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The inaugural Discovery Junior Surfers was a huge success and a revelation into how keen the youngsters are to emulate the feats of their parents and older siblings.

The excitement and anticipation at the start was electric.

Eager, sometimes nervous parents stood either proudly by to watch and support or to jog/walk with if the age of the child demanded it.

There were to be winners up front – yes, but there would be no losers among the 216 finishers, as each gave of their best on the day and every competitor is now a pioneer of this event. Something to share with children and grandchildren one day.

The 216 will grow, indeed explode and do not be surprised at 500 odd next year and before we know it 1000 is a possible.

For the records the race was won overall by a girl – Tyla Phillips who completed the somewhat shortened route in 18:17. It was a fantastic run.

The boys may feel aggrieved, but they need not be as many of us seasoned runners long ago learnt to be beaten by a woman, particularly at Comrades.

Ethan de Beer was the first boy home and he too ran beautifully to finish in 18:28.

Thereafter followed Auke Liebenberg, Luke Malherbe, Liam Venter and Matt Dewar in the boys race.

Danielle Roets was second girl home accompanied by Khanya Jack in the same time of 20:59.

All competitors are now the proud owners of the coveted Surfers t-shirt and we can be sure they’ll be showing it off to their friends.

A nursery for future Surfers is born.

Women’s running has been on a meaningful growth curve of numbers for many years now, but the standard of performance has not always kept up, nor has the standard of men’s running for that matter.

Hanlie Botha has been a stand out performer at Surfers whenever she has run, and young Jessica Pollock was a surprise package in 2010 when, as an unknown 16 year old, she won the race.

Disappointment was rife this year as Botha would not be running due to having recently given birth.

Surfers had however attracted a new fan in Myrette Filmalter, an international athlete who ran an “unofficial” second in 2011. She had stumbled across the race in a coffee shop on the morning thereof.

The organisers wisely decided to fly Filmalter down to race in 2012.

Pollock meanwhile had moved on to study medicine in Cape Town and was not going to be able to make it back. The all rounder had much to keep her occupied. That all changed when on the morning of the race, mom Shirley phoned to see if she could be entered as Jessica was desperate to run. There was a flight that would get her to EL Airport by 1:30 p.m.. The airport is on the western seaboard and the race would start at 2:30 on the eastern seaboard. The distance was not the problem – the traffic congestion to the start would be. Throwing caution to the wind she made the journey, once dad had agreed to funding the trip.

Pollock admitted afterwards that is was all a blur as she raced from one point to the next. “Only when I got to the start line did I wake up.” said the waif of a girl.

Pretoria based Myrette had meanwhile been in East London for some time and was able to ease into the race.

Filmalter was not in charitable mood once the race started and she shot to the front. Pollock, just 18 years old and still in-experienced in top flight running gave chase as best she knew how.

Filmalter made the difficult, rocky and because of the high tide very narrow first 6km look a “parkrun.” Pollock too glided her way across.

Andrea Ranger and Steph Ackermann were meanwhile fighting it out for 3rd and 4th position.

Filmalter never lost a stride and she powered her way to win in what appears to be a new women’s race record of 78:21 – beating Botha’s best of 78:35 set in 2008, but that was on a course one kilometre shorter so this is definitely a new course record – 81:50 being the previous best.

Pollock who took 5:28 off her time last year improved by another 4:24 this year, finishing second in 83:31

Ranger ran a good PB and finished third in 88:58, with Ackermann 1:56 further back to finish fourth.

Charne Keese was the stand out surfer girl registering a 2:22:23 win in her category.

Catherine Atkinson’s 79:02 scored her a second successive win in the women’s single ski, while in the mixed section Colin Hall, once a top surfer runner, teamed up with Lynn McAllister to win that section in 71:26.

The 2012 Discovery Surfers Challenge may have appeared on the surface to be a fairly routine affair, however it was anything but and we were treated to some great running. The duels throughout the men’s field and in the different races were enticing.

Zingisile Marikeni was the media’s pre-race favourite and he might well have snatched victory from the jaws of defeat had it not been for Awonke Bungu being the stronger man in the water.

Bungu was the surprise leader for much of the race and enjoyed a 100m lead at Bonza Bay.
He kept looking over his shoulder, as well he might, for Marikeni put in a huge surge and on the approach to the Nahoon River had narrowed the gap to less that 10m.

Marikeni battled in the strongly flowing river and lost ground that he would never make up.

Bungu, who last ran Surfers in 2010 when he finished 5th, became a first time winner in 70:11 – a good time for very difficult conditions. Marikeni ended 32 seconds adrift while old man river, Makaya Masumpa at age 45, chased strongly throughout to finish just 20 seconds off Marikeni.

The 2007 winner, Doran Fritz, was 4th in 71:55

In the running Surfer category Alex Rossouw finished 7th overall to clinch the title for the second year in succession in a time of 75:33.

Bungu beat the first single ski of Hennie Roos by just 15 seconds in what was the tightest contest between the two disciplines in many years. Duncan Boyd, Warren Rieger and Alex Midlane followed Roos home.

Brendon Thompson and Andrew Carter teamed up to win the double ski race and they beat all other categories to the finish with a time of 68:36.

The strong following wind made it a happy day for paddling and while the runners and walkers had benefit too, the high tide, especially on the first 6km section to Gonubie negated much of the advantage offered by the wind.

Walking is not everyone’s cup of tea, but it open up possibilities for many more participants. Linda Poyo turned the tables form last year on Thando Lumkwana to win in 1:50:57.

Please note that Online Entries are closed. Entries only at Oxford Striders Beach Road.

A criticism that is often leveled at road running is that it is too much of the “same thing.” The road is the road, the tar is hard and it either goes up or down or stays flat!

That’s one of the reasons that trail running is undergoing something of a renaissance and has become so popular. It doesn’t have that “sameness” element to it.

The Surfers Challenge deserves to be lauded as one of the original runs with a difference because it predicted so much of what would follow. As such the event continues to be a leader in the calendar of South African endurance events.

For obvious reasons I remain a purist, a road running fan, but even I accept that the Surfers deserves its roIe as a challenge with a difference. To me road running is classical music; the Surfers challenge rock and roll. It’s fun, it attracts a different crowd, and it even has an eccentric bunch paddling their way to the finish.

Let me emphasise that the Surfers Challenge is not fun because it is easy. In fact I think it is extremely tough and should not be taken lightly. As I struggle on the rocks and pebbles or waddle my way through thick sand I remind myself that this race is not for sissies. There are uplifting moments, such as the first sight of the distant finish area at Nahoon or the cheering crowds in Gonubie (its bliss to run those 5kim or so on Gonubie’s Ocean Way, but much of the Surfers Challenge is just that; a challenge. For a start no one seems to be certain how far it is. Estimates vary from Tom Cottrell’s Runner’s Guide’s 16.5kms to Bob Norris’s 18kms. It doesn’t really matter. All I know is that the next day I always have a pronounced limp and my legs tell me I ran a marathon effort.

But we all keep coming back: Perhaps it’s Neville and his organizing committee backed by invaluable sponsorship from Discovery that makes it so special; perhaps it’s those exhilarating swims across the two rivers. Most likely it’s the party afterwards. In my case I will be running my sixth Surfers Challenge because I am granted the singular honour of being the only runner allowed to wear the Discovery Surfer’s Challenge finishers T shirt at the start!