Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 160 August 2023 | Page 46

TRAIL RUNNING

Solid SA Showing in Austrian World Champs

Team SA Results
Vertical Challenge Men
38
Kane Reilly
46:36
81
Llewellyn Groeneveld
51:11
107
Thabang Madiba
57:14
Vertical Challenge Women
60
Bianca Tarboton
58:56
71
Meg Mackenzie
1:00:53
15km Mountain Classic Men
41
Sipho Mbanjwa
1:03:51
50
Siboniso Soldaka
1:04:43
78
Llewellyn Groeneveld
1:08:13
Mbuleli Mathanga DNF
15km Mountain Classic Women
34
Bianca Tarboton
1:13:54
67
Lijan Burger
1:21:27
93
Nwabisa Mjoli
1:34:50
Short Trail 45km Men 72 Kane Reilly 5:17:19 76 Johardt van Heerden 5:19:29
Kane Reilly climbing during the tough Vertical Challenge
90 Jacques Du Plessis 5:29:43 Short Trail 45km Women 37 Landie Greying 5:43:36
The World Mountain and Trail Running Championships delivered top performances on extreme trails in the Austrian Tyrolean Mountains , and the South African contingent once again did the country proud as they tackled the various races that made up these World Champs , laying a promising foundation for World Champs to come . – BY STEPHEN GRANGER
Long Trail 85.2km Men 44 Daniël Claassen 11:24:42 78 Christiaan Greyling 12:36:26

The second World Mountain and Trail Running Championship in Innsbruck , Austria , in June , an event which took the sport to an unprecedented level of competitiveness . At the end of four days of extreme racing over some of the steepest and longest mountain climbs imaginable , France was named as the leading-performing country over all four senior events at the championship , followed by Italy and the USA . 1500 athletes took part from 66 countries and all habitable continents . Africa competed strongly , with Kenyan and Ugandan athletes bagging top positions in the two mountain running events in which they competed seriously , and South Africa running consistently , if not spectacularly , in all the senior events on offer .
While the logistical challenges of hosting an event
centred in two hubs separated by 35km were evident , the local organising committee mostly rose to the occasion and delivered an event that will live long in the memories of those who competed . The elements , notoriously fickle in June in Austria ’ s Tyrolean Mountains , mostly played along , with the majority of racing taking place in cool , partially sunny conditions .
The only times that conditions were sub-optimal were at the tail-end of the 45km ‘ Short Trail ,’ when a cloudburst forced the race to be abandoned and the last 50 participants to be taken off the mountain before they could finish , and the latter stages of the 86km ‘ Long Trail ,’ when the 30-degree plus temperatures made the going tough . However , trail is not track and field , and adverse conditions are as much a part of the sport as the challenging terrain .
Sipho Mbanjwa in action in the Mountain Classic
Images : Stephen Granger , Linda Doke and courtesy Team SA athletes
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