BNAC runners victorious at Red Star Marathon
Kaitlyn Bubb won the women's 21.1km and Elias Kope finished third in the men's marathon.
It was a dominant all-round performance on the biker’s paradise, Red Star Raceway Circuit, from the Benoni Northerns Athletic Club (BNAC) during the Red Star Marathon on Track in Delmas on September 28.
The club’s several athletes clocked top 10 positions in the marathon, half-marathon and one-mile events, with Kaitlyn Bubb flying the Northerns flag high after winning the women’s 21.1km.
Running at 04:20min/km, Bubb clocked 01:31:12 for top honours, beating teammate Robyn Pheiffer by five seconds after Pheiffer crossed the line in 01:31:17. Azelia Zitha of Daveyton’s East Athletic Club (EAC) completed the top three in 01:32:01.
Alison de Bruin finished ninth in 01:42:49 and Jess Vermaas clocked 01:45:08 to round off the top 10, ensuring Northerns dominated the women’s race.
In the men’s half-marathon, Matthew Aiken finished fourth in 01:18:14; Charl Lombard was ninth at 01:28:07, and Mark Dingle crossed the line in 01:28:23 for 10th.
Dingle was third in the veteran men’s race.
In the marathon, Elisa Kope clocked a third-place finish, crossing the line in 02:55:15 to finish behind winner Thomas Ndlovu, who won in 02:31:49 and runner-up Jethro Sithole (02:39:34).
Kope’s teammate Wonderboy Hlophe was sixth. He finished in 03:35:21.
In the 10km, Gift Nkosi of the EAC cut the tape in 39:00 flat to win the women’s 10km race.
Boksburg resident, Samantha Coetzer, representing Nick Bester’s Nedbank Running Club, claimed the runner-up spot 20 seconds later when she crossed the line in 39:20. Teammate Marisca Robbertse rounded up the podium in 44:43.
Signa Gustafson again proved age is just a number when the septuagenarian clocked 14:56 for fourth overall and first in the women’s 70+ one-mile event.
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