Two faces of the Knysna Forest Marathon

Gallery Update

KNYSNA - There were two takes on the 40th iteration of the Knysna Forest marathon and half-marathon on Saturday, 5 July, the signature event of the Knysna Oyster Festival.

"Difficult" for marathon winner Tshepo Mathibelle and "easy" for half-marathon winner Lloyd Bosman.

Mathibelle's run-in caught many by surprise at the end, with a throng of runners from the half-marathon finishing at the same time.

"It was difficult towards the end…" said soft-spoken Mathibelle, of the Nedbank Running Club, after the race. He finished in a time of 2:24:48.

Bosman, who, according to event announcer John Walland "makes a habit of winning" the half-marathon, finished way ahead of his closest rival in a time of 01:05:15.

"It was easy," said Bosman, who has won the race three times.

PHOTO GALLERY - Knysna Forest Marathon

Brilliant
Danè Cronjè from Gqeberha was the first woman past the line in the marathon with a time of 3:13:44. She said her race went well.

The women's winner of the half-marathon was Ebeth Marais, also from Gqeberha, - a first-time winner. Her time was 1:17:24.

"It was brilliant," said Marais. Race organiser Wayne Kidd said feedback from competitors was that everyone "really, really" enjoyed it.

"People were ecstatic about the water points that were well supplied and fun," said Kidd.

While it was one of the colder days Knysna has experienced recently, the weather held out and turned out sunny in the end.

Medals

More runners turned up for this year's event than in previous years.
The marathon and half-marathon saw more than 7 500 medals awarded.
There were just over 1 000 recorded marathon runners who participated and just over 6 000 runners in the half-marathon. Overall there were 8 600 entries, with about 1 200 no-shows.