Gerda Steyn and Rowhaldo Ratz rule at the Landmarks Half Marathon
GoTyme Running Club athlete, Rowhaldo Ratz, continued his recent good form with an emphatic victory in the annual Axxess Landmarks Half Marathon, in association with Princeton Security and Sportsmans Warehouse, run in cool conditions in Cape Town yesterday morning, while South Africa’s ‘golden girl’ Gerda Steyn romped home to victory in the women’s competition. The […] The post Gerda Steyn and Rowhaldo Ratz rule at the Landmarks Half Marathon appeared first on Sports Network Africa.
Black News 
GoTyme Running Club athlete, Rowhaldo Ratz, continued his recent good form with an emphatic victory in the annual Axxess Landmarks Half Marathon, in association with Princeton Security and Sportsmans Warehouse, run in cool conditions in Cape Town yesterday morning, while South Africa’s ‘golden girl’ Gerda Steyn romped home to victory in the women’s competition.
The race celebrates part of Cape Town’s heritage and takes runners past 25 iconic landmarks and institutions in and around Rondebosch and Newlands.
Ratz finished third behind Kenyan Stephen Kangethe in the Nelson Mandela Slave Route Half Marathon in the ‘Mother City’ two weeks back and third behind his teammate, William Kaptein in last year’s Landmarks, but was unbeatable yesterday.
Ratz raced home across the finish line at the Western Province Cricket Club in Rondebosch in 1:04:23, 37 seconds ahead of visiting Maxed Elite athlete, Makwande Mngcwengi who outsprinted Kaptein by 1 second in a battle for the minor podium positions.
Ratz’ time was 12 seconds inside Kaptein’s course record, set last year, but will not qualify as a race record due to a marshalling snaffle which resulted in a short course. The error did not impact the competition for podium honours, with all athletes following the same route.
Steyn was in a class of her own, racing into an early lead. She was two minutes up on Cape Town’s ‘running doctor’ Ebeth Marais and opened another minute before racing home in tenth place overall in 1:14:24.
“The race went very well and a good way to start off the month – a very good race! It was very tactical at the start,” commented Ratz.
“I think the most difficult climb was around 8km, up to the University of Cape Town campus, but I enjoy climbing and this was easier than the ‘Koeksister Hill’ we ran at the Slave Route Half Marathon two weeks ago!
“I love this route, especially running around all the corners and off-road alongside the canals. And it helped running with my clubmate William (Kaptein) in the beginning. We train together and it’s always nice to run against William – he’s a gutsy runner and well done to him for placing third.
“I think I’m more or less done with road racing for this year – it’s time to take a bit of a break before the track season.”
Pausing between willingly responding to endless requests for selfies, Steyn expressed delight at the Landmarks race.
“It was a wonderful morning – I loved the race,” Steyn said. “It’s quite an iconic race and with a few of my friends running, the atmosphere was just wonderful. I hope to be back!
“It was quite a winding route with a number of hills and you run along the foot and cycle paths rather than along the main roads, and there are quite a few tunnels to run through. But that made it all the more interesting.
“Running up to the university reminded me of the Two Oceans (which finishes at UCT). At that stage I was running with (RCS Gugs athlete) Simphiwe who has often run with me in the Two Oceans Marathon. That was really special and gave me an extra bout of energy.”
Based for several months of the year in their cottage in the French Alps, Steyn has run on mountain trails for many years, but stepped up to race a number of high profile trail events for the first time this year.
“Moving to trail has been really challenging – it wasn’t straightforward for me. I had run on trails quite often, but racing on the trails was a new experience. But I’ve had a wonderful year – I ticked all the boxes at Two Oceans and Comrades and was able to try out something new in trail running.
“In the beginning, at Sierra Zinal (31km), I didn’t reach the target I had set myself but later on I became more comfortable and achieved third place in the Jungfrau Half Marathon. That will give me something to build on in the years to come.
“My main goal for next year will again by Comrades and Two Oceans and towards the end of the year I hope to try a few more trail races again.”
Results
The post Gerda Steyn and Rowhaldo Ratz rule at the Landmarks Half Marathon appeared first on Sports Network Africa.
