Obstacle course racing, possibly one of the fastest growing sports in the country, is the new fire in athletes’ veins.
Athletes came to Muldersdrift to take part in The Beast Challenge, an obstacle course race not for the faint hearted.
Thomas van Todder has won every event since the start of the challenge – eight titles – making him the sole victor from race one back in 2015.
He now aims for 10 titles this year.
Van Todder, along with athletes Carina Marx and Jay Jay Deysel who form part of the Jeep SA team, all took on The Savage Beast, the toughest version of the eighth challenge which consists of 57 obstacles over 11km.
This was Van Tonder’s and Marx’s first race of the season and they made their intentions clear by respectively placing first in a time of 01:28:39 and second in 01:30:39.
Marx placed first in the woman’s division with a time of 01:59:00 and explained that she never planned on becoming a professional athlete, but initially looked up to the top athletes in her early career and really wanted to become as fit and strong as them.
“Little did I know that I would be considered as one of them one day. It’s really a serious sport that requires a lot of dedication and discipline all-year round,” she said.
“One has to find a fine balance between all the training and racing. One of the biggest challenges is to stay injury free and in tip-top shape for every competition. Unlike most sports, obstacle racing is an all-year sport. I hope that it would be recognised as an official sport in South Africa soon. It’s growing so fast nationally and internationally.”
Van Todder said professional obstacle course racing was a bit more common in the international community but not many athletes perform well enough for a consistent amount of time to make a living from the winnings alone.
Deysel, who came from a motocross background and fell in love with the sport advised anyone who was interested in obstacle course racing to go and try it out.
“It’s difficult to describe the feeling you get when you overcome an obstacle and realise that with the right mindset, you are capable of doing a lot more than you think you can do,” Deysel said.
Details: Interested parties can access more information, training venues and events on the South African Obstacle Course Racing website.
Receive breaking news & updates by becoming a member of our WhatsApp community. Send your name & surname to 079 439 5345.
