AFRICANX hosts the Pickle Juice three day stage race
The Pickle Juice AFRICANX trail run 3-Day Stage Race, which was first held in 2009, celebrated its 13th anniversary. In the heart of the Overberg, trail runners had three days of superb trail running.
Stage three of the Pickle Juice AFRICANX trail run 3-day stage race, often known as dress up day, began and finished at the charming Houw Hoek Hotel on March 19.
Pairs of runners were required to finish an estimated 18km route that included challenging trails through fynbos, scenic riverside pathways and a famous rise about halfway.
As usual in AFRICANX, the mass field of runners began stage three 30 minutes before the top five finishers overall. This gave the spectators a glimpse of how quick the elite pitch was, while also giving the elite pitch a taste of the AFRICANX atmosphere.
According to John April, who paired with Understand Ncube, they simply sped up a little because they were already behind by nearly two minutes when the stage began. They were warned about the long hill ahead and knew they could continue jogging after it had passed. They accomplished that and won the stage once more.
“I feel good. We were planning to take the stage two win, but Ncube was cramping because he’s not used to the long distance. I told him to chill because we could make it up on stage three. We will be back next year to defend our title and take all three stage wins,” John said.
“There was no point during the stage today that we thought we wouldn’t take the win. For me, it was two days of running and the last day was the racing stage. Today was good. We knew that we had to maintain our pace, not going fast and not going slow, just maintaining our pace,” he said.
AFRICANX is synonymous with amazing trails, breathtaking scenery, delectable food, a relaxed atmosphere, a wonderful vibe and most importantly, teamwork.
For additional information on the race, visit www.stillwatersports.com or contact Stillwater Sports at 082 991 0045 or email entries@stillwatersports.com
