Category: Event Update!

The City 2 City Marathon 2016 that was due to take place on the Sunday, 4 September 2016 has been cancelled! The cancellation of the race was announced this morning when it was announced that the prestigious race was not able to secure a sponsor/s for this year's race.

The City 2 City Ultra Marathon has a great heritage among the people of Gauteng and runners from all corners of South Africa. “It is sad that the event will not be taking place this year,” said Mbalenhle Ngema of Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA).

Central Gauteng Athletics hopes that next year's race will be revived and will come back with a bang.

With the final names of Team SA for the Rio Olympics in August set to be announced in mid-July, SA’s top athletes are chasing qualifying marks at local and international meets and events. Here are a few who have recently put their hands up for inclusion in the team. – BY SEAN FALCONER

Triathlon Squad Taking Shape

Triathlon qualifying for Rio came to an end in Yokohama, Japan in mid-May and it was Henri Schoeman and Mari Rabie spearheading the South African challenge to secure a place on the team. Henri ended seventh in the WTS event in Japan, just 30 seconds off the winning pace after a fine all-round performance, to seal his position on the SA team along with Richard Murray. On the women’s side, Mari looks to have done enough to secure selection as she finished 15th in Yokohama, following on from a top eight finish in the previous week’s World Cup event in Huatulco, Mexico, to round off a hectic period of seven races in 10 weeks in six countries as she chased ITU points to secure her selection for Rio. Also in action in Japan was London-based Gillian Sanders, 49th on the day, who has already done enough to qualify.

Four-way Battle in 400 Hurdles

Tukkies student Le Roux Hamman became the latest 400m hurdler to put his hand up for the Rio Olympics on 11 June in Pretoria when he clocked a personal best 49.24 as the new Tukkies track saw its first action at the BestMed-Mondo Meeting. There are three spots available in the event, and thus far only LJ van Zyl is sure of going thanks to his 48.67 (see highglights, below), which is the combined second-fastest time in the word so far this season. At the time of writing, Lindsay Hanekom was the second ranked SA hurdler with 49.03, followed by Le Roux, but surprisingly, Commonwealth Games champion Cornel Fredericks (49.75) had yet ot qualify. However, athletes have until 11 July to qualify, so things may still change in this event, which has traditionally been one of SA’s strongest.

Couples Retreat in Rio

Speaking of LJ van Zyl, if he and wife Irvette van Zyl do both end up going to Rio, they will be only the third married couple ever to represent South Africa at the same Olympic Games, after Craig and Natalie Fulton (hockey, 2004) and Mike and Elvira Wood (fencing, 2008). Mathew Quinn (100m) and Heide Seyerling (200m and 400m) both represented South Africa at the 2000 Games in Sydney, but they only got married in 2002. Irvette is already confirmed as part of the women’s marathon team for Rio, and it looks highly likely that LJ will represent South Africa in the 400m hurdles. Both have already represented SA at the Olympics: LJ went to both Beijing (2008) and London (2012), while Irvette competed in the 2012 Olympic Marathon.

Other Olympian Hopeful Highlights

·         Nolene Conradovercame cold and windy conditions on 16 May in Rehlingen, Germany to take third place in the women’s 2000m steeplechase in 6:34.72, taking nearly 11 seconds off the SA record for this rarely run distance. She is gunning for a 9:45.00 in the 3000m steeplechase to qualify for Rio, and would have to take nine seconds off the SA record to do so, but is in good form, having also recently set a 5000m PB of 15:55.56 in Belgium.

·         Two-time Olympian LJ van Zyl blasted to a winning time of 48.67 in the men’s 400m hurdles at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava, Czech Republic on 20 May. This is his fastest time since 2011, when he posted the current SA record of 47.66.

·         Caster Semenyalaid down another marker in the women’s 800m with a comprehensive victory at the Rome leg of the IAAF Diamond League on 2 June, equalling her world-leading time of 1:56.65 with her customary acceleration over the last 100m. After two years of relatively poor performances by her own lofty standards, she looks back to her best and a real contender for Rio, having now run three of the four best times in the world this year.

Alyssa Conleyran a personal best 23.00 seconds for the women’s 200m at the European Permit Meeting in Lucerne, Switzerland on 14 June. In spite of a 1.4m/sec headwind, she took 0.01 seconds off her previous best, set when she won the SA Champs title in Stellenbosch earlier this year.

Look out for more in-depth coverage of South Africa’s Rio qualifiers in coming months as we build up to the Rio Olympics in August.

