THE Oyster Festival served up its first brutal challenge for those who took part in the Salomon Adventure Nights Petzl Night Run at Simola Golf and Country Estate on July 4.
“The location allowed us to include a large variety of terrain changes,” said Mark Collins, route designer for event organisers Magnetic South. “Being close to Knysna and its residential suburbs of Eastford and Old Drift gave competitors the opportunity to traverse everything from paved roads to rocky river beds and exciting fynbos trails that ordinarily are out of bounds to the general public to enjoy.”
“The run included the longest routes to date and it was guaranteed to challenge all who took on the gauntlet. A new benchmark had been set this year with record numbers of entrants wanting a slice of the action. It was BRUTAL!” said Andre Gie of Team McCain Element.
All eyes were on the Salomon sponsored, Cape Town-based ultra trail runner, Ryan Sandes. Was it going to be an easy task for defending champs of Andre Gie and Jan Schutte to make it another gold, or was there another serious contender about to write their name in the record books?
Sandes was able to rely on local all-rounder Hanno Smit to navigate the Salomon McCain Team into winning the Men’s Pro Run category. Other winners included Tatum Prins and Cas van Ardenne in the Mixed, with Tanya Rabie and Zahn Munch winning the Ladies Pro Run.
Magnetic South with event sponsors Salomon and Petzl have long supported the development of multi-sport to Knysna’s disadvantaged communities. It was particularly pleasing to see the achievements of development teams Hankunamatata (David Bruiners and Sydwell Gelant) and Strong & Stronger (Stephan Harker and Ashwin Olivier) in first and second place in the Junior category.
On the next night, July 5, Simola again set the tone for a cracker of an evening, with mountain bikers arriving from all corners of the country to take part in the 2009 Salomon Adventure Nights Capestorm Night Bike.
Not only did they enjoy the unique combination of being riding a course along the golf cart tracks, but sections of the route also included the surrounding forests.
“Riding at night in the forest is one thing - add to the mix navigating your way around tracks on the golf course and you have a totally new experience that surely does not exist anywhere else,” commented James ‘Lettuce’ Stewart of the Pennypinchers Adventure Racing Team.
The perfect weather and a full moon made for ideal riding with many of the seasoned campaigners commenting on how the standards of the younger riders had improved dramatically since the Salomon Adventure Nights concept was introduced to the Oyster Festival in 2005.
“Navigating by means of a rally-style map on an unmarked route calls for additional skills and teamwork plays a vital role in the overall outcome for the competitors. Some teams found themselves taking many a wrong turn and one particular combination in the Open category clocked up over 40km on what was a 14km route. From the vantage point of the Simola golf club it was quite a sight watching the snaking lines of lights around the course and it did not take too long to figure out who were battling to find their way,” said Collins.
In fact it was the up and coming junior riders who have sent a warning to the field that they mean business. The Skinny Leg Patrol Team of Cameron Taylor, 15, and Harry Maarsingh, 16, achieved a most deserved third place in the highly competitive Pro Bike category.
Defending champions Jan Schutte and Andre Gie of Team McCain Element had to look over their shoulders for much of the race and it was their experience that eventually secured a 2min 6-second lead over the young guns.
The Pro Mixed Team category was won by Martin Dreyer and Jeannie Bomford of Team Hi Tec USN. Local ladies Nikki Smit and Kate Southey of Team Lunar Chicks continued their dominance of Pro Ladies with another podium first.
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