Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 122, September 2019 | Page 29

ADVERTORIAL
Incredible 18 th for Vorentoe
The annual North Vaal Cross Country meet at Pochefstroom’s North West University is one of the biggest and most
fiercely contested competitions of its kind in Southern Africa. It is hard, fast and ruthless, and if you lose momentum
during your run, you lose at least 10 places in the process.
T
hat’s because all the best runners in Gauteng
provinces are there, giving it their all, and if
we’re totally honest, many of them are not just
gunning for line honours, but also for the runners from
the Murray & Roberts Vorentoe Running Academy.
That’s because, going into the 2019 meet, ‘Vories’
had won the overall girls and boys North Vaal title no
less than 17 times in the last 18 years – little wonder
that the Vorentoe athletes have walked around the
meet seemingly with large targets on their backs for
many years!
scored 26 points, putting them 14 ahead of the Tuks
Sport School, while the senior boys flew the Murray
& Roberts colours high with an almost flawless 12
points, which gave them a 37-point margin over the
team from Tuks.
And so, after weathering all that early pressure, the
Vorentoe team once again brought home the bacon,
winning the overall North Vaal title for a record 18th
time with 39 points to Pretoria’s Menlopark School’s
total of 114 points.
‘PROUD PARENT’
Former Olympian René Kalmer, who is ‘mom,
confidante, part-time teacher and motivator’ for the
team, said: “The consistency, drive and success of
this team is such an inspiration to us all at the Murray
& Roberts Running Club, and the company as a
whole. They are a very talented and driven bunch of
youngsters, and Hans matches them for enthusiasm
and innovation all the time. We are so proud of them
– and the way they’re going, they’ll be shooting for an
astounding 19 wins in 2020!”
The Academy’s incredible achievements are a
testament to the hard work, effort, love and care that
Hans Saestad and his coaching staff at the Auckland
Park-based school, foist on their athletes. Hans is
an award-winning coach who has produced more
than 50 national champions, Olympians and World
Championships competitors, and has now been a
trainer at the top of his game for more than 35 years.
PLAYING CATCH-UP
The 2019 meet did not start on a great note for the
Vorentoe squad, as the junior boys were a massive
23 points behind the Tuks Sport School boys after
their races over three and four kilometres. (The lower
the position of a finisher, the lower the points scored,
and the lowest overall team score wins.) Thankfully,
the junior girls righted the ship with a stunning 13
points, which left them well ahead of the team from
Zwartkop.
In the senior girls’ race for under-19s, the ‘Vories’
OUR FIRST WORLD CHAMPS ATHLETE
On the road, the black and yellow wishes Benedict Moeng well as he makes his debut at the IAAF World
Championships in Doha, Qatar at the end of September. He will be racing in the marathon in Doha, and
showed recently that he is in terrific form ahead of the World Champs by clocking 64:31 in a fine tune-up run
in Mossel Bay’s PetroSA Half Marathon.
Club chairman Ed Jardim said: “From all of us at Murray & Roberts Running Club, we are so proud of you for
making the national team, Benedict. You are our first athlete to make it to World’s in our colours, and we are
behind you all the way. Run the legs off them!”
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