One hundred miles, or 160 kilometres, is a long drive, an even longer bike ride, and for many, an unthinkable distance to run.
It is said to undoubtedly be one of the most ridiculous things you can put your body through. It takes patience, grit and experience to conquer the countless scenarios that might cross your path.

A total of 37 runners, however, still lined up at the quaint old gold-mining town of Pilgrim’s Rest, to undertake this mammoth journey before the cut-off time of 44 hours. Ultimately, due to the nature of the run, only 26 diehards made the cut.

Nine runners, however, took ridiculous to whole new levels by tackling double that distance – 322 kilometres or 200 miles – all within the 90-hour time limit. That is roughly equivalent to the distance between Mbombela and Pretoria, but with an added elevation gain of 15 000 metres. Organisers agreed this distance brought a whole new dynamic to the event. Of the nine who started, only five conquered it, and leading the pack was 2019’s 100-miles winner Ruan van der Merwe who came in at 62 hours and 31 minutes. Another 100-mile winner last year, Nicky Booyens, won the 200 miles well within the cut-off time – 83:33.

Of the 37 runners who took on the 100-mile race that started in Sabie, 26 finished. Jack Davis won the male division in a time of 24:48 and Ilze Wegener was the first female to cross the finish line, and did so in a time of 32:04. Louis le Grange made short work of the 50 miles and won in a time of 09:16. Kathryn van Meter finished the same distance in 11:14 and became the first female to finish this distance. Of the 64 who started, 53 finished.

In the shortest, yet equally gruelling 46-kilometre race, 148 of the 170 who started pulled through. Rory Pelser did so in the fastest time, taking the win in 5:00,20. Susan Sloan was the fastest female in the distance with a time of 05:36.

The race served as a qualifier for the Ultra Trail du Mont-Blanc scheduled to take place in Chamonix, France, in August this year.