Flint got Sole 21 up and running

Back in 1993 it was not yet fashionable to run a road race on anything other than the terra firma of tar.

Cross-country was on the turf and there were few interested in running trails, save at holiday season venues such as the Hagmorkei.

There was, however, an appetite in more progressive circles to train on many of the gravel roads on the outer city limits.

The late Kevin Flint, a club and individual coach of many local runners, would love to surprise his flock with the training routes he set.

This despite Flint being an avid Comrades Marathon man. An old Queenian, he ran 18 Comrades with one silver medal personal best time of 7:08:45. That was in the colours of Savages, Durban.

As the years progressed there would be many encounters with athletes, coaches and race organisers which would mould the thinking of Flint and those around him.

While Flint was not responsible for the launch of the Sole Destroyer, it seems likely that it was his encouragement to venture off tar that stimulated the thought processes of introducing a race through Horseshoe Valley.

Understanding the concept better than many in the running community he offered vocal support for the event that would bear the name of a man, Chris Sole, who is most synonymous with training in the area, albeit somewhat more extreme in nature than the course used for the actual race.

The race offers an overall drop from start to finish, but does offer some serious climbs and equally tough downhills.

The toughest part of the route is from the first Nahoon River crossing at the causeway in the valley and the climb of some four to five kilometres up to Nahoon Valley Road in the farmlands.

Another striking feature is the very sharp downhill from the 12km mark down onto the second causeway crossing before a short climb up and into Dorchester Heights.

Convincing runners to tackle such a race back in the early 1990s was an exercise of some magnitude on its own, but some success was realised when 250 entries were received and 221 runners completed the race.

Of more substance was the attraction of Hi Tec as the race sponsor and the likes of the province’s, indeed some of South Africa’s, all-time best runners Makaya Masumpa, Mpumezi Bomvana, Monde Tutani and Sizakele Dantie. Masumpa won the men’s race and will no doubt run the 2018 Caltex sponsored version of the event on Sunday, 25 years later.

Diane Sandford (nèe Massyn) won the women’s race from Bernice Fanoe in a field that included Jackie Cook, Sabrina Burton, Sharon Eldridge and Beanie Beard.

Entries are still being taken for the race at Oxford Striders in Beach Road, Nahoon, during the course of this week.

Comrades PB of the late Kevin Flint, an EL coach and running legend