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Toni McCann recorded her third win with a new course record
McCann
Shatters
Otter
Course Record
The 13 th edition of the Otter African Trail Run was run on 8 October , and two athletes who had tasted victory here twice before were once again on top of the podium , but it was women ’ s winner Toni McCann who had double cause to pop the champagne cork come the end of the race .
The men ’ s title and overall win went to Johardt van Heerden , who previously won in 2019 and 2021 , but this was his first win on the RETTO course , running from West to East every second year . He finished in 4:05:19 , beating Kane Reilly ( 4:12:31 ) by just over seven minutes , with Robby Rorich rounding out the men ’ s podium with a 4:29:08 finish .
However , it was women ’ s winner in 2019 and 2020 , Toni McCann , who really caught the eye as she finished fourth overall and shattered the women ’ s course record , setting a new benchmark time of 4:33:26 . The South African ’ s time was 4 minutes and 22 seconds faster than the previous best time , 4:37:48 , set in 2018 by Britain ’ s Holly Page , and was also 6:34 under the 4:40 mark , which earned her a R150,000 bonus from Easy Equities and Faces !
McCann was followed home by the 2021 Otter African Trail Run winner , Bianca Tarboton , who reported having struggled with the heat and never really got
Spectacular views come with spectacular climbs !
going well enough to challenge the 2022 champion . She still managed a very credible 4:54:15 , with Marzelle van der Merwe rounding out the women ’ s podium and taking it upon herself to douse McCann in MCC during prize-giving , in a fitting celebration of the newly crowned record holder ’ s winning run .
Faster in Reverse
The Otter African Trail Run takes place annually in the Tsitsikamma National Park , near Plettenberg Bay in the Southern Cape , and runs in the opposite direction each year . The Otter edition traverses East to West , starting in Storms River and finishing in Natures Valley , with the Retto ( Otter in reverse ) edition running West to East , from Natures Valley to Storms River . The 42km route features rugged Indian Ocean coastline trails , indigenous forests , river crossings , spectacular scenery and around 7000 steps .
The RETTO route is historically the faster of the two directions , and so it proved once again this year . Van Heerden and Reilly were flirting with the four-hour
Leaders Kane Reilly and Johardt van Heerden ran much of the race together
mark for much of the race , while McCann was well up on that 4:40 target throughout the race . Having passed through the first two checkpoints in seventh position overall , she upped her tempo through the KAUAI Munchie Point near the halfway mark and moved up to fifth on the trail .
McCann went on to cross the finish line in fourth , just over three minutes behind the third-placed man , Rorich , and described the win as really special . “ It ’ s so special to run into a crowd of people that I know . I ’ ve run overseas , but nothing beats this . UTMB is special , the crowds are huge , but this is special . This is my home turf . And nothing beats that !” she said at the finish .
In spite of posting a record time , McCann admitted that it had not been as smooth a run as she had hoped . “ I went really hard with the goal of going sub 4:40 , and ja , I can ’ t really believe what just happened .
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