Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 115, February 2019 | Page 32

WOMEN’S TRAIL RUNNING ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
We came up with three nominees amongst the women, but as with the men, there was a twist in the tail as we chose to give two awards. Here are our nominees.
1 TONI MCCANN
The 2018 Otter African Trail Marathon brought some of the best trail runners
in the world to SA, as it was the Grand Final of the international Golden
Trail Series. The women’s record fell to the UK’s Holly Page in 4:37:48, with
New Zealander Ruth Croft (4:38:22) next in, but the highlight of the day for
local fans was Toni McCann crossing the line in tears of joy to take third
place in 4:41:38, in the fastest time yet by a South African for the RETTO
course.
AND THE
WINNER IS...
Toni had actually led until the 30km mark, and what made her podium finish
all the more remarkable was that this was the first time she had run further
than 30km! Earlier in the year she also podiumed at the Elgin XL, Ultra Trail
Drakensberg, Bastille Day 25km and VWS 20km races, and much is expected of her in 2019.
2 MEG MACKENZIE
It turned into quite an adventuress year for Meg after she and hubby Dave
packed up their life in SA to go live in a camper van and tour the European
trail running circuit while training for and participating in the Golden Trail
Series. Competing against some of the best in the world, she finished
the series in eighth position, with a 13 th place at Zegama, eighth at Mont
Blanc and two sixth places at the DoloMyths and Otter events.
“It was super fun, a wild experience, and I’m hoping to go do it again
in 2019, but not in a camper van this time!” she said. “We spent time in
France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Scotland, all over the place, and it was
incredible to line up with that calibre of athletes, and a privilege getting to know them.” Back home, she also managed
wins in the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon Trail Run 24km (2:23:27) and the Whale of Trail 53km
3 KERRY-ANN MARSHALL
Having won the women’s race at the 2015 Ultra Trail Cape Town (UTCT),
Kerry-Ann Marshall shifted focus in 2016 to the road and went on to
claim gold medals for two sixth-place finishes at the Old Mutual Two
Oceans and Comrades ultra-marathons. Unfortunately, later that year she
required knee surgery, then late in 2017 she gave birth to daughter Anna,
so running took a backseat for a while, but with her incredibly gutsy
second-place finish at the 2018 UTCT, Kerry-Anne announced her return
to top form in a big way.
Zimbabwean Emily Hawgood took the win in 11:49:25, but the battle for
second really caught the attention of local supporters. With about 10km to go, Sweden’s Mimmi Kotka was just holding
on to the runner-up position when Kerry-Ann heard that she was within striking distance. “At UCT they told me I was
two minutes behind Mimmi, so I thought I should just push. It helped that I knew the route, so I knew where to push hard
and I caught Mimmi coming off the mountain,” said Kerry-Ann, who went on to open a four-minute gap on the Swede. “I
went into UTCT without doing a lot of racing this year. I had no idea how I would perform, so it was good to see that the
training worked out.”
TRAIL PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
While she didn’t crack the nod as Athlete of the Year, we think Toni McCann’s amazing third-
place finish at the 2018 Otter African Trail Marathon is without a doubt the best performance of
the year in SA Trail Running!
“I never in my wildest dreams expected a result like that. I had killed myself in the prologue
just to get into the women’s top 16 and start up front with the Abangeni Group, because I
figured it would be my only opportunity to race them,” said Toni.” I actually went into the race
not even expecting to make the top 10, so couldn’t believe it when I found myself leading with
Silvia Rampazzo after 12km, and even less so when I broke away from her after the Bloukrans
crossing.”
It’s difficult to describe my feelings as I found myself leading a race while competing against
all my running idols! I kept looking over my shoulder, expecting them all to catch me, and I just
kept thinking this can’t be happening. Eventually Holly and Ruth did pass me, but I managed
to hold off the rest. It was simply surreal to finish on the podium, in the fastest time ever by a
South African, when I had originally just worried about finishing!”
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ISSUE 115 FEBRUARY 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
Toni McCann
Take a bow, Meg Mackenzie.
It takes guts and determination
to go live in a camper van
while trailing around Europe to
take on the best in the world,
and then to finish top 10 as
well following a consistently
solid season of hard racing.
Just as she says she is looking
forward to doing it again in
2019, so all her fans back
home will be rooting for her to
go even better in the Golden
Trail Series the second time
round.