Moller’s 320km Washie feat
WELL, it’s all over for another year! The courageous men and women who come back year after year to pit their minds and bodies against the 160km of indifferent tarmac quality between Port Alfred and East London have done it again.
But, what of the three intrepid long distance legends – Hazel Moller, Eric Wright and Tobie Reyneke – who announced they would run the distance twice, both ways?
Of the trio only Moller was successful, becoming the first person to complete a “double Washie”.
The lion-hearted Moller, who has now completed eight Washies and ran the first leg on Friday with Wright, said she runs best on diet of bread and cheese.
On the initial leg, husband Chris, forgot to lay in these essential ingredients and she substituted energy drinks. As a result at about the 70km mark she began to totter and threw up violently and said if it wasn’t for the strongwilled Wright she might have pulled out.
She got to Port Alfred feeling better, and after a meal and a three-hour rest, she faced the starter’s gun at five in the afternoon. The first 40km went well but from there to 80km, she says: “I didn’t feel lekker and just wanted to sleep.”
At 70km her seconds “put her to bed” on the back seat of the car where she lay wide-eyed listening to her seconds worrying about her mental state. With 40km to go, and her legs feeling as if they didn’t belong to her body, the sight of her husband and Wright who had come out to meet her and cheer her home, and the support of “the wonderful East London people” she knew she was home and dry. She finished an incredible 34th overall in a touch over 23 hours.
Wright’s gallant effort perished on one of the remote slopes, while Reyneke’s heroic quest in aid of the endangered rhino ended in the early hours of yesterday morning. His wife Elaine pulled the plug after 293km as he battled a strong headwind, intense cold and sleep deprivation with only 30km to go running the reverse direction to Port Alfred.
He had already completed the race proper in 44th place in a time of 24 hours, 25 minutes and 50 seconds. Moller and Wright were running for an animal charity.
Wright, attempting his 25th Washie, said that at about 44km his legs simply turned to jelly and he had no energy.
“They told me to sleep for an hour. I tried but couldn’t. Then I gave it another go. My seconds were walking and I thought I was running and I couldn’t keep up with them! That’s when I threw in the towel.”
Earlier on Saturday 58-year-old Wright and Moller had completed the first leg to Port Alfred in about 20-and-a-half- hours. Moller, he said, had had a bad patch midway through and wanted to withdraw but he urged her to persevere. After a couple of hours rest they joined the rest of the field at the start.
Triumphant this year as he was last year, Johan van der Merwe of Polokwane failed by a mere 11 minutes to break the record he set last year, finishing in a time of 13:11:02. He promises to break 13 hours next year. Van der Merwe crossed the finish line at a little after six on Saturday morning.
The first woman home was the remarkable Cape Town nursing sister and mother of two Martha Pretorius, who has her race number in perpetuity by virtue of winning the race three times before. She completed the race in 18:51:22.
Washie followers will recall the last of her consecutive triple wins in 2006 when she arrived at the start half an hour late due to transport problems and proceeded to catch the lead woman just before the Fish River bridge before going on to win. This year she had to dig deep to hold off the challenge of last year’s female winner Megan Davey, who finished in 19:18:43..
Is it a bird, is it a plane... no it’s ‘Superwoman’
WELL, it’s all over for another year! The courageous men and women who come back year after year to pit their minds and bodies against the 160km of indifferent tarmac quality between Port Alfred and East London have done it again.
But, what of the three intrepid long distance legends – Hazel Moller, Eric Wright and Tobie Reyneke – who announced they would run the distance twice, both ways?
Of the trio only Moller was successful, becoming the first person to complete a “double Washie”.
The lion-hearted Moller, who has now completed eight Washies and ran the first leg on Friday with Wright, said she runs best on diet of bread and cheese.
On the initial leg, husband Chris, forgot to lay in these essential ingredients and she substituted energy drinks. As a result at about the 70km mark she began to totter and threw up violently and said if it wasn’t for the strongwilled Wright she might have pulled out.
She got to Port Alfred feeling better, and after a meal and a three-hour rest, she faced the starter’s gun at five in the afternoon. The first 40km went well but from there to 80km, she says: “I didn’t feel lekker and just wanted to sleep.”
At 70km her seconds “put her to bed” on the back seat of the car where she lay wide-eyed listening to her seconds worrying about her mental state. With 40km to go, and her legs feeling as if they didn’t belong to her body, the sight of her husband and Wright who had come out to meet her and cheer her home, and the support of “the wonderful East London people” she knew she was home and dry. She finished an incredible 34th overall in a touch over 23 hours.
Wright’s gallant effort perished on one of the remote slopes, while Reyneke’s heroic quest in aid of the endangered rhino ended in the early hours of yesterday morning. His wife Elaine pulled the plug after 293km as he battled a strong headwind, intense cold and sleep deprivation with only 30km to go running the reverse direction to Port Alfred.
He had already completed the race proper in 44th place in a time of 24 hours, 25 minutes and 50 seconds. Moller and Wright were running for an animal charity.
Wright, attempting his 25th Washie, said that at about 44km his legs simply turned to jelly and he had no energy.
“They told me to sleep for an hour. I tried but couldn’t. Then I gave it another go. My seconds were walking and I thought I was running and I couldn’t keep up with them! That’s when I threw in the towel.”
Earlier on Saturday 58-year-old Wright and Moller had completed the first leg to Port Alfred in about 20-and-a-half- hours. Moller, he said, had had a bad patch midway through and wanted to withdraw but he urged her to persevere. After a couple of hours rest they joined the rest of the field at the start.
Triumphant this year as he was last year, Johan van der Merwe of Polokwane failed by a mere 11 minutes to break the record he set last year, finishing in a time of 13:11:02. He promises to break 13 hours next year. Van der Merwe crossed the finish line at a little after six on Saturday morning.
The first woman home was the remarkable Cape Town nursing sister and mother of two Martha Pretorius, who has her race number in perpetuity by virtue of winning the race three times before. She completed the race in 18:51:22.
Washie followers will recall the last of her consecutive triple wins in 2006 when she arrived at the start half an hour late due to transport problems and proceeded to catch the lead woman just before the Fish River bridge before going on to win. This year she had to dig deep to hold off the challenge of last year’s female winner Megan Davey, who finished in 19:18:43..
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