raydon balie

This past Sunday saw the trail running calendar kick off with the first race of the Spur Cape Summer Trail Series® at Lebanon Forest in Elgin. After taking a beating from the wild fires last year, it was awesome to have all the fun single tracks back in action. The Cape decided to play along as well and dish out some delicious weather for runners to play in out on the trails.

First light came peeking out at 5:30am as runners started rolling in for registration and number collection. By 6:30am there was an exciting buzz in the air from all the runners getting ready to dust off those holiday legs and kick up some dirt. To add to the buzz was Wildrunner’s own bag of exciting news for 2017. First was the fact that Spur Trail Series® and Wildrunner turns 10 years young this year.

Then the addition of Raidlight as new apparel sponsor, this means a whole lot of awesome spot prizes, podium prizes up for grabs.

On that podium note, let’s get onto the racing for the day. In the long course Championship, there was a fast competitive field lined up on the start line. All of them ready to take on the course record set by the legend himself, Bernie Rukadza in 2015, a smashing time of 53:43.

All though flying over the finish line at a ridiculous pace, no one could come close to Bernie’s time. Taking the win on the day was Raydon Balie, in a time of 54:49, almost a minute behind him in second was Emmanuel Dlamini, taking the final step on the podium, just sneaking in in front of Jarryd Dunn, was Vincent Viet in a time of 55:44.

In the ladies long course Championship race, taking top honours for Race 1 was local road running star Ashleigh Simonis, in a time of 1:03:37. Shortly after her was Swiss track running champion, Fiammetta Troxler, and wrapping up the ladies podium was Sophie Cope in a time of 01:10:21.

The short course men’s challenge race saw Dino Adams smash Riaan Wildskut’s 2014 short course record by almost a minute, racing across the line in a time of 22:45. Hot on Dino’s heels, and also breaking the record was Evan Fortuin, who came in only 2 seconds behind Dino. And claiming 3rd place was Llewellyn Jacobs. Some ridiculously fast running put on out there in the short course.

In the ladies Challenge race, Liezl du Plooy came sprinting across the line in first place, a long way ahead from runners up Josie McCann and Chanel Hannah. These two had a great battle out on course, and in the end it was Josie who snuck in 5 seconds ahead of Chanel in a time of 32:32 to take second place.

Amazing running by all out there on Sunday. Lebanon never ceases to hand a fantastic dose of good dirt to go and play on.

If you acted crazy, or stopped to strike a pose at the Steenberg Camera Trap, go check out the album here on facebook to see if you’ve been snapped? If we missed you this Sunday, be sure to keep an eye out at the next race for those Steenberg Gates and you could be the next lucky winners who also stand a chance at winning the grand prize. For more details on the competition click here.

A big shout out and thank you to all our sponsors and partners; Spur Steak Ranches, Raidlight, BOS Sport, Steenberg Vineyards and WWF.

Check out your race results here and some the race photos here.

The Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens created the perfect backdrop to host just over 1,000 runners on Tuesday, at race 3 of the Spur Cape Summer Trail Series®. With an electric atmosphere in the air, the first of the races set off at 19h00, with several top South African trail runners storming out of the blocks as the sun set behind Table Mountain.

In the 10km long course Championship, a new face to the Spur Trail Series® scene, Justin Fritz, took everyone by surprise as he blitzed the course and sprinted across the finish line almost four minutes ahead of the competition. He managed to break the 40 minute barrier and crossed the line in 39:56, looking fresh and ready for more. A few minutes later, a cluster of runners rushed home in short stride with Raydon Balie, Rory Scheffer, Nicholas Rupanga and Jarryd Dunn all crossing the line with less than 20 seconds separating them. Balie claimed second position with his time of 42:34 and third place went to Scheffer with a time of 43:40.

In the ladies long course race, Hayley Preen once again proved her class as she took her second win of the Series in a time of 48:41. She looks set to claim her first Championship title in a month’s time at the final race of the Series, at Oak Valley. In second place, Kate Mapham also impressed, beating the recently recovered Katya Soggot to the line in a time of 50:37 - Soggot taking third position in 52:53.

Short course battle shapes up
The 5.8km short course Challenge made for some exciting racing as it culminated in a sprint finish between Andre Afrika and Stefan Oosthuizen. Afrika managed to pip Oosthuizen to the post with a time of 25:11, in a repeat of race 1’s results. In third place, Dawood Goeieman moved up one spot from race 1 with a time of 26:52 - only seconds ahead of Daniel Arendse and Robert Shaff. The racing between these top five runners always makes for an exciting finish and we can’t wait to see what happens at the final race of the Series at Oak Valley.

Linda Detering started in the second batch, chasing all the way, and managed to make up enough time on Tina-Marie Meyer to claim first place. Her time of 30:01 meant Meyer had to settle for second position with a time of 31:41. Polly Else claimed the last spot on the podium, coming home third in a time of 32:33. 

It was a fine way to continue the Spur Trail Series® after the disappointment of having to cancel the second race of the Series due to wildfires and a wonderful way to celebrate Wildrunner’s 200th event on the trails. We look forward to many more and to seeing everyone at the final race of the Series on 28 February at Oak Valley. If you don’t have your entry for this race yet, enter now and book your spot on the start line!

