Record numbers flock to Heads Marathon

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KNYSNA SPORT NEWS - With a record number of entries for its fourth edition, the annual Knysna Heads Marathon enjoyed a record number of participants, with nearly 750 runners completing the run on 8 March.

There was a strong sense of camaraderie around Thesen Harbour Town when runners began lining up at the start of the 21.1km and 42,2km races in the early hours of the morning last Sunday.

With dark clouds converging overhead, the starter gun pierced the air at 06:00 as runners set off on the route along the lagoon towards the East Head. While the longer distance runners were making their way around the eastern side of Knysna, the 5- and 10km runners began taking their marks at the starting line.

Their starting gun went off at 06:30, and participants running for fun and those running for the best time possible alike set off along the same route the longer distances followed. The 5km runners turned around before they reached George Rex Drive, and with a time of 24:23 Ona Mkefa was the first runner over the line with Deenie Martin (27:01) the first female over the line. In the 10km run, Lloyd Bosman conquered the men's section with a time of 30:36 while Zaynab Alexander conquered the women's section in a time of 45:09.

Photo gallery: Heads marathon draws record numbers

Not all too long after Bosman and Alexander finished things up, the first runners in the half-marathon (21.1km) began crossing the finish line. Ettienne Plaatjies topped the men's section with a time of 1:08:55 while Benita Joubert ran her way to the top of the standings in the women's section, finishing in 1:36:25. While everyone was treated to stunning views of the lagoon with a few bonus views from George Rex Drive and the East Head (the 5km turned before George Rex), those who opted to tackle the daunting full marathon race found their hard work well rewarded with stunning views.

All of the half marathon and below runners had their run brought to an end at Thesen Island, but full marathon runners made their way through town along Waterfront Drive and then out towards Phantom Pass along the lagoon. If the runners had any breath left in them during the running, they would have lost it to the breathtaking scenery en route. The turn-around point came at the 31km mark on the Phantom Pass Road, and John April had long-since established himself in first position.

He held onto first place, finishing in 2:32:31 with Knysna's Sinesipho Didishe in second place at 2:44:28 while Cecilia Nel was the first lady over the line in 3:11:27. At the end of the day, 741 runners had crossed the various finish lines at this year's Knysna Heads Marathon, which was a record number for the race.

Barend Stander, Izak Boshoff, Peter Vysie and Scott Rickard take a breather before continuing with the marathon.