Shigwedha, Amutoko win Xtrail at Avis Dam
Trail running
The second Xtrail in the Standard Bank Winter series took place at Avis last Saturday.Like the other events in the series, participants could choose between a 7 km or 16 km trail.
Event organiser OTB Sport said, “We had positive feedback from participants regarding the trails. There was a good mix of competitive athletes, families and recreational athletes who enjoy the outdoors. The winter weather was mild.
“About 95% was single track, most of it rebuilt especially for this event. The 16 km took people almost all the way to Heja Lodge and then back again, whereas the 7 km route was on single track within Avis Greenspace. This coming weekend a cold front is expected to hit Windhoek, so we are glad that we managed to dodge that.
“Big thanks to Standard Bank for their generous sponsorship of eight years of the Winter Xtrail series and bringing the Namibian outdoors to the participants.”
The 16 km male race was tight. Nasimane Shigwedha took first spot in a time of 1:07:02. In second place, less than 30 seconds behind him, was Thomas Miller (1:07:31). In overall third spot was Martin Kalwenya (1:08:43), the first veteran. The second veteran was Pierre van Rensburg in 1:20:09 ahead of Alex Courtney-Clarke five minutes later.
Among the masters men, Frans Erasmus, Paul Brinkmann and Alex Kanu were the top three.
The 16 km overall female winner was veteran Anna Amutoko, in 1:20:29, in front of the first elite runners Leena Ekandjo (1:21:45), Ivonne Shelikita (1:21:55) and Louise Breed (1:27:02).
In the female veterans category Marion Schonecke and Hannah Lewis Winter took second and third respectively (1:34:34 and 1:53:05).
In the 7 km event, the male race was tight before the overall win went to 19-year-old Ethan Snyders (elite category) in 33:35. Second overall and the first veteran was Sem Shaanika in 33:55. Third overall was 14-year-old Matt-Reece Izaaks (winner of the 15 and under age category. Twelve-year-old Micah Chase finished an incredible fourth overall (35:16).
In the elite male race Ramos Murangi and Kieran Pretorius were second and third (36:49 and 36:51). Windsor Markus and Akwenya Bolla were the second and third veterans in 37:24 and 41:47.
Greg Chase won the masters in a sterling time of 38:37, ahead of Jurie Scholtz and Johan Becker.
In the 7 km female event, the overall winner was Verena Zweier in 44:28 ahead of Ada Kahl (44:31) and Rumay Gryffenberg (44:53). The veteran women’s winner was Hileni Rijnen in 45:25 ahead of Vanessa Tröh and Britta Hoffman (46:32 and 47:20). Among the 11 and under, Leonie de Lange won (57:34) ahead of Alina Hoffman and Grace van der Merwe.
In the 15 and under age category, the Marschall sisters, Kyra and Lillian, took first and second in 46:40 and 49:41.
The third and final series event, The Dunes, takes place in Swakopmund on 23 September. Trail runners will go into the Swakop river and then beyond into the open space of the Namib dunes. Of the three Standard Bank Xtrail races, The Dunes is expected to have the fastest times, even though it might be necessary to remove the sand from your shoes from time to time.
• All results can be found on www.otbsport.com.