Smith keeps her end of bargain
STEPHANIE Smith of Easy Equities Born 2 Run in East London provided the highlight in respect of local Two Oceans Marathon results at the weekend.
Tough race conditions did nothing to dampen the 56km marathon voyage for the local runner. Smith, who looked the epitome of calm prior to the start, was in control during her race.
The Born 2 Run star of the standard and ultra-marathon, ran through the halfway mark in the top 20. A top 10 had been predicted for the mildly spoken Smith, and that is what she delivered in the second half, finishing ninth to win a gold medal. It was a first gold medal for a local woman in 20 years.
The Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon is always a tough affair, while the unpredictable weather conditions on the South Western tip of Africa often add to the drama.
Strong gusty winds kept most runners awake on the night preceding the race and were destined to keep them company on raceday, particularly the first 20km and again on Chapman's Peak. Said Smith, who led home two of her Born 2 Run Johannesburg members Julanie Basson in 11th place and Salome Cooper in 12th, “the wind on Chapman's Peak blew me around and I lost touch with my schedule, so discarded it and just ran”.
Just run she certainly did, especially over the last 6km which she did in 24:35. The last two were sub-four minutes each.
Born 2 Run Johannesburg won the women’s team competition while Born 2 Run East London took the bronze medal, through the efforts of Smith, Lauren Ranger, Caryn Lategan and Melanie Schemel.
Sandwiched between Smith and the second and third Born 2 Run women was Old Selbornian’s Andrea Ranger who completed the course in 4:39:40.
The men’s results were generally disappointing, though two men acquitted themselves well. The older of the two produced an outstanding halfmarathon and the younger man ran well in the 56km.
Luthano Hejana of Real Gijimas ran a meaningful personal best 3:33:42 to finish 35th in the ultra, while Born 2 Run’s Makaya Masumpa at age 51, both won the 50-59 category by four minutes, clocking 77:44 and set a new record for the age category by 3:52 in the halfmarathon.
In the 56km race, the only other silver medal times for under four hours appear to have come from, Malixole Kalideni of Old Selbornians and Bonginkosi Noluhlazana of Cheetahs who ran 3:58:05 and 3:51:42 respectively. Michelle Conroy of Born 2 Run was the first local woman home in the halfmarathon in 1:43:07 with KPMG's Samantha Taylor second in 1:45:39 and Faith Buyana third in 1:50:54.
Other top men’s results over 21km were those of Bonolethu Tawo of Buffs in 88:28 and Elliot Ntaka of Old Mutual in 89:37.
So it is with a gold medal, a team prize and a course record along with a number of personal bests that many will be happy, many disappointed as runners now turn their focus to Comrades 2017.