BOB NORRIS
There have been few wet weather Surfers challenge races down the years and the only thing that is certain for the 51st running of the Discovery Surfers Challenge from Kwelera Mouth to Nahoon Beach on Saturday is that there will be weather.
At the time of writing, the forecast suggests good rain on Saturday morning with a continuation of rain throughout the day and temperatures in the region of 23°C.
Rain and running work well together, though paddling out on the ocean for the men and women of the sea could be more affected by visibility.
That said, there are rocks to contend with on the 17.5km run from the traditional start close to the Yellow Sands Resort and through Rainbow Valley, Sunrise-on-Sea, crossing the Gonubie River onto Bonza Bay and other easier, though softer surfaces to negotiate.
February is recognised as the hottest month though strong winds have also been experienced as was the case earlier this week.
Surfers’ contestants are generally a hardy bunch and will take whatever is dealt them.
One of the features of running or paddling Surfers is the warm welcome received by many hundreds of spectators at the Nahoon Beach finish for both, while the runners receive great enthusiasm all the way from the lively start, through the various landmarks and particularly through the beautiful suburb of Gonubie which endures for roughly 6km, from the time runners emerge from the river until they disappear down a tricky bush path back onto the beach at Eastward Ho.
The people are fantastic and the biggest roar comes at the Gonubie Hotel corner where many congregate and cheer all on with a great deal of ferocity.
It is also the start of the shorter event, the contestants of which will have somewhat churned up the sand though to Bonza Bay and Nahoon when the Kwelera brigade arrive.
There have been many outstanding athletes participate, inclusive of at least one Olym-pic runner who heard of the quaint race, which started as a challenge between genuine surfers and old runners, many of them known in such circles as purely “tar treaders”.
Comrades runners the likes of Gordon Shaw, Alan Robb, Bruce Fordyce, Danny Biggs and Shaun Meiklejohn have created interest down the years.
Shaw and Biggs were the only two to win the race, while Meiklejohn joined in the latter years and challenged well.
The original Surfers was run over 16.5km and only Mzwandile Shube and Michael Scout, both of whom have passed on, broke the 60 min barrier with times of 55:40 and 59:19 respectively.
The distance was upped to 17.5km in 2010 and since then Zingisile Marikeni has been the fastest in 66:30.
The fastest women have been the outstanding Hanlie Botha and Myrette Brink, who hails from Pretoria, while in the early days Colleen de Reuck was the most impressive.
Conditions of weather and the terrain and the flow of the Gonubie and Nahoon Rivers have determined the times and on some days they have delivered a hard day at the office.
Final entry lists are still being compiled, but with no road races impacting the calender at the weekend one or two fast running stars could pop up and challenge the records.
