A race that is celebrating its 51st running has to have an interesting and historical bend to it in respect of the entrants themselves, the inevitable and intricate race stories that develop down the years and the engine room of an organisation too.
With the Surfers Challenge taking place on land, which includes much beach, the crossing of two rivers and the ocean in respect of the paddlers, there has to be much to share. And yet there remain some gaps.
Surfers can be broken into eras — and for the sake of identifying winners, special participants and other interesting anecdotes:
- 1975-1982: Between 1975 to 1982 detail is a little sketchy due to the small numbers involved, but real characters did become the backbone of Surfers today.
- 1983-2009: From 1983 to 2009, the boom years, when thousands of participants took up the challenge with relish, the men’s results have been largely formulated, while women became regulars — though results were not kept and are slowly being added. The big gaps remain frustrating. The year 2009 was the last time runners crossed Gonubie Beach under the boardwalk.
- 2010-today: In 2010, due to tides, runners were rerouted around and behind the sand dune, up the tar road and then down to the Gonubie Hotel and back on the original route. From that year on and up to last year, the males and females have received similar treatment, and the results have been easier to follow.
History counts for everything, and the Daily Dispatch is assisting in adding to it, especially in respect of the women and the paddlers, the history of whom is currently under construction.
There is currently a large part of 18 years of undocumented women’s results, and runners can make a name for themselves by being part of the solution
In a follow-up column, women will be concentrated on in the hope more accurate information filters through, because it was only from 2006 and the start of the “Hanlie Botha phenomenon” that results became easier to access, and the Daily Dispatch has worked on accurate reporting and actively chasing results.
There is currently a large part of 18 years of undocumented women’s results, and runners can make a name for themselves by being part of the solution.
The two shorter races also desperately require the documentation of each year’s results, and thanks to the work of Finish Time, good progress has been and will be made so runners’ names will live on in the annals of Surfers’ history.
The original Surfers, over 16km to 18km at different stages, supplied 31 different men’s winners, with the fastest time ever recorded being in 1989 when a 55:40 was run by the late Mzwandile Shube, a young man who also won the junior award at a South African Half Marathon Championship race on the East London Esplanade in 1991.
In Surfers women’s history, 25 different winners have been identified, but it is impossible to overlook the 11 victories of Hanlie Botha, which have included years of the birth of two daughters among other life events. Simply amazing. No male has more than three victories to his name.
Another special women’s performance, but by no means the only one, was the surprise arrival at the start of the Clarendon matric pupil and granddaughter of one of the founders of the race, Mick Pollock.
Jessica Pollock ran the 2010 race, undeniably the toughest one to date, given the men’s winner was Mluleki Nobanda, a twice Two Oceans winner, but in one of the slowest times due to adverse conditions. Pollock came back for more and got better, but Nobanda sadly never did.
In the meantime, there are only two weeks to race day — and many new runners will have questions in respect of racing, which is a very different event. They can benefit from the success stories of the many champions who have been worked with, learnt from and celebrated.
The 51st Surfers ought to be another epic outing for thousands of enthusiastic participants, spectators and visitors to these shores.
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