Fast times expected at Buffs
TO THE majority of runners in the Eastern Cape and indeed around South Africa the Hemmingways Buffalo Marathon, referred affectionately to as “the Buffs”, is the most prestigious of marathons in the country.
That may or may not be true but a look at the results of previous races over the 43-year history of the race suggests it is justified.
Next Saturday, February 25 some 800 runners are expected to line up at the start of either the full or the half marathon.
The marathon starts to the north west of Macleantown and follows the N6 into Beacon Bay, before winding its way through Abbotsford, into Nahoon, Stirling, Bunkers Hill and the finish at Buffalo Club.
The half marathon starts just south of Python Park and follows an identical route to the finish.
Both routes are considered reasonably quick with the marathon having a reputation for personal bests, especially for runners from Gauteng and Free State.
There is an overall drop in altitude but the final 6kms is when stamina is tested to the full. Consider Willasdale Drive, Galway Road from Roslyn up to Gleneagles and then Buffalo Park Drive at the finish. This is when the strong hill but only by about one minute. Both men ran pb’s and would never run faster over 42,2km again.
Hemmingways, represented by Anneke Potgieter, the general manager, on Thursday handed over a cheque in the amount of R100 000 to Craig Nelson, the chairman of Buffalo Road Runners.
Entries for 2017 are available online at www.buffaloroadrunners. or manually at Sportsmans Warehouse, Beacon Bay. They close at noon on Tuesday.
Runners wanting to catch a bus to the start can do so at R40 each.