Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 98, September 2017 | Page 37

3 ELB EXTREME ROAD CHALLENGE – THE RACE IS ON! rd The 2017 ELB Extreme Road Challenge will take place in Lesotho, so come join us for a 408km race between runners and cyclists. E LB Engineering is hosting the 3rd ELB Extreme Road Challenge to raise awareness for the deaf community and to assist the St Vincent School for the Deaf raise the much-needed funds required to meet the needs of its learners. The ELB Extreme Road Challenge had humble beginnings some six years ago when a few ELB cyclists and their buddies would ride down to Pietermaritzburg each year and then take part in the Amashova. In 2014, Dr Stephen Meijers, the CEO of ELB, decided to challenge these cyclists by including some long distance runners in the mix, and so the ELB Extreme Road Challenge was born. This year ELB was determined to step it up a notch by tackling the unforgiving terrain of the Lesotho Highlands. The new route will see a peloton of die-hard cyclists take on the toughness of experienced runners in the ELB Extreme Road Challenge Lesotho from 19 to 22 October 2017. TAKING ON THE HIGHLANDS The 408km route will start at the Basotho Cultural Village in Golden Gate National Park, pass Clarens and cross into Lesotho near Ficksburg, then up to Katse Dam before heading up to the finish at Afriski Mountain Resort. The cyclists and runners will aim to determine once and for all who is the fastest over the route of 408 kilometres. For the challenge, the cyclists will be broken into teams of five cyclists who will each compete not only against each other, but also against teams of five runners. So that the athletes arrive at the finish at more-or-less the same time, the runners complete the distance in a non-stop relay format with one runner per team on the road at all times. Each runner is expected to run at least 70 kilometres. Meanwhile, the cyclists take on the distance in three stages, with overnight stops at Ficksburg and Katse Dam Lodge. The first stage from Golden Gate National Park to Ficksburg is 126km long. Stage two is a 156km journey through the Lesotho Mountains and ends at Katse Dam Lodge, and the third stage of 126km includes a 45km gravel road section, which will present the cycling teams with another challenge, deciding whether to continue on their road bikes or to switch to mountain bikes for that stretch. UNIQUE CHALLENGE During the previous two ELB Extreme Road Challenges, which saw runners and cyclists compete on the roads between Johannesburg and Pietermaritzburg, a running team won in 2014 and a cycling team won in 2015. In both cases, the first running and cycling teams finished within 10 minutes of each other, showing that the formula for determining the overall winner is fair for both sporting codes. Each cyclist is encouraged to raise R4000 and each runner R3200 as their personal entry fee, and the proceeds of the event will go directly to St Vincent School for the Deaf. The school was established in 1934 and today accommodates learners in its pre-school, primary school and high school, as well as the Vocational Training Centre, and there is also a Special Needs Programme to assist learners with severe learning disabilities. This educational institution requires a far higher level of teacher support per pupil than schools for children without disabilities, and the aim of the ELB Extreme Road Challenge is to support and create public awareness of the special needs for all St Vincent pupils. BE PART OF THE ELB CHALLENGE There are still entry slots available, both for team and individual athletes, and there are also a number of sponsorship opportunities available, including an overall sponsorship of the event and advertising opportunities on event clothing, trophies, branding at the start of the event, the medical support and their vehicles, goodie bags for the athletes, as well as monetary contributions to the event and to St Vincent School for the Dea f. To enter the Challenge, make a donation or to become a sponsor, contact Danielle Djurdjevic on 011 772 1570 or [email protected]. More info at www.facebook.com/ELBextremechallenge 37