The cloudy, wet and cool weather was clearly a recipe for fast times as both the ladies and men's records fell in the second running of this epic 21km mountain running route.
The Noordhoek Superbowl route, with its 1,195m of vert and lots of technical trail, has become known as one not to take lightly. But if you are going to do battle, all the better to go somewhere sensational…and so it was that 315 runners lined up at the startline for the second edition of this tough race.
Katjiri raises the ante
When any elite runner asks you before the start what the record is, then you know his/her mindset! And so it was that Wano Katjiri cranked up the heat at the sharp end. From the get go there were four pushing the pace with Katjiri - Brandon Keeling, Jono Black & Richard Wood. At the 6.5km mark Katjiri had already cleared a 1 min 42 sec lead on the chasing trio. By the aid station at 12.7km, Katjiri had extended his lead to 3 min 47 sec with no signs of slowing down. The chasing trio had become a twosome, with Keeling and Black on each other's heels and Wood feeling the pinch. At the line Katjiri had extended to a 4 min 38 sec lead over Keeling, finishing in 02:00:53 - taking 5 min 55 sec of the 2023 winning time set by Ryan Romans of 02:06:48. Both Keeling (2nd) & Black (3rd) ran under the old course record, with finish times of 02:05:31 and 02:06:45. So the question now is, who will be the first to run under 2hrs?
Gendenhuys domination
In the ladies race, Mila Gendenhuys led from start to finish, coming in 15th overall and breaking the tape in 02:25:26 - smashing a whopping 8 min 46 sec off the course record set by Jada Linstrom in the inaugural 2023 race. The tussle for second place was real, with Lauren Granger and Chloe Pienaar duking it out. Granger led through the first two big climbs and descents, holding a 42 sec lead at the 9km mark. But clearly Pienaar found her groove to the aid station at 12.7km pulling past Granger. But in the end Granger managed to overtake Pienaar again to secure second place in 02:33:55 - also within the 2023 course record by 17 sec. Pienaar claimed the third step on the podium with a 02:35:32.
Special category mentions must go to Ian Metcalfe and Katya Soggot for winning their respective Veteran categories, and to Travis Green & Sylvie Scherzinger for winning their respective Masters categories.
From the first to last, we salute you all for your tenacity and spirit for battling in your own way around the Noordhoek Superbowl! Special mention must be made for our 'pre-runners' and 'sweepers'. Running ahead of the pack checking the course markings was Ross Minter-Brown & Jaime Farara - thank you both for being so cheerful at 05:30am and for playing such a key role in ensuring course integrity.
And our eyes and ears at the back making sure we don't leave anything behind and Van Zyl Lochner & Morgan Volkmann
Huge thanks to Ineos Grenadier for once again being our vehicle partner for the event, to Pole Yard for creating the unique finish arch and runway, to the Noordhoek Farm Village for hosting us, to Project Noordhoeked for their work maintaining the trails and of course to all the Wildrunner crew who made this event possible.
The race date for 2025 is Sat 26 April. Put your name down on the priority entry list and we look forward to seeing you next year.
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