Duesouth Xterra Knysna

The Knysna Xterra, which happened on the 8^th of July, is oddly the only Xterra in the world which does not feature swimming. As usual there are the two distances, the lite and the full race. Due to the absence of swimming, the full attracted an elite line-up, from famous endurance runner, Ryan Sandes to Mountain Biker extraordinaire, Kevin Evans .

    The day kicked off with the lite, with some of the sports potential stars lining up in the chutes. The race was in a run-cycle-run format, with a distance of 3km for each run and a 12 km cycle. The race was a fast one, with potential race winners dashing to gain a slight advantage over their opponents, over the mostly paved road of the Pezula estate and the small but delicious section of single track. I struggled to stay with the leading group and this paid off, as I arrived back at the transition, well ahead of the main field.

Unfortunately due to my weaker cycling, I was slowly overtaken by several racers, who gained quite some time on me, on the tough (as always) cycle route, which featured a long energy sapping uphill near the start and a slippery and hilly terrain. The terrain also took a toll on some racer's bikes, who encountered technical problems with punctures…

The second run was a hard leg, as my aching muscles still were protesting from the cycle but the field was so dispersed now that the only people I saw, were specks on the horizon. The run route was exactly the same as the first‒ just backwards. I arrived at the finish line, happy that I could savour the free delights at the rehydration tent, in a time of 1:13:46 in seventh position for single men (I know what that sounds like) individual men. The winner of the Xterra light was Nicklas Dlamini, an athlete racing for the JAG foundation, in a time of 01:06:08 and the first female in was Denise De Jongh, in a time of 01:25:09.The Xterra lite Knysna, is something I'd recommend anyone wanting to start multisports should do because with enough determination, it is easily finished…

After watching friends finish, it was time to watch the main event and wait for the prize-giving. With such a famous start field, this was going to be an exciting race to watch. As the starting vuvuzela was blown, which has officially replaced the gun and the whistle for such events, the racers sprinted off on the same 3km track we ran on at the start. Coming back first, were Sinesipho Didishe and Frans Malgas, members of Oakhill 2 and Oakhill School teams, followed closely by the rest of the pros, including Kevin Evens, who was right at the tail of this bunch. The racers set off for the even tougher 25km cycle route and word soon reached us that Kevin Evans had taken the lead…

After prize giving for the light, we rushed to the side-line of the cycle route, to watch the racers come in, with Kevin not surprisingly having extended his lead. About four minutes later, we saw the next racer cresting the rise, another MTB pro, David Labuschagne, followed closely by Cameron Taylor, a member of the Oakhill 2 team. Worriedly we waited for Harry Maarsingh, a friend and schoolmate, in team Oakhill School, who is usually as fast as Cameron but he did not appear until much later, having had a double flat.

In the final leg of the race, it was really no contest, in the individual contest in the 7km trail run, because as in the light, the field was so dispersed that it was almost impossible to make up for Kevin's lead, even if he isn't the fastest runner. Kevin Evan finished in a time of 1:39:24. Despite this, team Oakhill 2's runner gave it a good go for the overall win coming only a few seconds behind Evans, winning the team cat overall. David Labuschagne, proved that the cycle is what counted in the race, coming second and the first woman in, was Hanlie Booyens, in a time of 01:59:18. Thanks Stillwater sports, for organising such a fantastic race and for allowing students to race for free.
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