The penultimate event of the BIG5 Sport Challenge, The Momentum Health OatWell DualX powered by PeptoPro, took place on Thursday, 7 July 2016 at the 33rd annual Pick N Pay Knysna Oyster Festival with Stuart Marais and Andrea Steyn clocking the fastest times.

By achieving the times, they did, Stuart and Andrea cemented their spots at the top of the overall standings of the BIG5 Sport Challenge men’s and ladies’ races. The popular, high endurance DualX challenge kicked off with a 5km run followed by a gruelling 30km off-road cycle and finished with another 2.5km run.

Stellenbosch-based professional triathlete, Stuart Marais, continued his dominance after winning both the 15km Featherbed Trail Run and The Momentum Weekend Argus Knysna Cycle Tour MTB Race and coming in third in a hotly contested Dragons Featherbed Lagoon Mile Swim earlier in the week.

The four time BIG5 champ maintains his lead ahead of fellow triathlete Theo Blignaut.Stuart impressed everyone with a time of 1 hour and 33 minutes, finishing ahead of Theo Blignaut and Dean Hopf who came in second and third respectively after three gruelling off-road challenges.

“In a week long activity like this you have to time your efforts. Although the Featherbed is a really hard run, I felt like I held back nicely and the goal for this week was to be fresh for the Momentum Health OatWell Dual X,” said Stuart on his win.

After having a great day on the bike, Stuart gave everything he could possibly give on the run and in the end it proved to be more than enough!

Andrea Steyn went into the days’ challenge leading the pack in the ladies’ division and fifth on the overall BIG5 leader board. She has her sights set on claiming a 2^nd consecutive BIG5 win, having already won the Momentum Weekend Argus Knysna Cycle Tour MTB Race and the Featherbed Trail Run (15km) and coming in third for the Dragons Featherbed Lagoon Mile Swim.

Andrea finished in a time of 1 hour 53 minutes ahead of 2^nd placed Fienie Barnard. Andrea had a tough race today, possibly the toughest of all the events so far. The mountain biking was really difficult, and Fienie showed her true mountain biking talent and caught Andrea with 10km to go.

“I am really glad to have been able to stay on her wheel for the rest of the bike, and then push it in the run again to finish first.The Momentum Health OatWell Dual X was a great event, we were really privileged to have it here and I am sure next year there will be a lot more people racing it,” said Andrea after a gruelling day out.

With the final Momentum Cape Times Knysna Forest Marathon and Half Marathon race taking place on Saturday, 9 July 2016, Stuart and Andrea remain the two to watch!

It’s not too late to support charity by sponsoring a Big 5 Sport Challenge athlete, all you need to do is click here and pledge your amount.

For more details on the BIG5 Sports Challenge, click here.

The third event of the BIG5 Sport Challenge recently took place at the 33rd annual Pick N Pay Knysna Oyster Festival with the favourites Stuart Marais and Andrea Steyn comfortably winning the men’s and ladies races.

Defending BIG5 champion and the undisputed King of Knysna, Stuart Marais, continued to make good on his plan to clock a fourth consecutive BIG5 title, after winning The Momentum Weekend Argus Knysna Cycle Tour MTB Race and coming in third for theDragons Featherbed Lagoon Mile Swim.

Stuart now remains the one to watch for the final two challenges. Stuart emerged victorious in a time of 0:54.48 which was the fastest time of the day, and the 2^nd fastest time in race history for the 15 km route.

This was a remarkable eight minutes ahead of 2^nd placed Theo Blignaut leaving him streaks ahead on the overall log. Stuart was elated after his win.

“Once again Featherbed lives up to expectations, its an incredible event. We were really blessed with a beautiful evening, the weather was cool with no wind, perfect running conditions,” said Stuart.

Stuart went out hard and was able to create a gap which he maintained throughout the race. Stuart put in a solid effort until the top of the climb which then allowed him to relax until you he hit the railway line.

“I knew that running under 4 minutes a kilometre would win me the race and that is what I did. I stuck to my plan and took in the beatiful scenery and enjoyed my run.”

World Duathlon championship runner-up and current BIG5 champion in the ladies division, Andrea Steyn, maintained her overall lead after winning the first BIG5 challenge, theMomentum Weekend Argus Knysna Cycle Tour MTB Raceafter a very tight finish.

With just over a minute separating the first three ladies in theDragons Featherbed Lagoon Mile Swim, Steyn came in third, maintaining her overall lead, making her the current favourite to take a second consecutive BIG5 win.

