1000 Hills Challenge draws record field

After this weekend’s 1000 Hills Challenge record field at Nagle Dam, it’s fair to say that trail running has firmly positioned itself at one of KZN’s favourite adventure sport.  The excitement for the race reached pockets of trail runners around South Africa, with some travelling from as far as Johannesburg and Cape Town to take on one of the three tough courses on offer – 38km, 21km or 10km. “That as literally 1000 hills that we ran over – it was great” said Damian Bradley, well known in the triathlon community

The weather forecasts were threatening in the lead up to the event, but only a few light showers passed through the race village on the banks of Nagle Dam, an Msinsi Resort in the Valley of 1000 Hills.

Taking advantage of these cool running conditions before the really bad weather set in across KZN, Normore Mandivengerei and Carla van Huyssteen won the men’s and women’s races respectively. Van Huyssteen had a comfortable, 15min lead over second placed Tracy Zunckel, but Mandivengerei had to keep working to the end, with 20 year old Mxolisi Zondi finishing only 3 minutes off the pace. The ladies podium was completed by Fikile Mbuthune and the men’s by Mdumiseni Zondi, a very classy field indeed.

1000 Hills challenge is considered one of the premium races hosted by trail running events company KZN Trail Running. After conquering a brutal course, runners enjoyed the relaxed, invigorating atmosphere at the end of the race, taking full advantage of the free post-race massage.

Thanks to race sponsors and partners for their contribution to the success of the event – NatureZone Water, Exploring Coffee, Funky pants, Thule and Toyota Hillcrest.

Brief results:

38km Men’s Results: 1^st Nomore Mandivengerei 3hr28min56s, 2^nd Mxolisi Zondi 3hr31min52s, 3^rd Mdumiseni Zondi 3hr35min17s.

21km Ladies’ Results: 1^st Carla van Huyssteen 35hr8min08s, 2^nd Tracy Zunckel 4hr18min21s, 3^rd Fikile Mbuthune 4hr20min53.

21km Men’s Results: 1^st Phaka Gwala 1hr42min45s, 2^nd Mthobisi Mzolo 1hr44min35s, & 3^rd Siyabonga Ngcongo 51hr46min53s.

21km Ladies’ Results: 1^st Alison Misselhorn 2h24min10s, 2^nd Sue Chapman 2h26min18s, 3^rd Kerry-Ann Walton 2hr32min04s.

10km Men’s Results: 1^st Raymond Radebe 43min47s, 2^nd Hlelani Radebe 43min50s, 3^rd Alex Leven 46min47s.

10km Ladies’ Results: 1^st Shenne Davies 49min54s, 2^nd Candice White 58min30s, 3^rd Lungi Moyikwa 59min06s.

Full results are available here: www.kzntrailrunning.co.za/2016/07/25/23-july-2016-1000-hills-challenge-results/

The next event on the KZNTR calendar is the Umngeni River Run on 14 August 2016, which is going into its 6^th year. Entries and information are via http://www.kzntrailrunning.co.za/event/umngeni-river-run/