More than 800 athletes pitch at debut long distance run and ride
Jesaja Matheus won the headline event in last Saturday’s Hangana Hake Run & Ride where a crowd of over 800 athletes showed up much to the pleasant surprise of the organisers. Matheus won the marathon in the Open Male category. Second was Sakaria Shifotoka and third, Erich Goeieman.
The Run & Ride day comprised social as well as serious competitive events. Many of the athletes used the opportunity to improve their running or cycling times to qualify for major events in South Africa. In addition to the local competitors, athletes came from the U.S.A., Canada, South Africa and Australia.
Hangana Seafood Managing Director, Herman Theron said the event’s success has surpassed his expectations. “First of all, approximately 800 participants was definitely not what I expected. This event was huge, and I am very pleased at the success and how smooth everything went. Of course great thanks goes out to the event’s organizer, Francois van der Merwe from TwentyEleven Communications whose dedication to the success of this event speaks for itself.”
The Hangana Hake Run & Ride featured a marathon, half marathon, 10km fun run as well as a 105km road cycling, 21km mountain bike, 21km fat bike and 5km kiddies race. The 105km road cycling race is recognised by the Namibian Cycling Federation and the marathon is a qualifier for the Two Oceans and Comrades marathons.
Senior Results
In the 42.2 km ‘Master Female’ Marathon, Nadine Agnew took the first spot with Ulla Burd second and Marieta Engelbrecht third.
In the half-marathon, Frans Amakali improved his own best time by more than 10 seconds.
The 105 km Elite Men cycling was won by Jo Joe Hamunyela with Petrus Lotto and Drikus Coetzee second and third respectively.
Klaus Frielingsdorf proved to be the fastest cyclist in the 105 km Master Men category followed by Alfons Kiesewetter and Hentie Hough.
Anneke Steenkamp showed the competition how it is done when she came first in the 105 km Veteran Women cycling. Second was Karin Munting and third Patricia Hoeksema.
The picture shows the winner of the 42.2 km Open Male marathon, Jesaja Matheus (middle) with Sakaria Shifotoka (second) to the right and Erich Goeieman (third) to the left. Nedbank Namibia’s Executive for Corporate and Investment Banking, Dr Edward Turner stands left and the Managing Director of Hangana Seafood, Mr Herman Theron, right.
