runners now get to enjoy some single forested track and dam walls through neighbouring Klein Constantia. A few were shocked at the new course, but only because they didn’t apply listening skills during the “don’t touch the fence” briefing. Although general consensus was that there is nothing klein about some of those short hills, it was enthusiastically agreed that this was the best designed trail so far.

The 5,5km and 8km trails take athletes on a loop marked with reflective tags that direct them back to Simon’s Restaurant where scrumptious burgers are devoured. Aquelle bottled water is given out to runners at the finishing table, flowing naturally into free wine tastings offered by Groot Constantia.

Black Diamond powers this and all Mountain Runner evening events. They are on hand to provide that essential item required to run around in the dark at prices significantly lighter than normal. Although who are we to put asunder some of those special race relationships forged by several footsteps sharing one lightbeam?

Once again Merrell gave their full support to this event, living out their ethos: Achieve. Never Settle. Hit the Trail. OUT. PERFORM. and encouraging all participants to do the same.

It all happens again on the 15th and 22nd April. Full details on www.mountainrunner.co.za Race results and Mark Sampson’s photos capturing grimaces and grins on Mountain Runner Events facebook page.

An Achilles heel injury will prevent Cornel Fredericks from defending his 400-hurdles title next week at the South African Athletics Championships in Stellenbosch.

Because of the seriousness of his injury Fredericks will not be able to do any running on the track for the next 4-6 weeks and he was forced to cancel his international campaign. Depending on his rehabilitation the earliest he will be able to race again could be middle June, maybe even later.

In spite of his setback Fredericks is confident that his season will not be a total write-off. He still hopes to be able to represent South Africa at the World Championships in Beijing.

Fredericks, a High Performance Centre (hpc) athlete, won the South African title four times during the past five years (2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014).

Fredericks make no secret about his disappointed at not being able to defend his title.
“It will be the first time since 2005 that I will not compete at a national championship. It is one of only a few opportunities that I get to race in front of my own people and it is therefore very special.”

According to Fredericks he had been battling Achilles problems for the past two years.
“Last year it was my left Achilles that gave me problems but, because there was not really anything I could do about it except some stretches and going for physiotherapy, I continued to compete. At the end of my season I took a complete break from running for five weeks.

“This season my injury woes continued when my right Achilles started to become painful. At one stage it was so bad that even when I walked a few steps after waking up, I was in pain. A scan showed that there are little tears in my Achilles.

“The injuries proved to me that I am, after all, just human and that I should listen to my body and not try to run through the pain.

Fredericks is full of praise for the support he is receiving from the hpc, the South African Sports Confederation, the Olympic Committee (Sascoc), as well as from Wayne Coleman who is helping him with his rehabilitation.

Apart from his injuries, Fredericks is also not sure who his going to be his coach. There is a strong possibility that he will be coached by one of England’s top coaches but nothing has been finalized yet.

Last year Fredericks became the first South African athlete to win gold medals at the Commonwealth Games, the African Athletics Championships, as well as at the Continental Cup meeting in the same year.

Another highlight for Fredericks was finishing as the third-best 400-hurdles athlete in the IAAF Diamond League, which was in itself a great achievement.

Fredericks is also proud of the fact that he was able to run times faster than 49 seconds in seven of his 15 races last year.

Caroline Wöstmann’s victory in the Two Oceans ultra-race has led to many experts predicting that a South African female athlete could also win the Comrades.

Lindsey Parry, who coaches Wöstmann as well as Charné Bosman (who finished 5th) is confident that it is just a matter of time before one of the South African female athletes wins the Comrades.
“On Saturday Caroline had one of those dream days which most athletes experience only a few times during their careers. I really think that if she could run the way she ran on Saturday, she could won the Comrades as well.

“What we need to do now is make sure that she recovers fully. Then she needs a couple of weeks of hard training before we start to refresh her for the Comrades. Hopefully she will have similar form at the Comrades.

“This is what we will be aiming for. However, we fully realize that it won’t be easy to win the Two Oceans and the Comrades in the same year. Only a handful of athletes have been able to do so,” said Parry, who works as a sports scientist and coach at the High Performance Centre (hpc).
Parry describes Wöstmann as a late developer.

“In 2010 her personal best time in the 10km was about 56 minutes and for 21km it was 1 hour and 50 minutes. At the beginning of last year her best marathon time was just over 3 hours, but by the end of the year it has improved to 2 hours and 43 minutes in quite windy conditions.

