Runners beat the heat at Medihelp Ultra
Ballito played host to the Medihelp Dolphin Coast Ultra Marathon . Despite the sweltering heat, over 1000 runners participated in the different races on the day.
The winner of the Medihelp Dolphin Coast Ultra had initially registering for the 21km race but he was “feeling so good” at the turnaround point that he decided to just keep on running.
Peter Mavura who ran the distance in three hours, 17 minutes and four seconds, crossed the finish line an incredible 15 minutes ahead of his competitors, Mziwenkosi Mjaja who came in second and Sigcobile Feni who took third place.
Over 1000 runners congregated at the Lifestyle Centre at the crack of dawn on Sunday to embark on the Medihelp Dolphin Coast Ultra, the 21 kilometre and the 10 kilometre race.
Runners made good use of the cool conditions in the morning, but the weather changed throughout the day, moving from sweltering heat in the mid morning to blustery and overcast around midday.
Overall, 299 runners finished the 10km, 601 completed the 21km and 174 runners dug deep to finish the gruelling 50km Ultra. The numbers were a marked 13 percent increase from last year.
Nonsikelelo Mbambo was the first woman to complete the 50km, crossing the finish in five hours, five minutes and 10 seconds.
The first runner to cross the finish line on the morning was Elmore Sibanda, who won the 10km in 30 minutes and 44 seconds. Sithulisiwe Zhou was the first woman to finish the 10km in 36 minutes 56 seconds.
Around half an hour later, Garikai Madawo won the 21km, finishing in one hour, 14 minutes and 13 seconds. Lineo Chaka was the winner of the ladies 21km in a time of one hour, 27 minutes and 49 seconds.
Willem Reynecke, Medihelp’s marketing manager, was pleased with the growth of the numbers taking part.
“We were very happy with the event and the feedback we got was very positive,” said Reynecke. This is Medihelp’s third consecutive year as the title sponsor.
Reynecke believes the interest in the Ultra shows that people are becoming more aware of leading healthy lifestyles.
Harry Botha from Dolphin Coast Striders, who hosted the event, highlighted the sponsor’s role in making this year’s event possible.
“Medihelp has definitely made the race more professional and we expect it to continue growing in the coming years,” said Botha.