Runner takes on the notorious Otter Trail
A local cross-country athlete endured hours of pain to successfully complete the famously tough cross-country race.
Local iron lady Marianne Wood recently took on one of the most gruelling events known to South African cross-country athletes – the Otter Trail/Retto in the Eastern Cape. The 45km trail is not for the faint of heart as it features rocky edges, river mouths, forests and fynbos, which change with the seasons and weather and dictate the difficulty of the track.
A testimony to the Otter Trail’s difficulty is the fact that experts recommend participants use a personal trainer to equip them for the race, because there are almost no flat surfaces to run on, as most cross-country athletes are used to.
The event took place in the coastal forests of the Tsitsikamma National Park in the Eastern Cape and is regarded as one of the best-organised in SA. Well-equipped support teams stood ready along the route to assist runners if they needed any treatment or help.
Wood trained for eight months, covering distances of 70km per week in off-road, cross-country and technical trail running. Despite the extensive and punishing training, she had some trouble after only 10 kilometres, when she fell on slippery rocks. Unbeknown to her, she had fractured her coccyx.
Despite the pain, she pushed on and pure determination had her cross the finish line in 9 hours and 10 minutes. This unfortunately meant she missed the cut-off time of 8 hours, but her performance remained an impressive feat for a first-timer, especially one who was injured.
“The competition among runners is crazy. The guys and gals who do this in less than 7 hours are to be reckoned with. I take my hat off to them. Some runners are from overseas too, which gives you an idea of the standard of competitors at such an event,” Wood commented.
The athlete was endorsed by local DA councillor Ken Robertson, who congratulated her and said that she had done the residents proud. “We will further endorse Marianne in future events of this calibre as she is an outstanding athlete. Well done,” he remarked.
To learn more about the Otter Trail or see the route Wood followed, visit www.theotter.co.za.