“She would possibly have run a much faster marathon time if she had started earlier and just focussed on the marathon. Caroline is one of those athletes who just get stronger and stronger. It is also a result of the extremely consistent training she has been doing.”
Parry is also impressed by Maxwell’s ultra-race debut.

“At one time during the Two Oceans I thought Tanith was going to win but unfortunately for her she just ran out of road.

“Charné also had a good race, sticking exactly to the race plan we had agreed on beforehand. She is certainly on track to run a good Comrades.”

Bosman (hpc/Nedbank) said one of the reasons why all three of them performed well at the Two Oceans is that Parry is a very dedicated coach who realizes that there is no blueprint for success.
“He goes out of his way to find out what will work and what will not work for each of us and only then he begins to formalize a race plan.

“One of the big differences in Lindsey’s coaching strategy is that he does not believe that we should go out hard day after day. In my training program there are only two hard days, the rest of the sessions are long runs. But when Lindsey says it is hard day, it is hard day. You have to give it your all.”

When Charné Bosman (Nedbank) runs the Two Oceans ultra-race in Cape Town on Saturday, she will not merely be ‘gunning for gold’. She wants to create awareness for breast cancer as well. So watch out for the runner in pink and green who clocks fast kilometres.

According to Bosman she plans to go all out for pink. Her nails will be painted pink, she will wear a pink wristband and a pink head band and even her shoelaces will be pink.

“I know wearing pink and green is definitely not on for fashion purists, but I don’t care. After my health issues last year I realize that we all tend to take our good health for granted. Actually I was lucky last year because I was merely side-lined by glandular fever from which I knew I would recover. But for people who are battling with cancer there are no such certainties. My thoughts and prayers go out to all cancer patients, especially women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. By wearing pink I want to create awareness for their plight.”

As a runner Bosman’s main challenge on Saturday will be not to allow herself to get carried away.
“I promised my coach, Lindsey Parry from the High Performance Centre (hpc), that I will not go flat-out. Currently my main goal is to run a good Comrades. He has worked out a definite race strategy and I have promised to stick to it. Actually, my deal with Lindsey is that I will follow his plan up to 42 kilometres. If I am still feeling strong at that stage, I am allowed to chase for positions. I definitely want to finish in the top ten but depending on how I feel I might challenge for a top-five finish.

“The Two Oceans is going to be good test for me. Because I am inclined to be quite competitive as a race, I sometimes get carried away. In 2012 I paid the price for being overly competitive. I was hoping to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games in London in Rotterdam but chose to ignore my race plan and went out hard. The end result was that, instead of running a 2:34:00 marathon as planned, I finished in 2:43:00 and missed out qualifying for the Games. I now realize the importance of sticking to a specific race strategy.”

In 2013 Bosman finished 2nd overall in the Two Oceans after Russia’s Natalia Volgina who originally won the race tested positive for a banned substance and was disqualified. Bosman then went on to finish 5th in the Comrades ultra-race.

Last year Bosman opted to skip the Two Oceans and focus only on the Comrades. Unfortunately she was suffering from glandular fever and collapsed during the race. She was unconscious for a few minutes and ‘finished’ her race in an ambulance.

Bosman has no plans to race again after the Two Oceans in her build-up to the Comrades,
“I am going to a training camp in the Lowveld from 24 April and I plan to do some serious hill work in and around Graskop and Sabie.”

On the 10th of May 2015 over 1000 athletes will be taking up the challenge of the Sun City Ultra Triathlon at the beautiful Sun City resort. This new addition to the exciting ULTRA Triathlon brand follows close on the heels of the popular Midlands ULTRA Triathlon which takes place biannually at Midmar dam in Kwazulu Natal and now give athletes a post Ironman 1/2 ironman distance event, in a unique and beautiful part of Africa.

The Sun City Ultra Triathlon in-corperates 2 different distance triathlon events taking place on the Sunday the 10th of May. Teams and individuals can enter either the Sprint or the ULTRA triathlon, with both events winding their way around Africa’s Kingdom of Pleasure, Sun City Resort. The first event kicks off at 7am and all events start with a gliding swim through the clear fresh waters of the Sun City’s Water World.

Entries for the event are filling up fast, so if you are interested don't waste any time and get to the race website and enter today. Athletes will be spoilt with race goodies as well as beautiful race routes, from the clear waters of the Sun City Dam, to the quiet, scenic running route through the two Championship golf courses.

Discounted accommodation is on offer at Sun City to give the athletes a festive weekend of fun for the whole family. Discounted Water sports and other activities will be on offer for competitors and their families at the resort for the whole weekend.

