HISTORY
RACE RESULTS
Date | Friday, 16 June |
Weather | Warm sunny day. |
Temperature – Min/ Max: |
|
PMB | 9/24 |
DBN | 11/23 |
Start Venue/Time | Durban Post Office, West Street / 5:30 |
Finish Venue | Scottsville Racecourse |
Time Limit | 12 Hours |
Official Distance | 87.300 km |
Winner’s Average Speed: |
|
Men | 16.088 km/hr (3m 44s /km) |
Women | 13.946 km/hr (4m 18s /km) |
Entries | 24552 |
Starters | 23961 |
Finishers – Total | 20016 |
Men | 16716 |
Women | 3300 |
Medals – Gold | 20 |
Silver | 695 |
Bill Rowan | 3281 |
Bronze | 16020 |
% Finishers / Starters | 83.5 |
THE MENS RACE
If bookmakers had their way, there is little doubt that the defending Up Run champion, Dimitri Grishin, would have been installed as the odds-on, pre-race favourite. All the smart money would have been cast his way in view of him having won the previous two Up Runs. Others that would have been highly placed in the betting were Alexei Volgin and Vladimir Kotov. None of the top South African contingent was considered a threat to the East Europeans and, as the massive field left Durban in a trouble-free start, this view prevailed. Once the field crossed the city boundary, the early lead group comprised Volgin, Grishin, Grigoriy Murzin and Kotov and, although they interchanged positions as the race progressed up Cowie’s Hill, through Pinetown and up Field’s Hill, three South Africans, Walter Nkosi, Andrew Kelehe and Butiki Jantjies, had gone out with them.
On the rollercoaster drop from Field’s Hill to Drummond, Murzin broke free and reached the halfway point in 2h 43m 56s.
The chasing quintet, in close order, were clocked through halfway, at Drummond, in 2h 46m. The intimidating Inchanga failed to break any of them but, gradually, the changes commenced on the approach to Cato Ridge where Jantjies withdew. Nkosi fell off the pace shortly thereafter and ultimately out of contention. Going through Camperdown, it was clear that Kelehe was not running as easily as he had been earlier, and Murzin was rapidly being reeled in. Before he reached the highest point, near the water tower at Umlaas Road, he had surrended the lead.
The long descent to the bridge at Mpusheni brought no overall change between the three leaders but, with two big hills, Ashburton and Polly Shortt’s, beckoning, and knowing his ability as a climber, unless something spectacular occurred, it seemed that Grishin was a certain winner.
Then something spectacular, and unexpected, occurred. On the short drop from Ashburton, to the foot of Polly’s, Kotov pounced. Grishin failed to respond and, on the hill itself, Volgin also passed Grishin.
By now, Kotov was truly flying and, while the order over the final six kilometers remained unchanged, he breasted the tape, at the Scotsville Race Course, in a time of 5h 25m 33s; a new Best Time.
RESULT
1st | Vladimir Kotov | Belarus |
5h 25m 33s New Best Time Up |
2nd | Alexei Volgin | Russia | 5h 27m 08s |
3rd | Dmitri Grishin | Russia | 5h 32m 47s |
4th | Donovan Wright | South Africa | 5h 35m 37s |
5th | Andrew Kalehe | South Africa | 5h 36m 32s |
6th | Fusi Nhlapo | South Africa | 5h 37m 46s |
7th | Walter Nkosi | South Africa | 5h 40m 18s |
8th | Don Wallace | Australia | 5h 42m 49s |
9th | Mikhail Kokorev | Russia | 5h 43m 15s |
10th | Anatoliy Korepanov | Russia | 5h 44m 38s |
VETERANS (AGE 40 – 49)
1st | Vladimir Kotov (42) | Belarus |
5h 25m 33s New Best Time Up |
2nd | Anatoliy Korepanov (41) | Russia | 5h 44m 38s |
3rd | Peter Camenzind (48) | Switzerland | 5h 57m 49s |
MASTERS (AGE 50 - 59)
1st | Hannes Meyer (54) | South Africa |
6h 56m 29s |
2nd | Robert Edouard-Betsy 51) | South Africa | 7h 13m 53s |
3rd | Sam Damane (50) | South Africa | 7h 26m 12s |
GRANDMASTERS (AGE 60 +)
1st | Danny Shongwe (60) | South Africa | 7h 40m 37s |
2nd | Calie Beneke (64) | South Africa | 7h 55m 53s |
3rd | Erwin Remmele (63) | Germany | 7h 58m 02s |
THE WOMENS RACE
Although it was eleven years since her sensational 5h 54m 43s in the 1989 Down Run, Frith van der Merwe was still the darling, and sole South African hope, of the local supporters. Whether she could overcome the new ‘foreign invasion’ was uncertain.
Maria Bak, winner in 1995, and Birgit Lennartz, winner in 1999, were both in the line-up and neither could be discounted as being up there when the race for line-honours began.
First to emerge on the early climb to Toll Gate, was Comrades novice, Natalia Volgina. She retained the lead through Pinetown, up Field’s Hill and through Hillcrest, increasing the distance between herself and her chasers, but the first signs of fatigue were showing. It was clear that, on the climb up Botha’s Hill, they were slowly reeling her in.
Volgina, however, still led through Drummond but Bak, who passed through in 3h 03m 52s, was within striking distance. Following the two front-runners through the halfway point was Elvira Kolpakova (3h 11m 02s), Lennartz (3h 13m 07s), and a tiring van der Merwe (3h 17m 35s).
By this stage, Volgina’s race was, clearly, over and she retired from the race soon after Bak powered past her, on the climb up Inchanga. Such was the emphatic manner of Bak’s attack, there was little doubt who would be victorious as she drew effortlessly further away from the rest of her rivals.
As van der Merwe slipped out of contention, to eventually finish in eleventh position, Grace De Oliveira made a brave effort to keep the South African hopes alive. It was, however, a lost cause. Despite running down many of those ahead of her, she could not catch Bak and Lennartz, and she alone prevented a clean sweep by the visiting runners and was the only local competitor in the top six positions.
RESULT
1st | Maria Bak | Germany | 6h 15m 35s |
2nd | Birgit Lennartz | Germany | 6h 33m 55s |
3rd | Grace De Oliveira | South Africa | 6h 38m 45s |
4th | Elvira Kolpakova | Russia | 6h 43m 35s |
5th | Valentina Shatyayeva | Russia | 6h 46m 54s |
6th | Marina Bychkova | Russia | 6h 47m 29s |
7th | Carol Mercer | South Africa | 6h 49m 00s |
8th | Tanja Schaefer | Germany | 6h 51m 57s |
9th | René du Plessis | South Africa | 6h 53m 51s |
10th | Madeleen Otto | South Africa | 6h 57m 42s |
VETERANS (AGE 40 – 49)
1st | Maria Bak (41) | Germany |
6h 15m 35s New Best Time Up |
2nd | Amor van Zyl (43) | South Africa | 7h 12m 59s |
3rd | Nancy Will (47) | South Africa | 7h 17m 07s |
MASTERS (AGE 50 - 59)
1st | Claudia Preston-Thomas (51) | South Africa |
8h 19m 37s |
2nd | Lavinia Petrie (55) | New Zealand | 8h 25m 48s |
3rd | Fran Pocock (50) | South Africa | 8h 31m 12s |
GRANDMASTERS (AGE 60 +)
1st | Annette Aliphon (60) | South Africa |
11h 19m 12s |
2nd | Greta Koerber (63) | Germany | 11h 30m 42s |
3rd | Judith Cohen (61) | South Africa | 11h 43m 20s |