Perfect start for Gcogco and Scholtz
Mvuyisi Gcogco and Annalize Scholtz got their racing year off to a perfect start as the pair claimed top honours in the inaugural Van Stadens Mountain Marathon at the weekend.
Racing in the marathon’s first edition, Gcogco and Scholtz made their way through the mountainous terrain near Crossways Kitchen to claim first place in the 42km men’s and women’s race respectively.
Gcogco finished in a time of four hours, 22 minutes and 45 seconds, more than 20 minutes ahead of second-placed Masande Mlonyeni (4:48:55), with Chris Ngaka third (4:49:24).
Scholtz came home in a time of 4:59:42, almost 15 minutes ahead of Jo Mackenzie in second with a time of 5:14.55 and Tracey Campbell in third (5:22:21).
Speaking about his race, Gcogco said he had a lot of fun out on the course.
“The course was fantastic,” he said.
“This kind of course will prepare PE trail runners for races against top trail runners in the country, as it has every aspect one would expect of a good trail – very technical with some steep climbs, good river crossings, elevation gains, and it offers a good challenge to runners, so it was the perfect race for me to start my year with,” Gcogco said.
“I was curious to see the course, so I never had a plan going into this race. I just wanted to go out and have fun, but also just to see where I am at in terms of my training.
“I will have to choose my races well in 2019 as I would like to possibly enter for the SA championships later in the year,” he said.
Scholtz echoed these sentiments, saying: “This is the type of race that will put PE on the map in terms of trail running.
“It has everything and is not the type of race that suits only a certain type of trail runner.
“I used this race as a training run as I will be running the Addo Trail Run 100 miler, and I just wanted to enjoy myself,” Scholtz said.
“There were certain sections where I would let go a little and run harder than I would in a training run, but I never went in with any expectations.
“I just wanted to have a fun day out,” she said.
The full list of race results can be found at liveadventure.co.za/shop/trail-runs/vanstadens-mountain-marathon
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