From first timers to professionals, the Sun City Ultra Triathlon events will appeal to anyone who likes to keep moving. This high-speed, endurance event not only caters for all fitness levels, it will also push you to challenge yourself.

The races are not the only attraction for families, as Sun City has plenty of activities to keep the whole family entertained over the race weekend. Families will have the opportunity to visit the Valley of Waves, the Entertainment Centre, Animal World and much much more. So if yours is a family that loves everything active, this is a perfect way to spend your weekend.

Here’s a list of all the events on offer:

07h00 START -Individual Sprint Triathlon
This event caters for the not so fit couch potatoes to the protein shake elite athletes, giving each competitor a solid workout over a short distance triathlon.
07h05 START – TEAM Sprint Triathlon
If completing a whole triathlon is not your thing, or your work colleagues have talked you into taking part, then this Relay triathlon event is going to blow your socks off.
07h35 START – Individual ULTRA Triathlon
The Ultra Individual Triathlon or 70.3 distance race is for the more serious athlete, who is looking to challenge themselves. Although challenging, this event will be your most rewarding one yet!
07h40 START – TEAM ULTRA Triathlon
Relay Teams will line up to see who can be the fastest over the Ultra Triathlon course. The TEAM section is open to Corporate and friends and family teams who want to be a part of the action but keep that Team camaraderie.
For more information about the Sun City Ultra Triathlon, please feel free to contact us through any of these channels:

Online Entry: www.ultratri.co.za

Website: www.ultratri.co.za

Sun City ULTRA Facebook: http://www.ultratri.co.za/suncity_ultra/

B-Active Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BActiveSports

Twitter: @suncityultra
Phone: 031 764 1885

Germiston Callies regret to advise that we have encountered a major problem and are forced
to cancel our Harcourts Alan Robb race on 19 April.

This is due to there being another event on the same day in Germiston and EMPD are unable
to provide metro police for both events.

We have considered various options such as changing the route or the venue but do not
believe that these are viable options at this stage. We believe that changes at this stage are
likely to cause confusion and could result in runners not arriving at the correct venue.

We would like to apologize to all runners, our sponsors and any other affected parties for the
inconvenience caused. We will communicate with all runners who have already entered so
that we can arrange for the refund of their entry fees in a suitable manner.

Detour or not, the 2015 Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon is set to be a thriller with 43-year-old road running legend Hendrick Ramaala determined to defy age and a stellar field to take home the gold medal.

Local fans will be hoping that South Africans can win both the men’s and women’s category for the first time since 2000. Their hopes will rest mainly on Ramaala and Charné Bosman.

Ramaala finished second on debut last year and might even have won it if not for a tactical mistake. The South African half marathon record holder and former New York Marathon winner certainly has the pedigree, but not much experience of ultra-distance racing.

“He’d certainly not want to repeat the mistake of 2014 when he allowed Lebenya Nkoka (Lesotho) to run away from him after the climb up Constantia Nek – and then finished in second place much fresher than the winner,” said athletics writer and statistician, Riël Hauman.

This year’s detour, a consequence of the recent fires which made the ground above Chapman’s Peak unstable, means the runners will not go up Chappies, but will have to confront the gruelling Ou Kaapse Weg climb and descent. The distance will remain the same – 56km.

“Only three South Africans have won in the last eleven years, but Ramaala could become the fourth if he judges his race correctly,” predicted Hauman.

Ramaala is even eyeing the R1-million bonus put up by title sponsor Old Mutual for anybody who breaks the course record: “It’s tough to say you’re going for the record, because of the elements. Sometimes it pours and it’s usually windy in Cape Town,” he said. “However, if it’s a good day, I think it’s possible. I’m 43-years-old but I still feel I can do it.”

The late Thompson Magawana set the current record of 3:03:44 in 1988.

Ultra-distance races are, of course, notoriously difficult to predict and Ramaala will face some excellent athletes, including defending champion Nkoka and two other strong athletes from Lesotho, Warinyane Lebopo and Moses Moeketsi Mosuhli.

Other South African gold medal contenders include David Gatebe (2013 winner), Michael Mazibuko (sixth in 2014), Peter Muthubi, Motlokoa Nkhabutlane and Lucky Miya. Cape Town fans will have their eyes on Mthandazo Qhina, who was second in 2013 and ninth last year, and “local” Zimbabwean Bernard Rukadza, who last ran in 2011.

“But let’s not forget Ethiopia”s Teshome Gelana, one of the fastest marathon runners in the field, who finished second in the Tiberias Marathon earlier this year in 2:12:33,” added Hauman. Gelana’s compatriot Ketema Tadesse, who was fifth last year, is also running.