Andrea commented briefly on her run, “I was really looking forward to it and it was a beautiful run, the weather was great! Last year I went out too quickly and struggled and ended up being really stiff the following day, so this year I started off more conservatively and it paid off.”

Andrea finished in a time of of 1:04.58 ahead of 2^nd placed Vicky van der Merwe, which leaves her comfortably in the lead on the overall Big 5 Sport Challenge log. TheMomentum Health Oatwell DualX powered by PeptroPro is the second last challenge and will take place on Thursday 7 July.

The second event of the popular BIG5 Sport Challenge, the Dragons Featherbed Lagoon Mile Swim took place today at the 33^rd annual Pick N Pay Knysna Oyster Festival.There was an upset in the men’s field with ex South African Waterpolo player Bevan Manson taking the win in the men’s race and favourite Theo Blignaut finishing in second.

South African triathlete, Vicky van der Merwe won the ladies race.Bevan said “it was a little bit chilly, but a nice swim.” After his surprise win, Bevan also said that it was great to swim through the waterfront with lots of people watching us, and there was a great turn out of participants.

“I was worried as I hadn’t swum in cold water like this before, but it was fine, as the gun goes and the adrenaline kicks in you tend to forget about everything else.”Vicky commented before her race, saying that “today is a strong event for me and my aim is to try and stay upfront with the elite guys, but I have been sick so am hoping that won’t make a difference.”

After the race Vicky concluded, “I am so happy with my win, it is the one that I was really hoping to take. The water was really cold so I didn’t do a course scouting warm up which resulted in me making a mistake at the bridge and doing around 200m more than I should have, but I was lucky enough to still finish in first.

Next up is the Featherbed Trail Run. Most of the top athletes are really looking forward to this race. “I am currently happy with my running, although I am traditionally a road runner I have been spending time in Jonkershoek on the trails getting more off road experience.”

Stuart Marais finished in third place, but will maintain his number one spot on the leader board. “The swim is not my strongest discipline, but you have to make the most of every event. I thought that the water was really cold to start, but in the harbour it was even colder! Today was all about limiting the damage for me, and I actually really enjoyed the out and back swim and look forward to smashing a big burger now,” said Stuart after his swim.

The BIG5 multi-sport challenge is a highlight on the annual Pick N Pay Knysna Oyster Festival programme and includes The Momentum Weekend Argus Knysna Cycle Tour MTB Race (80km), Dragons Featherbed Lagoon Mile Swim(1.6km), The Featherbed Trail Run (15km), The Momentum Health OatWell DualX, powered by PeptoPro (5km Run | 30km MTB | 2.5km Run), and The Momentum Cape Times Knysna Forest Marathon (21.1km).

With athletes having completed two sporting codes, the next challenge will be the impressive, Featherbed Trail Run (15km) which takes place on Tuesday 5 July in the Featherbed Nature Reserve.

Muzi Madikwa recently won the rugged two-day Old Mutual Wild Series Kruger2Canyon Challenge. Although competition was strong, Muzi was able to see off a thrilling challenge from several top trail runners. Take a look at some of the highlights of the event!

The combined 72km course took runners through some of the most pristine areas around Kampersrus on the northernmost tip of the Drakensberg escarpment. Runners came across some of South Africa’s most prestigious wildlife and sightings of wild dog, giraffe as well as honey badgers were reported.

The women’s category was dominated by Carine Gagiano, who won by more than 30 minutes. The men’s category was highly competitive, with youngsters from the “Change A Life” Academy and the newly formed Old Mutual Development Team challenging the established stars.

Muzi Madikwa won the men’s category in an overall time of 06:53:57. He was followed home by Nomore Mandivengerei in a time of 07:01:07 and third spot went to Bennie Roux from the Nedbank running club in a time of 07:02:24.

Both Muzi and Bennie recently completed the Comrades Marathon. Quite a mean feat to be able to conquer both these races in such a short space of time!

The Old Mutual Wild Series Golden Gate Challenge winner Wandisile Nongodlwana won the second stage to finish fourth overall. “I took it easy on day one and the young blood awakened my competitive spirit for day two,” Wandisile said afterwards.

Carine won the women’s category in an overall time of 08:28:03. Second was Naomi Brand in 09:15:32 and Lawrette McFarlane rounded off the podium in a time of 09:36:23.

The opening 42km stage explored the Mariepskop Trails, through the picturesque Blyde River Canyon. The 28km second stage took place in the Blue Canyon Conservancy. This is a Big Four reserve which lies adjacent to the Kruger National Park.

