TRAIL
The Shorter UTC Events
Toni Takes the PT55
After a hugely successful year racing internationally as part of the adidas Terrex team , including a superb win in the Ultra-trail Mont Blanc OCC 55km in France , local star Toni McCann returned to Cape Town for the Peninsula Traverse 55km ( PT55 ) at UTCT . She proceeded to blitz the course in 5:47:39 , not only taking the women ’ s title , but also finishing third overall on the day , just 16 minutes behind men ’ s winner Robbie Simpson of Great Britain ( 5:31:30 ). As she said afterwards , it was a wee bit hot out there , but she had a fabulous race .
“ Holy moly , what a day . The highest highs being cheered for on home turf , but also some real digging deep on a relentlessly tough route ! Overall , I ’ m so , so happy . This community is everything . These trails are so special . This race has created something really special here .
I definitely didn ’ t account for the humidity / heat and how thirsty I would get . I also didn ’ t plan to have so much caffeine , but I was struggling , and that additional Red Bull looked too appealing to pass up . Thank goodness for my crew who helped me troubleshoot before things became problems . And for Newlands for having fresh mountain streams flowing .
Not going to pretend I had an easy day out this year . Felt good up to the Hout Bay aid station , and hit a massive mental low not long after that . And from there it was a battle against my head , because the fight in me had gone . But there is something about racing at home , the community , these trails , that kept me going , and kept my spirits up , even when I didn ’ t think I could continue . Thank you to my crew , my team , and my home turf for the perfect end to my season !
Toni McCann took the win in the PT55
Bianca ’ s Big Day in the TM35
South Africa ’ s Bianca Tarboton was first woman home ( and an impressive third overall ) in the Table Mountain 35km ( TM35 ) race , clocking in at 4:04:57 , just short of 12 minutes after men ’ s winner Bastain Peres of France ( 3:53:14 ). After a successful but hard year of racing on the international stage as part of the global adidas Terrex team , she posted on social media that it was great to end her racing year on home turf in Cape Town , especially with a win .
“ This was my first time racing UTCT in four years , and my first time racing the 35km . Just getting to this point was a celebration in and of itself . Physically , the build-up to this race was glorious , and I was feeling prepped and ready for a whole lot of climbing and
Bianca Tarboton was unstoppable in the TM35
technical running . Mentally , things were a bit trickier , but if there ’ s one thing that I love the most about racing , it ’ s that hyper-focused zone I get into where nothing else but running and racing matter . No noise , no distraction , just one step in front of the other .
Conditions were steamy – as in 3.5 litres of water / Coke in four hours steamy – but motivation levels were high . Loved every bit of my race besides that one final oven-baked Blockhouse climb ! The body and mind responded well , and the day that I was given was a real good one . It ’ s been a long and incredible racing season , and I couldn ’ t have asked for a better run to end it off with . Managed to take first place and third overall – thanks for a fun run together , Brode Baker , and well done to my amazing teammate and friends Holly Page and Rebecca Kohne for your strong races , too !
Thanks to all of my family , friends and teammates for the support – it always means everything having the people you love out there . And thanks to adidas Terrex for the opportunities and for bringing some of the team to SA again ! Having a bunch of them here experiencing Cape Town and ripping up the trails has been the best . Well done , team . And lastly , thank you Stuart and the team for everything that you have done for the Cape Town trail running community , and for pulling off yet another exceptional UTCT . Until next year !”
Images : Kelvin Trautman , Zac Zinn , Sam Clark , Fahwaaz Cornelius , Jason Broderick , Devin Paisley , Mentz Germishuis , Jess Meniere
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