SETTING THE PACE
Road Warriors are spoilt for choice
A weekend of runs spanning a great cross-section of the sport and superb incentives is what awaits both local and visiting athletes.
On the one hand the Border Cross-Country championships on Saturday will offer top athletes an opportunity to gain selection to the South African championships, while a little under 300km up the Wild Coast, trail runners, adventure seekers and coastal enthusiasts have the annual White Clay Trail Run to savour.
Sunday ushers in the 12th running of the Mdantsane Kasi 10km, where runners from across the province are expected to gather for a race over rolling hills.
White Clay has had many a top athlete participate, though not always to race, rather to enjoy the scenery, and this weekend could well see that legacy continue.
The accommodation establishments, including Coffee Bay’s Ocean View Hotel, have special rates on offer for the runners and their families along with many incentives.
The course, which starts at the hotel, is a testing one, with the most magnificent views on the way to Hole-in-the-Wall, where runners are turned and sent back to finish at the White Clay Resort.
Expect to have whales and dolphins interrupt much needed running concentration, while the must-do photographs of runners and friends with Hole-in-the-Wall in the background is a ritual.
In years past, multiple Comrades winner Bruce Fordyce and a friend have conducted prize-giving in a jovial manner. Although Fordyce was invited to return this year the time constraints of growing the parkrun brand throughout Southern Africa have forced him to decline.
He did, however, say in a telephonic interview, “I would love to go back and do another White Clay. They must really push to open a parkrun there.”
Eastern Cape parkun will be represented on Saturday and are well advanced in pursuing possibilities of a Coffee Bay or Hole-in-the-Wall parkrun.
The Cross-Country championships will be run at the Berlin Primary School from 9am.
Registration takes place from 8.15am for a programme that covers every age group, from under eight through to all the masters categories.
Those runners hoping to gain Border selection must have run at least two previous local fixtures in order to be eligible to make the team to the South African championships in Port Elizabeth on September 8.
The men’s races in particular ought to be fiercely contested, though it can be expected that in the open women’s race Cherise Sims, who ran for South Africa in Mauritius earlier this year, will dominate the women’s race.
Barry Adcock, of the Border Cross-Country Commission, said during the week, “the course will be fast and well marked.
Weather conditions for Saturday look to be ideal.