Residents walk the epic walk

Sportsmanship – this ethos encapsulates fairness, fellowship among competitors.

The spirit of good competition was borne by entrants into the 22nd Blood Buddy Memel to Newcastle Walk, which took place on Saturday.

It was an early start in chilly Memel.

Whether running, walking, alone or part of a team, residents tackled the gruelling uphills and downhills of the R34 between Newcastle and Memel.

A few hours later, the winners were:

In the 50km walk, Stephen Msimango was first to finish in a time of five hours, 44 minutes and 49 seconds.

Greaterman Thwala was second in 5:47:21.

Anna de Beer (6:14:19), Dumisani Mhlongo (6:33:28) and Modi Dlamini (6:55:21) took third, fourth and fifth place respectively.

Sihla Manana was the top athlete in the 50km individual run.

His time of three hours, 47 minutes and four seconds was more than half an hour clear of Bafana Mtimkulu, second in a time of 4:24:59.

Janet van Veijeren was third, complete in 4:46:21.

Fourth and fifth place went to André Spies and Sibusiso Mlambo, who had the distance underfoot in 4:46:22 and 4:47:37 respectively.

Lanxess dominated the 50km relay event.

The first relay team to cross the finish line was Lanxess Super Five in six hours, 10 minutes and five seconds, ahead of Lanxess Electrolyses in 6:14:54.

In 6:19:04, Lanxess Maintenance was third.

Rounding off the top five positions were Lanxess Projects 1, done in a time of 6:33:01 and Dannhauser Municipality III, in 6:35:44.