The 34th Rhodes Trail Run was held on Saturday 29 June 2024.
Runners flocked to Rhodes in the lead up to registration on Friday afternoon. Despite the smaller than usual field, the spirits were high as runners queued to register and sipped on Sedgwicks’ Old Brown whilst waiting. Heineken, the OBS owner, kindly supplied mini tin mugs for runners to imbibe from and keep, useful for those who forgot their mandatory drinking cups.
On Saturday morning, runners woke up to the ringing of the Church Bell at 06:00 and a balmy morning. With temperatures well above 2 degrees, the runners prepared for a warm run.
But there were plenty of surprises awaiting them. The route out to Naude’s Nek and up the Kloppershoekspruit to Mavis Bank Farm was uneventful and runners clearly saw the snow and ice they were running into. 5 runners were to dominate the entire race. Thato Kabeli and Mjongile Tonic Masilo from Rhodes and Rudolf Naude in the men’s section, followed closely by two ladies, Roné Steenkamp and Janneke Heunis (also from Rhodes).
Runners had been warned that the route had to be changed due to thick snow and ice on the Tiffindell-Tenahead Traverse (TTT). Usually, runners are taken up Mavis Bank to the TTT before Lesotho View and then they run to Tiffindell on the TTT. Because no vehicles could access this tricky part of the route, the organisers, Heather Ralph and Rudi Hiestermann had agreed with their Safety Officer, Damien Catherine that a different route would be selected.
This was the first surprise for the runners. They were thinking there’d be a much easier ascent along the Mavis Bank Farm fence. This was not the case. Whilst not as steep as the traditional route, it was a long relentless climb. Most runners complained that they thought the summit was in sight, only to crest the hill and see another summit.
As they reached the Mavis Top checkpoint at the Carlislehoekspruit road towards Tiffindell, the next surprise awaited – biting cold winds with occasional flurries of sleet and snow. Thato and Tonic had pulled away from Rudolf, but Roné and Janneke remained close behind him. Thato won King of the Kloof in a time of 2 hours, 5 minutes, and Roné was Queen of Kloof in 2 hours, 37 minutes.
The route took them towards Tiffindell over very muddy terrain, but they finally reached the snow and ice that everyone aspires to run in during this event. They passed the Quarry Feed Station where the Tintinger family handed out pancakes to weary cold, runners. This welcome treat resulted in the Feed Station being voted the best of the event by runners and they received the Chairman’s Trophy for best Feed Station. One km further to the gate of the TTT and runners were turned around to race back to Rhodes, down Carlisleshoek.
For many runners, this was the final surprise, especially those doing the event for the first time. Downhill is never as easy as one thinks and the concrete section down the Carlisleshoek road is a real killer for knees, especially after 35kms of hard running and climbing.
Thato and Tonic continued to power away from the rest of field and finished strongly running into Rhodes. Tonic was caught by the nasty little climb up Boundary Road, past the police station and he cramped, falling behind Thato in the final straight. Thato finished strongly in a time of 4 hours 39.5 minutes with Tonic 30 seconds behind him. It’s always difficult to compare finish times of previous years as the route and conditions always vary, but this was one of the slower runs.
Rudolf Naude came in Third in a time of 5 hours, 9 minutes and Roné won First Lady, 1 minute behind him. Janneke came in 5th and second lady in a time of 5 hours, 29 minutes.
Following the winners, runners slowly trickled in with only one more, Paul Steenkamp finishing just under 6 hours. Only 32 runners finished between 6 and 8 hours with the balance of the field finishing in the remaining hour before the cut off at 16:00. In total, 87 runners completed within time. 26 who started did not make the various cut-offs.
It was heartbreaking to see Sham Singh, the only runner to have completed every event to date not make the final cut-off. This would have been his 34th medal. Health challenges have plagued his training and we certainly hope he returns next year and is able to complete 2 more and get to 35 runs.
First time organisers of the event, Heather and Rudi were relieved that the full field of runners as well as all crew members returned to Rhodes safely. All in all, feedback was positive. They are extremely grateful to the help and support from many people in the area. The list being far too long to include here.
They’re looking forward to planning for next year and are expecting many more entries as the entry process has been amended and anyone who believes they are capable of running 52km with extensive climbing on trails and unmarked paths can enter.
Next year’s run is scheduled for 12 July 2025.