Johan van der Merwe, the affable and maverick ultra distance exponent from Polokwane, who had bet on a new record for the ELB Washie 100, did not realise that wish, though heaven knows he went courageously in pursuit of it.
What he did get was a fourth consecutive win, something no one else has achieved.
Van der Merwe is already firmly entrenched in the history of South Africa’s arguably pre-eminent 100 miler, but now he is at the epicentre of both the race’s history and its future.
Prior to Van der Merwe’s arrival in 2012, there were seven sub 14-hour wins, three from Manie Saayman, two from Len Keating and one each from Thomas Gxakaza and Louis Harmse. There are now four more and all have the name of Van der Merwe attached to it.
It was another commanding performance with him winning in 13:39:45, a massive 2:06:03 ahead of a brave Mcebisi Yose of local club All Stars – a position he has commanded for three years in succession.
At the finish, Van der Merwe said his fast start – he went through the first 40km in 3:06:15 – had him pay a price later on and from 60km it was tough going. Still the South African 24-hour record holder stuck to his guns and gave it his all. Will he be back for number five? It seems a sure bet.
The Washie 100 is seldom predictable, but what it does do, is find you out. The 39th running of the Washie from Port Alfred to East London found many out, but also produced a few surprises that will encourage runners to return.
Van der Merwe, who runs for Pietersburg AC, and Yose were followed by Tholang Moloi of SANDF WP in 15:48:45, Johan van Tonder from Alberton in 16:47:05 and the first novice, Mark McCalgan, of Toti AC.
The women’s times were not as fast as they have sometimes been, but the race itself eventually came down to the proverbial wire, an outcome it seems the women tend to produce.
Martha Pretorius of SANDF WP is by no means a regular at Washie, but she has run it on five separate occasions and won all five times.
This was the closest shave of them all and not her fastest, but a win is exactly that and she should be pleased with her 18:51:22 performance on the back of a slower-than-normal 15th Comrades.
A strong finishing Rocky Road Runner in the guise of Yolan Friedmann can be held responsible for giving Pretorius serious room for doubt over the final few kilometres.
Friedmann trailed by 36:45 at 40km, out to 53:25 at the 80km half-way mark and then down to 33:33 at 120km. The last 40km became a major foot race with only the final hill up Buffalo Park Drive holding the challenger at bay by a mere 54 seconds.
Third in the women’s race was local runner Christine Roux of Oxford Striders, who completed the tough route in 22:10:30 and will have surprised and pleased herself at the same time.
Comparing Comrades times is something many prefer not to do, but the fact is a good Comrades generally equates to a decent Washie time and that no one comes close to Van der Merwe in the KwaZulu-Natal epic is carried through to the Washie.
Washie history for Van der Merwe
What he did get was a fourth consecutive win, something no one else has achieved.
Van der Merwe is already firmly entrenched in the history of South Africa’s arguably pre-eminent 100 miler, but now he is at the epicentre of both the race’s history and its future.
Prior to Van der Merwe’s arrival in 2012, there were seven sub 14-hour wins, three from Manie Saayman, two from Len Keating and one each from Thomas Gxakaza and Louis Harmse. There are now four more and all have the name of Van der Merwe attached to it.
It was another commanding performance with him winning in 13:39:45, a massive 2:06:03 ahead of a brave Mcebisi Yose of local club All Stars – a position he has commanded for three years in succession.
At the finish, Van der Merwe said his fast start – he went through the first 40km in 3:06:15 – had him pay a price later on and from 60km it was tough going. Still the South African 24-hour record holder stuck to his guns and gave it his all. Will he be back for number five? It seems a sure bet.
The Washie 100 is seldom predictable, but what it does do, is find you out. The 39th running of the Washie from Port Alfred to East London found many out, but also produced a few surprises that will encourage runners to return.
Van der Merwe, who runs for Pietersburg AC, and Yose were followed by Tholang Moloi of SANDF WP in 15:48:45, Johan van Tonder from Alberton in 16:47:05 and the first novice, Mark McCalgan, of Toti AC.
The women’s times were not as fast as they have sometimes been, but the race itself eventually came down to the proverbial wire, an outcome it seems the women tend to produce.
Martha Pretorius of SANDF WP is by no means a regular at Washie, but she has run it on five separate occasions and won all five times.
This was the closest shave of them all and not her fastest, but a win is exactly that and she should be pleased with her 18:51:22 performance on the back of a slower-than-normal 15th Comrades.
A strong finishing Rocky Road Runner in the guise of Yolan Friedmann can be held responsible for giving Pretorius serious room for doubt over the final few kilometres.
Friedmann trailed by 36:45 at 40km, out to 53:25 at the 80km half-way mark and then down to 33:33 at 120km. The last 40km became a major foot race with only the final hill up Buffalo Park Drive holding the challenger at bay by a mere 54 seconds.
Third in the women’s race was local runner Christine Roux of Oxford Striders, who completed the tough route in 22:10:30 and will have surprised and pleased herself at the same time.
Comparing Comrades times is something many prefer not to do, but the fact is a good Comrades generally equates to a decent Washie time and that no one comes close to Van der Merwe in the KwaZulu-Natal epic is carried through to the Washie.
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