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Champion South African trail-runner Johardt van Heerden applied his off-road experience to great effect to win a sometimes slippery SPAR Knysna Forest Marathon on debut on Saturday.
The Capetonian finished in 2:33:39, beating home Ryan Eichstadt (second) and Philasande Buthelezi (third).
Mila Geldenhuys was the first woman across the line in the tough 42.2km event.
In the men’s 21.1km, it was third time lucky for the Garden Route’s Selwyn Matthews, who won in a strong 1:06:47.
He got the better of teammate and training partner Lloyd Bosman – the multiple defending champion – with Francois Maquassa third.
Mia Steytler broke the tape in the women’s half-marathon.
More than 7 000 athletes braved the nippy early-morning weather to take part in the 38th running of the event.
Conditions were not as wet as initially forecast, with the times indicating that the going was relatively good underfoot.
Van Heerden has won a number of ultra-trail events in South Africa and has enjoyed considerable success overseas as well.
He entered the Knysna Forest Marathon to record a qualifying time for next year’s Boston Marathon, a race he wants to tick off his bucket list.
The Cape Town attorney said that although the run had been a bit slippery in the beginning, he had soon felt comfortable.
“After 15km, I actually thought I had started too fast,” Van Heerden confessed.
“But I studied the route beforehand and saw that after 25km it’s nice with a big downhill and sharp uphill. I was mentally prepared for that.
The final descent towards the coast was all about running as fast as your legs would carry you, he said.
“Overall I am satisfied. It was a good day out.”
He believes his background in trail-running was an advantage on the undulating route.
In road running, he explained, athletes used the same muscles all the time whereas trail-running required the activation of different muscle groups. In that respect the run in the forest, with its slippery surface, was similar to his chosen sport, he said.
