FOUR local residents were part of more than 3 500 athletes that recently took part in the Obstacle Course Racing World Championships in Toronto Canada. The quartet said the sport was a gruelling test of strength and endurance that pushes competitors to their limits with a course spanning 15 kilometres and incorporating 52 obstacles.

The Durban North athletes, Tom Basson, James Meredith and Claude and Trish Eksteen also had reason to celebrate with two top tens in the Elite/Pro division and a podium finish in the age group category.

For the uninitiated, the sport of Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) is a sport in which a competitor, traveling on foot, must overcome various physical challenges that are in the form of obstacles.

For Claude and Trish, who run Adventure Obstacle Training (AOT) in Durban North, the experience was made especially sweeter by seeing people they train obtain their best finishes.

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“I think seeing Tom come second in the world and James finishing in the top 60 of the Elite/Pro division was incredibly pleasing,” explained Claude. “They’ve trained really hard to achieve their goals. On a personal note I was really chuffed with my performance as this was the first course I’d completed. Two years ago I took on the world champs in Cincinnati and it was minus 1, the coldest it had been in 40 years in Ohio, and I ended up dropping out because I got hypothermia. I finished eighth in the Elite/Pro division and so did Trish. We were the only athletes from the SA team to make the top 10 which was awesome,” he said.

His thoughts were echoed by his wife, Trish, who said she was aiming for a top 10 finish.

“When I previously competed I ended tenth, which was in 2015. So I had an idea where I wanted to be but the level of the sport has gone up so much in the year that I missed. But I was ecstatic with my performance, it’s a massive improvement for me. One of the major differences between a typical Warrior obstacle race here in SA is 32 obstacles compared to 52 at the world champs. While it not as technical as Warrior, it certainly isn’t a walk in the park,” Trish said.

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For local pastor and former gymnast, Tom Basson, this year’s world champs saw him jump 11 places compared to his previous best.

“This was my second world champs and I finished thirteenth at last year’s event. Running has always been my weakness, but this year, thanks to Claude and Trish’s tutelage, I was able to finish second which I’m so happy about. During the race, Trish and Claude told me to hold back in the first seven or eight kilometres so I kept the top 10 guys in sight. It was the last half of the race I was able to step it up and I managed to beat a competitor from Sweden on the last obstacle,” an elated Basson said.

James Meredith, who finished 57th in the Elite/Pro division said he can’t wait to take part in next year’s event.

“I loved every second of the race. I must admit I held back slightly, not much, but I ran hard and now knowing what to expect I can’t wait for next year’s champs,” he said.

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