Dreyer sets blistering time-to-beat at Infinity Challenge
Although he is no longer a professional athlete and is instead a coach to more than a dozen athletes in his Change a Life (CAL) Academy, Hi-Tec Ambassador Martin Dreyer is in superb racing form. Training with his CAL athletes twice a day certainly contributed to his ability to set the scarcely believable 7:12 time-to-beat on the undulating two-kilometre treadmill course at the Hi-Tec Infinity Challenge in Port Elizabeth.
“The route goes to a gradient of seven percent and is only flat for about a minute of that,” says Ian Little, Hi-Tec’s marketing manager. “That means that Martin ran 3:36 per kilometre – unbelievable!” Port Elizabeth local Mike Els was Dreyer’s closest opponent at only 200 metres behind. He won a pair of Hi-Tec V-Lite Infinity trail shoes and goes into the draw for the coveted The Otter – African Trail run entry.
Jeannie Bomford, women’s record holder at The Otter – African Trail Run, set 8:30 as the women’s time-to-beat. It’s a very fast time over this challenging course. Her closest challenger was Kathy McQuaide-Little (Cape Town), who got within 150-metres of Bomford’s avatar. She also won shoes and she goes into the draw for a The Otter – African Trail Run entry. Andrea van Holdt, from Port Elizabeth, was close on her heels.
“Entrants ranged from the quite serious to the casual. The Cape Union Mart staff also really got into it too. One of the store assistants, James Marais, even went to the gym the night before to practice”, says Little. “Another entrant was so disappointed with his first effort that he came back later to have another go. Everyone enjoyed the competitive aspect of the Infinity Challenge.”
Martin Dreyer sets blistering 7:12 time-to-beat
Store visitors and other entrants enjoyed watching the challengers on the treadmill and following their avatar, running against the Hi-Tec ambassadors, on the big plasma screen. “For Cape Town, this weekend, we’re keeping three avatars on the screen for the entrants to chase: Bruce Arnett, who will set a new time-to-beat on Saturday, Jeannie and a Mr Joe Average with a 10:00 time. This should improve the experience even more in that many entrants should be able to beat or come very close to Mr Average,” adds Little.
The four remaining Infinity Challenge events will be hosted by Cape Union Mart stores in Cape Town (Canal Walk, 9 April), Jo’burg (Eastgate, 16 April), Pretoria (Woodlands, 17 April) and Durban (Gateway, 23 April). Entry to the Infinity Challenge is first-come-first-run and entry is free. Stores are open from 09h00 to 17h00.
About the Hi-Tec Infinity Challenge
The Infinity Challenge is run on a pre-programmed treadmill that takes runners on an undulating two-kilometre course. In front of the treadmill, a plasma screen shows the participant’s avatar, relative to that of the Hi-Tec brand ambassador, on the course.
The first 50 participants at each event receive a special Infinity Challenge Buff®; runners setting the Top 3 times for the day receive a pair of Hi-Tec Infinity V-Lite shoes; and any participants who beat the brand ambassador’s time receive a Hi-Tec hamper. The overall national winner (man and woman) is awarded an entry to the annual The Otter – African Trail Run, a one-day race that traverses the entire 42km length of South Africa’s most iconic hiking trail, the Otter Trail. In addition, the names of all participants go into a draw for an entry to The Otter – African Trail Run.
About Hi-Tec V-Lite Infinity trail shoes
Hi-Tec V-Lite Infinity trail shoes are currently available from Cape Union Mart stores in the Grey/Green and Black/Cobalt (men’s) and Black/Silver/Melon (women’s) colourways. Shoes go into Due South, Sportsman Warehouse, Totalsports and a number of independent retailers around the country, during April.
The Hi-Tec V-Lite Infinity trail shoe has a hydrophobic membrane (ion mask™ technology), breathable synthetic upper, which is also seamless. Heat seal overlays on the upper provide support and structure, while the molded toe cap offers protection from stubbing. The soft, contoured Comfort Tec sockliner offers foot-in-feel comfort while the dual-density Vibram® outsole provides grip on technical terrain.
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