Hauman suggests that Bosman is a “great candidate” to be the first South African woman to win since 2000: “She was second in 2013 and continued to take fifth (as the first South African) in the Comrades Marathon that same year before having had to pull out of the longer ultra last year for health reasons. She is fully recovered and is South Africa’s best ultra-marathon runner at the moment.”

Another South African who is being tipped for big things is Ultra Marathon novice Tanith Maxwell. She has been one of the country’s best marathon runners in the last 10 years and set a personal best of 2:32:33 at the 2010 Berlin Marathon. Earlier this year she won the Cape Peninsula Marathon.

Other top SA ultra runners in the race are Melanie van Rooyen, Julanie Basson and Zola Pieterse, who was eleventh last year.

Defending champion Nina Podnebesnova of Russia will, however, start as the favourite.

She has not shown her hand since her comfortable win last year, apart from finishing second in the Russian Half Marathon Championships in September – in a personal best of 1:13:34.

Also in the field are 2014 runner-up, Ethiopian Shitaye Gemechu Debellu, who won the Dallas Marathon last year, 2003 winner Simona Juhász-Staicu of Hungary, who finished in the top five in all five of her attempts, the United States’s Devon Yanko, whose third position in her 2012 Two Oceans Ultra debut is an indication of her ability, and Britain's Holly Rush, seventh in the Comrades two years ago.

The women will also be hoping to break the record and net the R1-million reward from Old Mutual. South Africa’s Frith van der Merwe set the women's benchmark of 3:30:36 in 1989.

“The Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon has established itself as one of the most prestigious ultra marathons in the world, and this year's line-up proves again its status among the global elite,” says Old Mutual Chief Marketing Officer Mokaedi Dilotsotlhe.

“We wish all of them well on their journeys, as they enjoy the rewards reaped from their planning, commitment and dedication. At Old Mutual we understand the commitment and resolve that goes into achieving long term goals like this. And we firmly believe that proper planning always yields great results.”

A beaming Mapaseka Makhanya danced across the finish line to win the SPAR Women’s 10 km Challenge in of 32.54 minutes at Greenpoint in Cape Town on Sunday.

Her Nedbank teammate, Rutendo Nyahora was second, in 33.03, and Lebogang Phalula, (Transnet) finished third in 33.20. Makhanya and Nyahora both broke the course record of 33.06.
The Kalmer sisters, Rene and Christine, came in fourth and fifth.

It was Makhanya’s first win in Cape Town, and her first Challenge win since Pretoria in 2013, and the victory gives her a head start in the SPAR Grand Prix.

It was a fast, competitive race from the start. Nyahora took the early lead, with Phalula, Makhanya and Rene Kalmer running in a bunch close behind her.

The lead changed hands several times, as the elite runners surged and then fell back.
“Rutendo started in the front, and I decided to run with her,” said Makhanya.
“I knew it was going to be a hard race, but it was a good, flat course. I didn’t consciously decide to go for it, it just happened. I’m very happy to have won again – it has been too long since I won a Challenge race.”
Nyahora said she had decided to go hard from the start.
“However, I lost focus at four kilometres and fell back a bit, but then at six kilometres I decided I had to go hard again.”

Phalula said she found it difficult to run without her twin sister Diana-Lebo, who was doing national duty at the world cross-country championships in China.
“We usually run together and encourage each other. It was strange without her. But well done to the other girls – I’ll see you in Port Elizabeth.”

Makhanya said the run had been good preparation for the Two Oceans 21km in a week’s time.
“And after that I will be running my first international marathon, in Hanover. I was thinking about that marathon before the race, but Rutendo told me to put it out of my mind and concentrate on the 10km today. So I did that, and it’s thanks to her that I won.”
She said it always felt special to win a women’s race.
“When you cross the finish line, you’re the first, and you’re not surrounded by men. It is a great feeling to be running against the other elite athletes and knowing you’re running against the best in the country.”

Rene Kalmer, who has won more Challenge races than any other runner and has won the Grand Prix three times, said she was happy with her run and her time.
“I’m running the Vienna marathon in two weeks time, and this was excellent preparation for that.”
Irvette van Zyl, who has two Grand Prix titles to her credit, finished out of the top 10, but she was full of smiles.

“I was out of the top 10, but I won the Plus One category,” she laughed.
Van Zyl is expecting a baby in September. She said she intended to run as long as possible.
Twenty-three thousand 353 runners took part in the race, which kicked off the Spar Challenge series. The next race is in Port Elizabeth on May 9.