Claude and Trish take top honours
Familiar faces grace uMhlanga winter trail podium.
THERE was a sense of déjà vu for the 550 runners and walkers who lined up for this year’s Umhlanga Winter Powerade Challenge as Claude Eksteen and Trish Bahlmann retained their 18km titles. The starts of the 5km, 12km and 18km trails were staggered due to the narrow promenade walkway, which causes bottle-necks.
Buzz Bolton, the Umhlanga Tourism race director and also chairman of the Riverside Trail, labelled this year’s event a resounding success.
“This was the fifteenth event in the Umhlanga Festival Trail Series, which again proved to be a winner. The series is the ideal ‘nursery’ for trail running. It allows road runners in particular to break away from the tarred roads into the wide open spaces and enjoy nature.
“It is probably the only trail run in South Africa to offer a nearly complete package – promenade, tar, single-track bush, cane breaks, gravel farm road, Jeep track, river and lagoon crossings plus some testing beach running. Being at the coast, the only missing elements would be altitude, rock hopping and slippery slopes,” he said.
While regarded as the biggest trail series in KwaZulu-Natal, the Umhlanga Tourism and Riverside Trail event still has the potential to grow, Bolton added.
