Eric pulls off spectacular victory
Local athletes oversleeps, then catches up with the pack before winning eShowe race.
FOR any athlete, oversleeping on the day of a big race would spell disaster and perhaps even forfeiture. However the North’s wily road runner, Eric Ngubane, not only started the race three minutes behind the 60 strong field of runners but he also overtook them to pull off a spectacular win in the eShowe Superspar Ngoje 45km Trail Run.
The Comrades Marathon silver medalist said he panicked when he realised he’d overslept.
“It’s a very hard and technical course and there were two elite runners who I couldn’t allow them to open up a significant gap. Thankfully I managed to catch them on a hill at the 12km mark. I had to run three minutes 40 seconds per kilometre just to catch up.
“Eventually I passed them and it was a fairly comfortable cruise to the finish line. I was absolutely thrilled with the win and thoroughly enjoyed the race,” he said.
Next on Ngubane’s list is defending his Mont Aux-Sources ultra marathon title (50km). He has already won back-to-back titles and is hoping to continue that trend by winning three titles in a row.
