This year the Hennops trails were run in reverse, the inafamously known "Hennops Beast" includes the Spur Gauteng Winter XL course for those wanting something a little tougher. It was an icy start, with a layer of frost covering covering the start/finish area at the start of the day.

Each course had some new additions, most notably was the first river crossing, which took the form of a bridge and some fun stepping stones.

With the course now in reverse, runners took on the Hennops Beast from a whole new angle. Although the elevation gain was on a par and equally brutal as previous years, it was slightly more gradual. However, that respite resulted in a much steeper downhill treat with some technical sections to keep everyone on their toes, or bum sliding. Even well-known Trails Series® Champs like Mike Bailey were tap dancing!

Event manager, Philip Olckers enjoyed the reaction of Ezra Ferreira, a Trail Series® short course challenge runner who, after winning plenty of the short courses in the past, decided to take on the long course championship this year. Hennops was his first bite, and he went in confidently; possibly even a hint of cockiness as he lined up. Trail has a way of humbling us all and Ezra was overheard saying “Yoh, I’m going back to the short course, that downhill was hectic!” His wide grin told another story though, and after finishing 6th at Hennops he’ll be pushing it at Segwati.

The Long Course male champion was Tranquil Gumbo in a time of 00:57:09, marking another stellar performance from the current favourite for this series. Rob Stewart followed in 00:58:22. Mike Bailey led until the brutal downhill, finishing third in a time of 01:00:45. He’ll probably be the one to chase at Segwati.

Magretha Wang took her second win of the series, becoming Long Course female champion in a time of 01:05:24. She was followed by Shanley Koekemoer in 01:17:03 and Vanessa Steyn in 01:22:09.

Ryno Von Vollenhoven ate the Short Course for breakfast, despite being stopped in his tracks for a few seconds after head butting a tree… His winning time was an impressive 00:28:26. Keegan Dally avoided the trees and stayed hot on Ryno’s heels finishing just behind him in 00:28:36. Daniel Ellis settled for third in a time of 00:30:22.

The Short Course female champion was Michelene Kahl with a top 10 overall and comfortable win in a time of 00:32:46. She was followed by Michelle Ross in 00:35:51 while Caryn Phipson took third in 00:35:51.

In the XL, the top three men were Bradley Claase in 01:34:36, Nick Galpine in 01:39:24 and Rudolf Rossouw in 01:44:24. The ladies podium was made up of Elria Munro in 01:52:05 with Sally Fenwick following in 01:53:16. Janel Coetzee rounded off the podium in a time of 01:58:17.

There were plenty of father / son and father / daughter combinations on the Hennops trails. We can’t think of a better way to celebrate dad on Father’s day than enjoying a trail adventure together. It is always encouraging to see so many kids out on the course, shaping the next generation of trail lovers.

The full results can be found here  and there are some great shots of all your fun right here. Until Segwati, cheers!

Thank you to all our sponsors and partners, Spur Steak Ranches, Raidlight SA, Nature Zone, Steenberg Vineyards and WWF.

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