ADVERTORIAL
Strong Showing by Women at UTCT
SA women powered their way to fifth and sixth overall at the inaugural RMB UTCT 100 Miler , while a number of women finished high up in the overall standings of the various distances that made up the weekend ’ s racing on the Cape Peninsula .
The 2022 edition of the RMB Ultra-trail Cape Town ( RMB UTCT ), South Africa ’ s premier festival of trail running , wrapped up in Cape Town on Sunday 27 November after three days of tough , exciting racing from some of the world ’ s best . The event featured a new flagship distance this year with the introduction of a 100 miler , added to the other race formats of 100km , 55km , 35km and 23km , as well as a kids ’ race .
The new race , covering 166km with 7516 metres of vertical gain , covers most of the 100km course , up and across Table Mountain and down to the Atlantic Seaboard , moving to the Southern Peninsula mountains , the flowing trails from Silvermine to Kalk Bay , Simon ’ s Town and Kommetjie , then back to the front face of Table Mountain via the Constantia winelands and Cecilia and Newlands Forests . The 100km race is now firmly entrenched on the international ultra-trail calendar , bringing a number of international trail stars to South Africa each year , and thanks to the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the new 100 miler , it is sure to attract an even bigger field next year .
The UTCT 100 Miler
In the new 100 Miler , Greek runner Fotis Zisimopoulos was untouchable from early on in the race , finishing in 20:48:17 and the only athlete home in under 21 hours . Second was Aleksei Tolstenko , running under a neutral flag and finishing exactly 42 minutes later , followed by Sweden ’ s Elov Olsson , just under an hour further back . Tolstenko Olsson ran much of the race crossing each other ’ s paths , but Tolstenko managed a small breakaway around Chapmans ’ s Peak and proved stronger on the technical descents .
Once the top three men were in , however , the focus turned to the women ’ s race , as powerful
performances saw the top three women then claimed the fourth to sixth positions overall . American Hillary Allen took fourth overall and first woman in 24:55:22 , and she was followed in by two South Africans . In fifth place was Capetonian Kerry-Ann Marshall ( 25:39:21 ), while sixth place went to Naomi Brand ( 26:28:29 ), who now lives in New Zealand .
Allen and the Dutch athlete , Ragna Dabats , broke clear of the rest of the field early in the race and ran together until Dabats withdrew at Kalk Bay ( 74km ), leaving Allen to maintain a strong lead and claim the win . Marshall initially ran conservatively behind Brand and another South African , Nicolette Griffion , who withdrew at the 140km mark at Constantia Glen . Marshall surged late in the race to pass Brand and take second in the women ’ s race .
The common theme amongst runners ’ comments in both the 100km and the 100 miler was the challenge of the technical trails . Winner Zisimopoulos said , “ The paths are totally technical , you have to do big steps for the rocks , and the plants make it more difficult . But this is the mountains , and why we do this … otherwise you should just run on the road . This was a race to remember .”
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