After a temporary hiatus forced by the COVID pandemic , the four-day Rhodes Dryland Traverse returned to the trails of the Klein Karoo near Oudtshoorn on the first weekend of November . This was the 10 th edition of what has become one of South Africa ’ s favourite multi-day adventure trail events . |
Having warmed up his running muscles in the Thursday evening 7.3km prologue , former winner Robert ‘ Robbie ’ Rorich seemingly flew up the Swartberg Pass in Stage 1 ( 25.7km ) to set the tone for the racing to come . He also won Stage 2 ( 28.3km ), then ran the final 10km stage barefoot and still took second place on the day as he wrapped up the overall win in the individual men ’ s race .
Rorich finished with an overall time of 5:27:15 after four days of racing , with John April second ( 5:40:59 ) and Ben Kooyman third ( 6:53:31 ). After the race , Rorich said , “ It was fantastic to be back at the Dryland Traverse , and to win it again . I always have such a great time at this race , so I ’ ll definitely be back again , and I also want to take on some of the great mountain biking events that the Dryland team put on .”
Camaraderie Within Competition
Amongst the women , Nadia Jooste took line honours in the prologue and two out of the three main stages , only narrowly losing to Sarah-Jane Perry by half a second on Stage 2 . Jooste only began racing seriously this year , after having three children , but had already shown her star potential by finishing third in the Otter African Trail Marathon at the beginning of October . Just four weeks later , she finished the Rhodes Dryland Traverse with an overall winning time of 6:49:37 .
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Perry , who had never run anything longer than 10km before , showed remarkable running strength to finish second overall on 7:01:50 , with multiple Comrades Marathon gold medallist Yolande Maclean rounding off the podium in third ( 7:07:33 ).
Fourth overall in the women ’ s solo race went to Amri Williamson , who literally sacrificed her own race to help a fellow runner . In a remarkable display of sportsmanship , she caught a struggling Perry around the 12km mark of Stage 2 and stayed with her for the next 16km , saying she was determined to see the newcomer to trail running finish on the podium , and literally pulled Perry up some of the steeper hills while constantly coaching and motivating her ! Williamson was awarded a R2500 Biogen hamper at the end of the race for her incredible spirit of camaraderie .
Dominant Teams at Dryland
Right from the start of the prologue , the men ’ s team competition was all about one team , Francois Maquassa of Oudtshoorn ( who was third in the men ’ s solo race in 2019 ) and Lloyd Bosman of George . The local favourites , running as team Nedbank SWD Men , literally ran away with the category , finishing with an overall time of 5:36:26 , comfortably ahead of second-placed JC Visser and Mauritz Janse van Rensburg ( Team Soul Running , 6:59:39 ) and third team over the line , The Drivers ( Ashley Driver and Brett van Coller , 7:02:36 ).
The top women ’ s team consisted of former SA World Champs international Chantel Nienaber and emerging young trail starlet Chloe Bishop , who only joined forces as Team # TrueStory a few days before the event after Bishop contacted Nienaber via Facebook and asked if she could run the event with
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one of her all-time running heroes . They dominated proceedings to win the category in 7:50:36 , finishing ahead of the Boere Bokkies ( Jeanne Botha and Rochelle Green , 8:17:27 ) and Team 32Gi Girls ( Rebecca Jordaan and Theresa Buchner , 8:26:07 ). |
The Mixed Team category was won by Anel van Wyk and Eddie Mouton of Nedbank SWD Mixed , who finished on 7:23:16 , ahead of Bert and Melanie Verlinde of Team Black Mountain CrossFit ( 7:40:50 ) and Robyn Tayelor and Tyrone van Rooyen of Team Smile Knysna ( 7:51:07 ).
Adding a bit of fun to the event , the Mafuta category for male runners weighing in at 90 to 99kg was won by Marsel Roos in 7:09:55 , while the Makula Mafuta category for runners over 100kg was won by Stefa Burger in 8:47:29 . Mafuta means fat man in isiXhosa , while Makula Mafuta means very fat man , and male runners are invited to weigh in at registration to qualify for these categories , with coveted hippopotamus trophies up for grabs , but to be fair to these bigger runners , it ’ s all muscle !
Great to be Back !
With the 10 th birthday of the Dryland Traverse having been put on hold in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic , Dryland Event Management ’ s Bernard Le Roux says it was fantastic to be able to once again present the race in 2021 . “ This event has always been special to us in so many ways , and this year was no different . We are really grateful that we were able to celebrate the 10 th edition with the support of our sponsors , all the familiar faces coming back each year , as well as all the first-timers . Thank you for contributing to another unforgettable weekend , with friendship , camaraderie and great spirit shown on the trails and at the race village !”
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Top 4 women , Sarah-Jane Perry , Nadia Jooste , Yolande Maclean and Amri Williamson |
Men ’ s Team winners Francois Maquassa and Lloyd Bosman |
Mixed team winners Anel van Wyk and Eddie Mouton |
Images : Carli Smith & Justin Reinecke |