Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 140, April 2021 Apr 2021 | Page 33

Grabbing an Early Lead
TRAIL RUNNING
The 2021 Thirsti AFRICANX Trailrun featured a talented contingent of road runners who decided to give trail running a go while road running is still pretty much suspended by lockdown restriction , including two former Comrades Marathon champions , but many eyes were fixed on Juan van Deventer . As one of South Africa ’ s best middle-distance athletes and a former Olympic finalist in the 1500m , his winning transition to ultra-marathons on the road has already surprised many , but could he add yet another glorious chapter to his already impressive running career – and would his badly injured knee hold up to the strain of running on technical off-road terrain ? It turns out that the answer to both questions was a resounding yes ! – BY SEAN FALCONER
This saw a large contingent from the Nedbank Running Club head to Grabouw for the event , including Juan , who teamed up with Comrades silver medallist and former AFRICANX podium finisher Eric Ngubane , a true hybrid roadie-trail runner in his own right . Juan openly admits that he had never even thought about racing on trail before , and it was by no means a planned move . “ It was never even on the radar – I probably only thought of doing something like this one day in the future , with my wife , as a social run . It was very much a last-minute decision ,” he says .
“ I will admit that I was nervous of getting injured , but after no racing for a year , I can ’ t even begin to tell you how exciting it was being out there and racing again . It ’ s hard to put in words , because this last year we ’ ve been training for various events , only to watch them fall away one by one . My main focus for 2021 would have been to compete on the ultra-running scene , focusing on the Comrades Marathon , and with most of the road races not taking place , AFRICANX offered a great opportunity to try something new .”
Grabbing an Early Lead
The first day of AFRICANX saw the runners cover about 24km with 650m of ascent , and as predicted , the pace was faster than usual , with the leading men ’ s teams averaging well below four minutes a kay , even going closer to three minutes per kay at times . Juan and Eric had decided to throw down the gauntlet from the start , and duly took the win in 1 hour 32 minutes 10 second ( 1:32:10 ), giving them a 26-second lead over the second-placed pair , fellow Nedbank runners Lloyd Bosman and Ettienne Plaaitjies .
“ Day one I was relaxed and comfy , not feeling any pressure , but I didn ’ t know what to expect . The routes were a little technical for me , as I ’ m not used to that kind of terrain , but Eric has so much experience on the trails . I just fed off of him , and he helped by giving me the guidance that I needed to get through the day ,” says Juan . “ After 15km , we broke away with Lloyd and Ettienne , then pulled away from them near the end , but we finished with only a 26-second gap , and I didn ’ t know if I had pushed Eric too hard towards the end .”
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