BOB NORRIS
February is, and always has been, a busy month in respect of sport in East London and it is equally so as it pertains to school sporting activities.
The Discovery Surfers Challenge is an event that captures the imagination of many in school structures with both the teaching fraternity and the pupils, whenever free to participate, having been prominent in the races over the 5, 11 and 17.5km run and the paddle. Parents, too, are impacted and at least one previous winner is unable to participate on Saturday February 22, due to a child’s school sports schedule.
Previously we have reported that Danny Biggs, a three-time winner of the longer version of Surfers, in those days, the only version, which was 16,423km, has been invited to run this year and has accepted. Meanwhile, Myrette Brink from Pretoria, a winner of the women’s 17.5km title, on three occasions, has also accepted an invitation.
Brink is a former SA steeplechase champion and become a good friend of East London’s Hanlie Botha, who has won the race 10 times.
Botha has indicated that she could chase an 11th victory, while many younger runners might be tempted to follow the example of the 2010 winner Jessica Pollock, then only 16 years old, who used the element of surprise to snatch a win.
Surfers have scored a winner in attracting a refreshing new name to distance running, Thabo Kabeli, an outstanding trail runner from Barkley East and given a dearth of quality runners, with the Buffs Marathon on Sunday February 23, he is a timely acquisition to the crowd-pleasing Surfers.
Kabeli is a multiple winner of the Rhodes 50km Ultra Trail Run and in 2024 he won the 100km Skyrun out of Lady Grey for the first time.
His performance at the Mut UTM 100km in 2024 earned him qualification to run the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc in the Alps from August 29-31. After Surfers, he will run the 2025 UTB 100km in Underberg, KwaZulu-Natal. How will he traverse the rocks between Kwelera and Gonubie? Be there on race day to find out.