The Roodepoort Athletics Club had a strong showing at the Totalsports Two Oceans Ultra Marathon in Cape Town this past weekend.

The race saw 14 Roodies athletes compete in the gruelling 56km ultramarathon and 21km half-marathon.

For the club, Arno Cilliers was the first man home in the ultramarathon, crossing the finish line in an impressive time of 04:42:27. Unathi Roshe, meanwhile, was the first woman to finish, clocking 05:30:44.

Other notable results in the ultramarathon included Sarel Cilliers in 06:52:54, Jessika Coetzer in 07:00:47, Bradley du Plessis in 06:27:41, Eric Jacobs in 06:27:45 and Peter Makaleng in 05:53:36.

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In the half-marathon, Veronika du Plessis was the first woman of the club to cross the finish line, clocking an impressive time of 02:23:39. She was followed by Roodepoort Record editor Adele Bloem, who finished in 02:40:26.

Annika Coetzee secured third place in 02:41:52, with Delchia Bailey finishing fourth in 02:47:37. Michelle Cilliers rounded off the top five, completing the race in 03:00:19.

In the men’s half-marathon for Roodies, JF Smit claimed top honours with a time of 02:23:39, while Herman Bloem followed in 02:54:00.

Club chairperson Conrad de Buys congratulated all participants on their achievements.

“Congratulations to everyone on completing the world’s most scenic race,” he said.

The 56km race also serves as a qualifier for the Comrades Marathon, which is set to take place on June 14. This year’s event will be the Up Run, starting in Durban and finishing in Pietermaritzburg.