Podium clean sweep for local trio at North Coast Ultra
Dave Fick, Lihle Gema and Nic Acampora delivered strong runs across a wide range of terrains in their 56km outing, claiming the top three places respectively.
Locals delivered a podium clean sweep in the back-breaking North Coast Ultra trail run in Zinkwazi at the weekend.
Perfect weather greeted the ultra runners, who kicked off at 5.30am, before arriving onto a beach section to meet the sunrise.
“We initially got a little lost, but then found our way to the beach to tackle the next few hours,” said Fick.
While Gema set off for an early lead, breaking away from the pack at the 3km mark, Fick and Acampora ran together in the chasing group.
“Nic and I used the run as one of the longer training runs for the Comrades, so we did not want to overdo anything initially. We kept our pace and trusted we could haul in Lihle later down the line,” Fick said.
The course took runners through every kind of terrain, with sections on the beach, road, forest and mangroves – constantly testing their focus and resilience.
After about 30km of chasing, the duo caught up with Gema and it turned into a mental battle on the way to the finish line.
“We stayed together until the last few kilometres, after which I put my head down to try and take it. Although he was cramping, Lihle was on my tail the whole time, with Nic just behind.”
Fick took gold by just under 30 seconds, with Acampora another 15 seconds behind in third. They were more than seven minutes ahead of the next finisher.
“I was really stoked to come away with the victory and I couldn’t have asked for a better training day out,” Fick said.
In the women’s race, Jo Keppler claimed gold, while Ballito Adventure Obstacle Training co-owner, Trish Eksteen, grabbed silver. The North Coast Courier’s graphic designer Nicole von Metzinger finished 6th in her age category.
Also held in conjunction with the 56km Ultra, were the 33km trail and 16km explorer runs over the same course.
Ballito runners Gustaf Swart and Matthew McFarlane both finished among the top 10.
For a full list of results, visit kzntrailrunning.co.za/results-2022/.
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