Race director of this year’s race, Andrew Booth, said: “Don’t underestimate the challenge that this event poses. Each and every individual that crossed the finish line has achieved something great on a personal level while contributing to conservation.”

The Old Mutual Wild Series events take part in protected areas that runners would not be able to access normally. The funds raised through the staging of the events go towards the conservation of these unique landscapes and natural heritage.

For more information on the Old Mutual Wild Series events, click here or click here to become a fundraiser!

Irvette van Zyl’s brilliant year continued on Sunday, 5 June when she took top spot in the women's category at the SPAR Women’s 10km Challenge at Growthpoint Kings Park Stadium in Durban. This was Irvette's third consecutive SPAR Women’s 10km Challenge victory.

The cool, overcast conditions were the perfect conditions for any athlete. Irvette took advantage of this and was able to win the race in a time of 33 minutes and 26 seconds, finishing a full minute ahead of Cornelia Joubert, who finished second, in 34 minutes and 26 seconds. Diana-Lebo Phalula finished in a close third, in 34 minutes and 39 seconds.

Irvette went into the lead from the start and ran side by side with Rutendo Nyahora until the three kilometre mark, when she surged into the lead. “I had a fall in training two weeks ago, and hurt my knee. I thought about not running today but I wanted to make sure that I didn’t fall too far behind in the Grand Prix,” said Irvette.

“I expected the other runners to start faster than they did, but when it seemed that nobody wanted to run fast, it played into my hands. I was quite shocked when we got to six kilometres and I saw I had quite a big lead. My training hadn’t gone as well as I would have liked but I am very happy that I ran today and very happy that I won.”

Irvette, who has not been beaten on home soil this year, said her focus from now on would be training for the marathon at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in August. “Winning races gives you confidence, but I also get confidence from training. When I went to the Olympics in London, it was quite overwhelming, but I think I will be better prepared this time because I know what to expect.”

Cornelia Joubert said she was thrilled to have come second. “Last year I came fourth, with a better time, but I am so happy to have come second. I trained very hard for this race, and will be training for the rest of the SPAR races this year. Durban is just the place for me, I think,” Cornelia said.

Diana-Lebo Phalula said she was disappointed with her time, although she was surprised to have finished in the top three. “My focus now is on preparing for the marathon in Rio. We need to run faster times in South Africa if we are going to succeed overseas,” she said.

More than 18000 runners took part in the 10km Challenge and the 5km Fun Run.

Wheelchair athletes Anita Engelbrecht and Chaeli Mycroft were seen in action with their partners Hilton Murray and James Chevalier at the second annual Cape Town 12 ONERUN this past Sunday, 15 May. The FNB Cape Town 12 ONERUN has attracted so much attention, Chaeli and Anita’s goal? Have fun while raising even more awareness around disabilities and ability activists in athletics.

“To me running is special because anybody can do it.  I love how everybody is supportive of one another on the road.  I am lucky to have two really great running partners, James Chevalier and Brett Glen.  For me the most important characteristic about a running partner is positivity and determination.  With that the partnership can achieve anything,” said Chaeli.

According to Anita, running is in her genes.  “My family loves to run.  It’s fantastic to be able to live out my adventurous spirit.  When Hilton asked if I would take on this challenge with him, my immediate response was yes.  He is a phenomenal human being and I admire his perseverance, determination and great sense of humour.  I can’t wait to enjoy the route and scenery of Comrades with him.”

Chaeli and Anita will make Comrades Marathon history on Sunday, 29 May 2016 when they take to the road as the first ever wheelchair athletes to participate in the Comrades Marathon. They will be assisted by their running partners on the 89km downhill run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban.

Watch this space!

With only two weeks to go until the close of the official Comrades Marathon Substitution Process, have you got the entry you so desperately want? This is your only chance to get an entry if you missed out during the Comrades Marathon pre-entry period.

The Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) has announced that over 300 successful substitutions have already been completed! Do not wait, this is your only chance! There is no extension of this deadline and no posted applications will be accepted!

Completed application forms must be in the hands of the CMA by Thursday, 21 April 2016. If you still intend on submitting a Substitution Application Form, please visit the Comrades Marathon website for all the downloadable forms that are required as well as the list of Rules and Regulations that apply to the substitution process.

Substitutions can only be done on a like-for-like basis. This means that South African runners can only substitute for South African entrants, while Rest of Africa (ROA) runners can only substitute for ROA entrants. The same process applies to the International athletes.

It is advised that your application for this process is completed online.

For more information, click here.