Sun, wind and strong athletes at Kenton Xtreme

THERE was a variety of challenges and activities to participate in at the fifth annual Kenton Xtreme Festival held last weekend in sunny but cold conditions.

The stalls selling food, plants, pottery, and other interesting items saw a constant stream of visitors, some from as far away as the Western Cape. A vintage car display on Saturday was another point of attraction, along with the NSRI who put on a simulated rescue display.

There was a lot of interest in the Sunshine Coast Spar beach touch rugby and the tug-of-war on Sunday which drew a larger crowd than the events on the first day which were more spread out.

KEEPING THE LEAD: EP triathlon champion Dan Howitz having just finished the swim section before he went on to win the Sunshine Coast Spar Off Road Triathlon held at the Kenton Xtreme festival on Saturday Picture: CANDICE BRADFIELD

EP Triathlon champion Dan Howitz from Bluewater Bay, added to his great performances of season with two outstanding races. He won Saturday's Sunshine Coast Spar Off Road Triathlon in a fast time of 1:37:12, followed by East London's Trevor Jordan in second place and Uitenhage's Willie Kruger coming third overall.

Port Alfred sports star Kerry Longhurst, who recently took part in the 500km adventure challenge Expedition Africa, won the ladies division in 2:14:46. Vanessa Lessing from Port Elizabeth came second and Diana Schramm from Gauteng came third.

In the team triathlon event, it was the young student team from Quest Africa in Alexandria which won in a time of 1:52:51, beating Team Build-it and the Kenton Sports Trust Team.

Dan Howitz returned on Sunday morning for the Mega Build-it 55km Xtreme Mountain Bike race, blitzing the field to win by over 13 minutes in a strong 2:41:00. Fellow Port Elizabeth rider Conrad Viljoen finished second and Adam Smith from Grahamstown came third.

Sally Waterworth from Jeffery's Bay won the ladies race in 3:46:05. Alexandria's Misty Weyer came in second, followed by Grahamstown's Tia Egglestone.

In the 20km version of the event, Kenton rider Don Cech beat Andrico Blignaut and Gareth Smith while Theresa Tunstead took the ladies honours from Tegan van der Merwe and Caley Chaplin.

In the Hi-Tec Security Coastal 10km Beach Run it was Port Alfred runner Izandi Dzudzudzu who won in a fast 00:38:15 in very trying conditions. Grahamstown runners Basie Bonaparte and Carriot Galela were placed second and third. Alex Cech from Grahamstown won the ladies race beating Pianka Schoeman from Cape Town and Taryn-Maie Wille from Grahamstown.

In the touch rugby on the beach, the Port Elizabeth-based Bull Dogs team proved too strong on the day, beating Spar Super Kings and the Bulls teams. Another great highlight of the festival was the inclusion of the tug-of-war event which attracted over 14 teams and saw the Spar sponsored team pulling to a great win.

The children were kept entertained in the Kids Survivor Beach Challenge, run by Outdoor Focus. They had their own tug-of-war, as well as other races styled after the reality TV show.

WINNERS ON WHEELS: The prize giving for the Mega Build-It 20km mountain bike race was held after the race on Sunday. First place in the men's section was Don Cech (back centre) from Kenton, Andrico Blignaut (back left) from Grahamstown was second and Gareth Smith from Alexandria came third. First among the women was Theresa Tunstead (front centre) from Port Elizabeth, followed by Tegan van der Merwe (front left) from Grahamstown and then Caley Chaplin, also from Grahamstown Picture: CANDICE BRADFIELD

Results:

Spar Sunshine Coast Triathlon

Men: 1 Dan Howitz (1:37:12); 2 Trevor Jordan (1:47:53); 3 Willie Kruger (1:50:34).

Ladies: 1 Kerry Longhurst (2:14:46); 2 Vanessa Lessing (2:20:21); 3 Diana Schramm (2:48:08).

Teams: Quest Africa (1:52:51), Team Build-it (2:09:08), Kenton Sports Trust (2:12:13)

Hi-Tec Security 10km Beach Run

Men: 1 Izandi Dzudzudzu (00:38:15); 2 Basie Bonaparte (00:38:23); 3 Carriot Galela (00:40:17).

Hi-Tec Security 10km Beach Run

Ladies: 1 Alex Cech (00:53:50); 2 Pianka Schoeman (00:54:09); 3 Taryn-Maie Wille (00:56:41).

Mega Build-it 20km MTB

Men: 1 Don Cech (1:02:42); 2 Andrico Blignaut (1:03:52); 3 Gareth Smith (1:15:00).

Mega Build-it 20km MTB

Ladies: 1 Theresa Tunstead (1:19:09); 2 Tegan Van der Merwe (1:24:02); 3 Caley Chaplin (1:29:06).

Mega Build-it 55km MTB

Men: 1 Dan Howitz (2:41:00); 2 Conrad Viljoen (2:54:18); 3 Adam Smith (2:54:19).

Ladies: 1 Sally Waterworth (3:46:05); 2 Misty Weyer (3:53:37); 3 Tia Egglestone (4:41:34).

Full results from the weekend's activities are on the event website www.KentonXtreme.co.za