IN A game that is definitely no lottery, Lucky Miya was one of the members of the South African team who conquered Pikes Peak.
Miya, who works in Midrand, led Team South Africa all way to the top of the peak in Colorado on 17 August. He was the first South African to finish the race, and he placed 19th overall and fourth in his age category.
This year, the 21km Pikes Peak Ascent trail race doubled up as the World Long Distance Trail Running Championship. The other members of the South African team were Danette Smith, Su Don-Wauchope, Thabang Madiba and Duncan O’Regan.
Speaking about his run Miya said, “From the start the mood was great. I started slow which is what the experienced runners advised when we asked them how we should approach the race.” The race course started at 1 900m above sea level, and over the 21km distance it climbed to 4 300m at an average gradient of 11 percent.
“I felt great until the first climb which is one of the steepest in the race,” he said. “As the altitude went up and up, I battled and dropped a few positions. But I kept on fighting.
“The last three miles were extremely hard. I was going at around 15 minutes per mile. I walked almost the whole of it.”
Miya reached the Pikes Peak summit in a time of 2:26:44.
“I’m very happy with my result, especially as I have never run at that high [altitude] before. There is still a lot of hard work needed to be done to compete with the world’s best,” Miya said.
“A very big thank you to the South Africans who supported us all the way and especially my sponsor K-Way.”
His teammates also performed well. Don-Wauchope was the 15th woman to reach the top in a time of 2:58:21 in the 35 to 39 age category. Smith was the 28th woman to arrive in a time of 3:13:54, making her the fourth woman to finish the race in the 20 to 24 age category. O’Regan finished the race in 3:06:41 and Madiba was the last South African to finish in 3:37:53.
The race was won by 28-year-old Colorado local, Sage Canaday in 2:10:03.
