TWO athletes from Oudtshoorn, Francois Maquassa and Anel van Wyk, won Saturday’s (22 May) Meiringspoort trail run over 9,5 km in the picturesque De Rust area.
The race was marked by cold weather; and there was mud and challenging uphills.
Maquassa finished the race in 1:00:42, with Van Wyk finishing the women’s race in 1:02:11.
Even though it was cold, muddy, and slippery at times, every athlete who crossed the finish line smiled. And with good reason. Trail running is not for ‘sissies’. It has sort of become a tradition to swap “war” stories after finishing. Saturday in De Rust was no exception.
The 42-year-old Van Wyk (Nedbank Running Club) was one of the heroes. What made her performance remarkable is that she finished fifth overall, only 89 seconds behind Maquassa.
Maquassa won the men’s race, followed by Bernardo Fredericks in 1:01:05 and Eddie Mouton in third (1:01:27). All three of these runners are from the Nedbank Running Club.
According to Van Wyk, it was a tough day at the office, but she would have it no other way. “The muddy, wet conditions made things challenging. The climbs were tough. I enjoyed the downhill sections. It was a case of just letting your legs go. My stomach muscles got a good workout during the slippery areas as I battled to stay upright. Compliments to the race organisers for making things interesting. I enjoyed myself,” she said.
Van Wyk, a former winner of the Meiringspoort 21 km half marathon, is a relative latecomer to running. About ten years ago, she bought her first pair of tekkies and took her first tentative run around the block. “I needed to do something to lose weight after the birth of my third child. So I took up running. It did not take long before I got hooked. The plan was never to win races,” explains the mom of four.”
Her new-found passion meant that she has learned to make every minute count. “I go for my training runs really early in the morning. It is essential to be back home to help my kids prepare for school.”
According to Van Wyk, there is no excuse for anyone not to run. “Don’t ever allow age or your body to slow you down. Running is a fantastic sport. What you put in is what you get out.”
Ilze Douglas was second in the women’s trail run in a time of 1:07:42, and Helette du Plessis third in 1:09.05.
(By Wilhelm de Swardt)