The well-known Lowveld physiotherapist and extreme endurance athlete, Damien Kühn, won the 69km Kaapsehoop Mountain Ultra on Saturday.

Competing was a spur of the moment decision for Kühn. He wanted to use the experience of pushing his body and mind among beautiful scenery to reinvigorate his spirit. He did not enter to win.

The trial running event, over three distances, was held in and around Kaapsehoop.

The 69km course had an elevation gain of 2 750m.

He clocked 09:56:43 for the 69km race.

“I decided to enter a few days before the race and paid extra for the refund option in case I wasn’t feeling up to it on race day.

“The run wasn’t supposed to be serious, I only wanted to clear my head.

“We started off with a lot of banter as always, and I pushed a bit harder to be in front, and to my surprise I stayed there.

“The heat was excruciating. I have never run in such heat for so long. I calculated that I consumed between 13 to 14 litres of water during the race.

“This felt more challenging than the 100 miler I ran in May. With these types of events, I keep hearing the words of my friend, John Carter, in the back of my head: ‘relentless forward movement,'” said Kühn.

Harry Wiltshire and and Henk Mulder came in 46 minutes, 30 seconds after the Lowvelder to share third place.

Nicky Booyens was the first female athlete home in 11:33:34. She was fourth overall.

She was followed by Rene Vollgraaff, who clocked 11:52:03.

Riana Henning was the third woman home in 14:21:32. She was the first and only woman in the 50-59 category.

Eleven competitors completed the gruelling 69km race.

Thirty-seven runners finished the 42km and 121 the 17km race.

42km
Men
• 1. Piers Cruickshanks – 05:18:53
• 2. Edrich Ferreira – 05:40:54
• 3. Dylan Hemer – 06:31:13
Women
• 1. Rizta Fouché – 05:47:26 (third overall)
• 2. Chandri van Heerden – 06:16:02 (fourth overall)
• 3. Minette van der berg – 06:24:58 (fifth overall)
17km
Men
• 1. Deane Mortlock – 01:50:35
• 2. Berno de Villiers – 01:58:44
• 3. Brad Carter – 01:58:44
Women
• 1. Karina Pauer – 02:13:29 (sixth overall)
• 2. Allison Hay – 02:16:52 (eighth overall)
• 3. Annalize Sales – 02:20:38. (ninth overall).

Kühn will certainly be back in action after a short break.

“I think the thing that attracts me to endurance sport is the fact that you don’t have to be the fastest, fittest or strongest, in the end it comes down to how tough your mind is.

“When your feet start to bleed and your legs are cramping and you still have 40km left to run, it’s easy to tap out. Your ability to endure is only limited by the limits you place on yourself.

“One of my favourite quotes by Eliud Kipchoge is ‘No human is limited’.

“Thank you to my race sponsor, Doppio Zero,” he said.