Friday, 08 October 2010 14:17
Sandes sets yet another record
He came, he saw, he conquered, and set a new course record in the process.
That in a nutshell is the story of 2010 Thule Four Peaks, with extreme athlete supreme Ryan Sandes dominating the 24-kilometre event on September 25 with a display of mountain running which leaves no doubt as to why he has risen rapidly to become one of the world’s best. In fact, if the mountains surrounding Moolmanshoek Nature Reserve near Ficksburg in the Free State had not been ravaged by veldt fires in the last month, his pace would surely have set them alight...
A soot-stained Sandes breezed back into the start/finish area of the Thule Four Peaks in association with Salomon at the Moolmanshoek Nature Reserve two hours and 41 minutes after departing. The circular route took runners over a series of peaks and along a number of ridges in the Witteberg, with Sandes arriving back at the reserve’s epicentre in time for breakfast, having knocked more than 15 minutes off the record. At his first attempt.
To be fair, the route was faster than before thanks to the short, burnt grass, which made the going a little easier than in the past, especially the potentially treacherous traverse around the back of Visierskerf, at 2 407 metres the highest point in what is the country’s third highest mountain range. The first four runners all broke the course record, including, ironically, last year’s winner, Bruce Arnett who came in fourth, just five minutes behind the leader.
The highest point reached by the athletes was the 2 148 metre Sekoyella’s Hat, from where those athletes who took the time could gaze down and across into Lesotho in the South, while turning around revealed the rolling expanse of the Free State. Total climb over the 24-kilometre distance was 1 300 metres, some of the ascents requiring the surefootedness of a mountain goat, or more, appropriately, a Basotho pony.
One of the stand-out performances was from local hero (he works on the Moolmanshoek farm) Izaak Mazibuko who was runner-up just two minutes off Sandes’ pace, having finished eighth last year. The podium was completed by Gerhard Uys – who was ninth in 2009.
The lady’s race was a relatively sedate affair compared to last year and the winner’s trophy for 2010 went to Gerda Visagie in a time of four hours 40 minutes, with Natasja Kask second about 15 minutes behind. Third, and first Veteran, was Alison Ball. Last year’s runner-up, Takalani Nthulane, had a nightmare run and got lost a number of times, coming home a dejected 4th.
Geoffrey Lee was a hugely impressive seventh overall to take Veteran Mens honours, with the Masters crown going to Jan Strydom. The first lady home in the 50-plus age category was Marie Botha.
“The Thule Four Peaks is fast becoming an iconic event, and a ‘must-do’ for trail runners and extreme athletes,” said Thule’s William Tyson. “It is a true test of physical and mental fortitude, set against a backdrop of exceptional beauty. The biggest challenge facing us in the coming years is to make it as widely accessible as possible as the popularity of this form of running continues to grow, while protecting the pristine environment which hosts it.”
Adrian Saffy of organising company Pure Adventures echoed Tyson’s sentiments: “There is potential to turn the Thule Four peaks weekend into a Woodstock of off-road adventure, especially if you consider the mountain bike event which took place the day after the mountain run. If we wanted to, we could’ve had double the number of competitors out there but we took a decision to make 230 runners the cut-off – already a significant percentage up on last year – in the interest of providing a quality experience for the entire field.”
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