Namibians shine at first Fish River Ultra Marathon
NAMIBIA?S Frans Amunyela (28) last Saturday added a unique new entry in the history book of the world?s second largest canyon when he won the first Windhoek Lager Fish River Canyon Ultra Marathon. In near perfect weather condi-tions Frans completed the techni-cal and demanding 86 km course in 9 hours, 36 minutes and 56 seconds after a flat-out race with Hentie Hough (48), also from Windhoek, that ended in spectacu-lar fashion at Ai Ais. Hough was breathing down the winner?s neck all the way to the very last turn and finished in 9:37:04.
Namibians ruled the roost with Alpheus Haushona (32) taking third in 10:32:14. What makes the Na-mibians? performance commendable, is that they are all develop-ment runners that were spotted and invit-ed by African Extreme Promotions (AEP).
The first woman home was 35-year- old Lisa de Speville from South Africa. The highly experienced ad-venture runner and author stormed home in 11:39:27 in a day that proved to be much more than a race, but also a celebration for the nine ultra distance runners, organisers and sponsors who laid the foundations for an international mara-thon that will without doubt attract some of the big guns from the global arena in years to come. Namibia?s only fe-male competitor, Jo-hanna Ashimbange (32), did her country proud by finishing in 12:36:16.
The only male competitor from South Africa, 52-year old Roelf ?Slanggif? Vorster from Paarl, crossed the finishing line just after dark. Vorster is the only man to have run the Fish River Canyon back to back and inherited the nick name ?Slanggif,? because of the special concoction he drinks overnight when hiking the trails. It was after 22:00 on Saturday that Namibian supporters almost lifted the roof of the Windhoek Lager tent with cheers of wel-come when 52-year old Clive Berg staggered into the flood-lit arena after a gruelling 16 hours in the treacherous canyon, with only a head lamp and walking sticks to guide him home.
A swollen ankle and a few cuts and bruises were testimony to the two rather heavy falls the well-liked pilot encoun-tered, shortly after descending into the canyon at the start. With his accomplishment, he proved yet again that success in this kind of off-road ultra marathon is influ-enced almost equally by physical and mental fitness. This was more or less the con-clusion of every one of the nine competitors. Like the winners, everybody had only one thing on their mind at the start: to finish the inaugural race.
All were aware of the time of 10:54:00, set by four Namibians in 2003 over a similar route, but this year?s competitors each had their own and different strategies, which saw them com-pleting the course. ?Spot on?, ?very exciting?, and ?definitely a huge marathon in the making? were some of the comments of the runners. Organisers Tinus Hansen and Russell Paschke of AEP and Ian Stevenson of Namibian Brewer-ies all agreed, and promised that next year?s race will be even better.
Namibians ruled the roost with Alpheus Haushona (32) taking third in 10:32:14. What makes the Na-mibians? performance commendable, is that they are all develop-ment runners that were spotted and invit-ed by African Extreme Promotions (AEP).
The first woman home was 35-year- old Lisa de Speville from South Africa. The highly experienced ad-venture runner and author stormed home in 11:39:27 in a day that proved to be much more than a race, but also a celebration for the nine ultra distance runners, organisers and sponsors who laid the foundations for an international mara-thon that will without doubt attract some of the big guns from the global arena in years to come. Namibia?s only fe-male competitor, Jo-hanna Ashimbange (32), did her country proud by finishing in 12:36:16.
The only male competitor from South Africa, 52-year old Roelf ?Slanggif? Vorster from Paarl, crossed the finishing line just after dark. Vorster is the only man to have run the Fish River Canyon back to back and inherited the nick name ?Slanggif,? because of the special concoction he drinks overnight when hiking the trails. It was after 22:00 on Saturday that Namibian supporters almost lifted the roof of the Windhoek Lager tent with cheers of wel-come when 52-year old Clive Berg staggered into the flood-lit arena after a gruelling 16 hours in the treacherous canyon, with only a head lamp and walking sticks to guide him home.
A swollen ankle and a few cuts and bruises were testimony to the two rather heavy falls the well-liked pilot encoun-tered, shortly after descending into the canyon at the start. With his accomplishment, he proved yet again that success in this kind of off-road ultra marathon is influ-enced almost equally by physical and mental fitness. This was more or less the con-clusion of every one of the nine competitors. Like the winners, everybody had only one thing on their mind at the start: to finish the inaugural race.
All were aware of the time of 10:54:00, set by four Namibians in 2003 over a similar route, but this year?s competitors each had their own and different strategies, which saw them com-pleting the course. ?Spot on?, ?very exciting?, and ?definitely a huge marathon in the making? were some of the comments of the runners. Organisers Tinus Hansen and Russell Paschke of AEP and Ian Stevenson of Namibian Brewer-ies all agreed, and promised that next year?s race will be even better.
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