Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 50, September 2013 | Page 39

Polish Pride
10th World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships (41km), Szklarska Poreba, Poland, 3 August

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Team SA: Anita, Robyn, Katya & Ronel with Michael, Kane, Thabang & Altus

really tough course, with a start reached by ski-

Terrible day for me in the mountains. Really struggled to get to the ?nish line, heartbroken at how things didn’t work for me, but the Saffa’s de?nitely made waves up here! Thanks everyone for all the kind words – really helped me rise above a very disappointing day. Still learnt a lot and made some new friends. Experience, experience, experience! – Kane Reilly Tough day in the mountains of Poland. My ?rst ride on

lifts, was made more dif?cult by temperatures of up to 35°C, but once again the SA contingent pushed through to the ?nish regardless – Kane Reilly and Katya Soggot in particular had a proverbial ‘bad day at the of?ce,’ but were able to help each other home in the end. On the up side, our women’s team came 7th and the men 10th, a great result for SA. Thank you, Altus Schreuder, all team members, and all our supporters there on the day. I am so delighted all our team members managed to hit the ?nish line, which is the most important thing. Being 20th at my ?rst Long Distance World Champs is really a big achievement to me, and I’ve learnt a lot today, so now my coach and I will go back to our drawing board and prepare for next year’s race. Viva, Team SA, Viva! – Thabang Madiba World champs done! Amazing race, really happy with how it went. But gee, these Europeans can run, and they have MOUNTAINS! Not like the little mole hills back home. The whole team did really well and made SA proud. Thanks for all the support from everyone at home. We really appreciate it! – Ronel Nattrass

a ski-lift, then 22km of running on the route in over 30-degree heat to get water bottles to athletes and help everybody get home. What an unbelievable privilege and brilliant experience. – Altus Schreuder, Team Manager I was 10th at 13km, but the heat and altitude started taking its toll and I had to really dig deep. The water at the water tables was quite warm, but we crossed two small streams and the water there was ice, ice cold. It was like an oasis – unbelievably refreshing! Eventually getting to the last waterpoint, Altus was standing there encouraging us on. It was so awesome to hear a familiar voice! Stoked with my result and overall team effort today, considering the conditions! Hope to make it to World Champs next year in the USA. – Michael Bailey

SA’s best, Thabang Madiba.

SA’s MEN
22 Thabang Madiba 3:40:33 46 Michael Bailey 4:06:44 307 Kane Reilly 6:00:33 Winner: Mitja Kosovelj (Slovenia) 3:07:36

SA’s WOMEN
24 Robyn Kime 4:32:01 26 Ronel Nattrass 4:33:30 30 Anita O’Brien 4:40:23 61 Katya Soggot 6:00:33 Winner: Antonela Confortola (Italy) 3:44:51

Spur KZN Trail Series Flyer 16 August-1.indd 1

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