Post-race releases are always more fun that pre-event releases as the former include battle stories from participants. The K-Way team did very well and Nicolette’s result is exceptional.
Team K-Way rocked the podium at the 2016 Skyrun
The annual 100 kilometre Skyrun has become a challenging ultra-distance trail run. It takes place every November across the Witteberg mountains, on the Lesotho border. These are fierce mountains where participants may experience scorching temperatures and blizzard conditions within hours. This year, three K-Way athletes Nicolette Griffioen, AJ Calitz and Lucky Miya, hit the trails and took podium places – and set a new course record – at the 20th running of this event.
Since the race wrapped up this weekend, applause has rung out for Griffioen’s impressive win. Her first time at Skyrun, she not only won the women’s race, but placed 7th overall and set a new women’s course record – almost an hour faster than that set by Landie Greyling in 2014.
“What worked well for me was focusing not on the 100-kilometre distance as a whole,” Griffioen explains, “but only on the next checkpoint. Breaking it up into manageable chunks made it seem less daunting.”
Skyrun is a self-supported and self-navigated event where participants find their way through checkpoints and to the end by means of map and GPS. Griffioen spent time training on the course once before the race to familiarise herself with the route.
The race starts from the small town of Lady Grey, in the Eastern Cape. Starting in the early hours of the morning, the trail ascends steeply into the mountains. and from there, in the dark, early morning, the trail ascends steeply into the mountains. As the front runners reach the ridged, the sky begins to light up. The esteemed runners are chasing daylight, making use of the 13 hours of daylight ahead of them.
Running in the best weather conditions in the last 10 years, Griffioen had company until the top of the infamous Balloch Wall, an incredibly steep uphill scramble that runners reach just after the Balloch farm checkpoint.
“After Balloch I ran on my own for about two hours before I met Ben Pellegrini. We ran together until Halstone’s and then I left him to race the setting sun to the finish line.”
‘Beginner’s luck’ held true for K-Way Athlete, Lucky Miya too. A Skyrun novice competing in his first 100-kilometre race distance, Miya swooped an impressive second place, only eight minutes behind winner Christiaan Greyling.
“As this was my first 100-kilometre race, my aim was to finish it without struggling a lot – but I also knew it was going to hurt. I did go to Skyrun’s second training camp so I knew the route and what I would be dealing with on race day,” says Miya.
Miya has had an impressive year of races however, even for runners of Miya’s calibre, races like these have their share of ups and downs.
“Just before checkpoint 2 at the 18-kilometre mark, I broke away from the group with Jock Green and we ran together until 53km. Then I was on my own until I caught AJ at Balloch Wall. I passed him and then he later passed me at the beginning of the monster climb up Bridal Pass. I was suffering with cramps and nausea. The going was extremely tough. I sat down three times to rest before I got to the top!” he recalls.
Fortunately, Miya recovered and caught his K-Way teammate, Calitz, who was then in a bad way.
“We were together for about two kilometres and he could not recover quickly. We decided that I must go.”
At the checkpoint 7 turn, marshals told Miya that he was only 15 minutes behind Greyling. He continued to run hard, closing the gap to eight minutes at the finish.
“Christiaan ran fast and strong from the start. I’m glad I didn’t go out with him otherwise I don’t think I would have achieved what I did.”
Keeping it together, Calitz reached the finish after Miya to complete the men’s podium with his third place.
“My training leading up to the event was good and I felt strong, keeping good pacing during the run. It was also great to know that if the weather turned nasty, I had some epic K-Way gear to ensure I would get off the mountain in one piece – peace of mind is a great asset!” says Calitz.
He knows from experience how important it is to be prepared. In 2013, he run Skyrun under the worst conditions of the event’s history. With torrential ice-rain and winds of 100kph, the course was shortened and runners were diverted off the mountain and down to safety.
Surprisingly, Calitz actually prefers to run in cold and stormy conditions.
“Saturday was very hot and dry. I was about six kilograms down from water loss, due to the heat, when I came into Balloch. This is not a good thing because it is hard to recover from that deficit.”
In the second part of the course, after Balloch, Calitz struggled to keep food and liquids down.
“Lucky and I ran together up Balloch Wall and on the back end. I was still feeling strong up Bridal Pass and was making up time quickly. Then, I ran out of steam at the top and just could not recover. That cost me the race,” he recalls.
Third place certainly wasn’t Calitz’s goal. He had planned and trained for the win.
“On the one hand I am disappointed,” he says, “but on the other hand I pulled through from a very dark and lonely place to keep going to the end. I am chuffed about that.”
As the year winds down, K-Way salutes their K-Way team athletes – Griffioen, Miya and Calitz.
“These three athletes run on the edge. They work, train hard and are committed to their family and friends and us, their sponsor. And then they put in even more on race day to test themselves, better their performances and to reach their goals. We couldn’t be more proud,” says Odile Hufkie, Marketing Manager for K-Way.
Although the 100-kilometre Skyrun – from Lady Grey to the Wartrail Country Club via Balloch – is the ‘classic’ course, the event also offers a 65-kilometre course option (from Lady Grey to Balloch) and a new Marathon, which is a 42-kilometre marked route from Balloch to the Wartrail Country Club. For more information on Skyrun, visit their website and Facebook page. Keep an eye on our K-Way athletes through our K-Way SA Facebook page.
RESULTS
Men 100km Skyrun
- Christiaan Greyling 13:23.47sec
- Lucky Miya 13:31.58
- AJ Calitz 14:13.40
Women 100km Skyrun
- Nicolette Griffioen 15:16.08 (7th place overall)
- Karoline Hanks 19:28.12
- Tracy Zunckel 19:51.54
Ends
AdventureLisa 