Road warriors show hunger for adrenaline-pumping fare
THE Comrades Marathon had the “Sold Out” signs up twice in just 21 days. twice because their ceiling of 20 000 was reached so fast that thousands of runners were left bewildered. So the Comrades Marathon Association opened up on another 1 500 which in turn were sold out overnight.
The Two Oceans 56km had the same “Sold Out” signs go up for the race’s full 1 000 entries, in just two days.
Those are the big two, but then there is Om die Dam a 50km way up north. An established event of 28 years, but not one that is expected to receive a rush of entries, right?
Wrong. Entries opened on November 6 and at the time of writing were expected to be sold out as well.
Sudden hysteria a slowly buildup of tsunami-type proportion for the sport of roadrunning? Every time a landmark is reached in respect of race anniversaries, the new millennium or the 2010 phenomenon entries have spiked.
The Two Oceans 56km took a bit of a knock when the half-marathon was introduced a good many years ago and it took a while to recover its previous numbers. Then in 2014 the entries sold out a week before closing for the first time. In 2015 they were sold out a month before and in 2016 by January 2 or just 32 days after they opened – all were gone.
This year after what happened at Comrades and with the momentum of previous years as a gauge, it was predicted it would take Two Oceans two weeks to become fully subscribed. It actually took only two days.
The Soweto Marathon was another race that sold out months before and so it is clearly a trend that is unlikely to abate.
Local races have not yet reached such crescendo and indeed many are extremely slow to open entries.
The Discovery Surfers is the one event that has been threatening to set a ceiling on numbers and possibly should have done so a few years back.
The introduction of the shorter Gonubie to Nahoon race has, like Two Oceans before it, detracted from numbers in the Kwelera to Nahoon original Surfers.
The adventurous nature of runners will probably break that down again as folk realise the main events are the Two Oceans 56km and the original Surfers. The addon events are simply sideshows the hardened veterans say and that will work its way in to the lore of those who wish to claim a Surfers finish.
Three of next year’s races appear to be on top of these trends however, with entries available for the Laser Eye Hospital 10km, the Bridal Drift Half-Marathon and the extremely popular Tomato Trot and Cycle.
The Tomato Trot that is run on February 3 2018 is set to introduce a new naming sponsor, Buco Beacon Bay, for the compendium of events they offer. The original 15k run and 5km fun run go from strength to strength and offer a wonderful outing into the farmlands around Lilyfontein School.
Four cycle distance are also on offer over 55, 35, 15 and 8km.
Danie van der Merwe the manager of Buco Beacon Bay is thrilled at the new partnership and being a runner of many years he well understands the needs of the community.
The Laser Eye Hospital race is the first one up on January 20 and it simply exploded two years ago. The momentum is almost certainly likely to carry on, while the tough nature of the Bridal Drift HalfMarathon January 28, has an odd appeal to runners so soon after the festive season.
The dam and the people of Mdantsane are both drawcards.
Meanwhile 2017 is not yet put to bed and on Saturday the popular ERA Real Estate Gonubie Challenge is once again Gonubie Harriers flagship event. Entries are still available from the Gonubie Sports Club today and tomorrow between 4pm-7pm. Last year the heavens opened up and hopefully that will not be the case this time.