A big thanks to all the runners and our fantastic sponsors - Spur Steak Ranches, BOS Sport, Protea Hotels and La Sportiva SA.

Click here for the full results and here for more photos.

The Spur Cape Summer Trail Series® kicked off with a bang and a bluster as almost 800 runners took on the howling south-easter at the Tygerberg Nature Reserve.
 
There was excitement in the air as runners started trickling in at the start venue and, with the Tygerberg hills looming over them, the reality of the challenge that lay ahead started to set in. Uncomfortable as the wind was, it brought welcome respite against the usual summer heat.
 
The familiar faces of Bernard Rukadza, Raydon Balie, Franz-Eric Streicher, Michael Gombart and Katya Soggot were joined at the start line of the 12.1km long course Championship by up-and-coming youngsters Jarryd Dunn, Hayley Preen and Megan Leslie and it was clear from the outset that the racing at the front of the field was going to be fierce.
 
We were not disappointed and Balie put in a strong performance, showing his intentions for the Series, and claiming his first win of 2016 with a time of 55:07. Rukadza, on tired legs due to training for an ultra, crossed the line in second place in a time of 56:59, with the impressive Dunn not far behind in 1:00:02.
 
The ladies race was dominated by Preen, who is fast becoming a force to be reckoned with. She crossed the finish line more than five minutes ahead of her closest competition in a time of 1:06:04. In second position was the surprise package of the evening, Sanja Steyn from Zimbabwe in a time of 1:11:44. An old Spur Trail Series® favourite, Katya Soggot had to settle for third place with a time of 1:12:14 as she recovers from injury.
 
Afrika, Leslie going for gold
In the short course Challenge there wasn’t time to blink as the up-and-coming Andre Afrika swept around the 8.1km course in a blistering time of 35:42. Behind him, Stefan Oosthuizen and Juan Carstens were chasing hard but they could not keep up – Oosthuizen claiming second place in a time of 37:14 and Carstens completing the podium with a time of 39:23.
 
Megan Leslie once again showed her class as she claimed another first place in the short course race with her time of 45:09, ahead of Tina-Mari Meyer in 46:53 and Linda Detering in 48:20.
 
It was a thrilling start to what promised to be another memorable Spur Trail Series® and we can’t wait to continue this Sunday when the Series moves to the beautiful Lebanon Forest in the Elgin Valley.
 
A big thank you to our awesome sponsors, Spur Steak Ranches, BOS Sport, Protea Hotels and Outward Ventures for making these events possible and to everyone who come out to the races and make it all worthwhile.
 
We’ll see you on Sunday!
 
Click here for full results and here for photos.

Approximately 1 000 runners were met with a perfect Cape winter day as they made their way to the Paul Cluver Estate in the Overberg for the first race of the Spur Cape Winter Trail Series™ and the Spur GLB46 Ultra.

The early wake-up call was definitely worth it as the cold front that hit the Western Cape in the preceding week left behind crystal clear skies, bubbling brooks and views that went on forever.
The Spur GLB46 Ultra started off first with almost 100 runners taking on the ultra distance across the Groenlandberg. There was an epic battle at the front of the field with Dylan Solms, Damian Will, Eddie Lambert and Chad Gordon chasing each other all the way. Solms led the way for most of the race but Will made his move in the final kilometre of the race and eventually took the win in 3:50:38, only two minutes ahead of Solms. Third across the line was Lambert as he broke the 4 hour mark with a time of 3:58:01.

The ladies order stayed the same from the first checkpoint on course, with Ronel Nattrass coming home in a time of 4:34:15, followed a few minutes later by Alana Doyle in 4:40:26 and Ursula Turck in 4:42:01.

The long course Championship followed a route of 15.6km along the foot of the Groenlandberg and included a hill that took most runners by surprise. Raydon Balie made the most of the conditions and stormed home in a time of 1:18:15, more than five minutes ahead of his closest competitor, Pieter Calitz who crossed the line in 1:24:45. Jonpaul Bolus completed the podium as he claimed third place in 1:25:42.

Defending champion in the ladies long course Championship, Liandi van der Westhuyzen continued where she left off in 2014 and finished almost ten minutes ahead of second placed, Carla Beyers. Her winning time of 1:34:56 showed her dominance while Beyers’ time of 1:44:32 was also class. Yvonne Mouton took third position for the ladies in 1:45:37.

Short course battle shapes up
It didn’t take long for the form of Dawood Goeieman to make his way down the final hill to claim the 8.8m short course Challenge in a superb time of 33:16. He was followed shortly by Llewellyn Jacobs in 33:27 and Oliver Stewart in 33:46 who breathed down his neck all the way.

Mariella Dierks took control of the race from the get-go and was the only lady to break the 40-minute mark as she took first place in 39:55. Second went to Liezel du Plooy in a time of 44:09 while the familiar face of Katie Leslie crossed the line third in a time of 44:28.

It was a glorious morning in the Cape countryside and everyone who made their way to Paul Cluver had a super fun day in the mud.

A big thanks to our amazing sponsors, Spur Steak Ranches, BOS Ice Tea, Protea Hotels, Graham Beck and Runner’s World for the support and to all the amazing runners who make the Spur Trail Series™ one of our favourite events on the calendar.

Click here for photos and here for full results.

Entries for the second race of the Series are available here until Thursday, 23 July at 10h00am.