KNYSNA NEWS - The winner of the half-marathon part of the Knysna Forest Marathon last year, Lloyd Bosman, aims to go faster this year.

"It's going to be tough - I'm hoping for good weather. I said to myself, 'I'm going to give it my all'. I want to win it again," Bosman, a contracted runner with the Nedbank Running Club, said.

He is set on improving on his 2023 time of 1hr 6 mins. "It's going to be faster."

Training for the event, which together with the full marathon form part of the Knysna Oyster Festival, had comprised running 14km in the morning, afternoon, and evening.

On Saturday 22 June, when the Knysna Forest Marathon takes place, Bosman, a George resident, will compete against thousands of runners in the 21,1km half-marathon.

Baily Neill, one of the organisers, said about 6 200 runners had registered for the half-marathon, and about 800 for the 42,2km marathon.

"Luckily the weather is holding up, so as long as we don't have any big rain, the route will be the same this year for both distances. The marathon route is known as tough, but a more beautiful route you will struggle to find," Neill said.

Bruce Fordyce
"Our timing system has had an upgrade so the timing results will be more efficient and accurate.

"We are fortunate enough to have Bruce Fordyce giving a talk on the Friday (21 June) at registration and welcoming runners in through the finish on Saturday.

"In Knysna the biggest challenge is the weather. We can have four seasons in one day.

"Over the years the race has experienced flooding to heat waves in the middle of winter, but we are well prepared and have a great hands-on approach to do our best to accommodate any challenges."

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