Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 66, January 2015

Ma Race Report Tough, Tougher, Tough One RAC City Lodge Tough One 32km & Asics Five, Central Gauteng, 23 November 2014 he route profile of the Tough One leaves you in no doubt why this race got its name – it’s an undulating monster that really tests the legs, and a last big challenge to really wind down a running calendar year. Starting off on Jan Smuts towards Randburg, two big climbs in the first 2km give runners a nasty wake-up, but many say the race only really starts just before the 20km marker, with a steady climb for 3km through Douglasdale. And toughest on the day were Nedbank’s Leswene Mailola, who grabbed victory in 1:47:50, while Yolandi Maclean took honours in the women’s race in 2:05:41. Ma race report Winter-proof WINELANDS Vital Winelands Marathon, Half Marathon, 10km & 5km, Western Province, 15 November 48 ISSUE 66 JANUARY 2015 / www.modernathlete.co.za What makes the ‘Toughie’ a great day out is that it attracts young and old, slow and fast – the oldest female finisher was 89, while the oldest male finisher was 85, and the accompanying Asics 5km further added to the great mix of athletes, bringing beginners and top track athletes alike to the road. Sponsored by the City Lodge Hotel Group for the seventh consecutive year, the race also featured the City Lodge ‘watering hole’, complete with a DJ spinning the vibes to motivate the passing runners. It was four seasons in one day at the 37th running of the Winelands, but neither the rain nor a brief hailstorm could put a dampener on the biggest edition of the race to date. – BY SEAN FALCONER T he 2014 edition of the Winelands will go down as the year the race really came of age as a major road running event on the Western Cape calendar. With a new sponsor on board in the form of Vital Health Foods and a new co-presenting club, Run/Walk For Life Somerset West branch joining forces with Helderberg Harriers, the race saw unprecedented growth as the number of marathon finishers climbed from 986 to 1219 compared to 2013, while the half went from 1101 to 1528. Added to that, the new 10km brought in another 728 finishers, not to mention the 5km fun run. In the marathon, Candyce Hall (Carbineers, 3:11:04) retained her title with ease, but defending men’s champion Dicardo Jakobs was outsprinted in the last 50 metres by Itheko clubmate Wanda Roro (2:27:11). The half marathon titles went to Duane Fortuin in a course record 1:08:29 and Nomvuyisi Seti in 1:21:20 (both running for Itheko), and the new, hilly 10km was won by Danzil Paulse (Easterns Kraaifontein, 31:49) and junior Pamela Moyikwa (K-Way VOB, 42:05) Images: Courtesy Vital T Images: Jetline Action Photo Despite buckets of rain pouring down during stages of the Tough One, and the challenging course living up to its name, more than 4000 runners made the most of cool, pleasant conditions for the 41st edition of this Northern Johannesburg classic.

Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 66, January 2015 | Page 48