Road Safety Blog

KZN OCR Power Couple Take Gold at Warrior Stellenbosch

jonckie

This past weekend, 14 and 15 April 2018, Bilton Wine Estate in Stellenbosch attracted thousands of eager athletes as it played host to Race 4 of the 2018 Toyota WARRIOR Series, powered by Reebok.

Participants of all fitness levels were welcome to challenge their athleticism and grit, and had three courses to choose from – Rookie, Commando, and Black Ops. The event challenged the athletes to complete a set course by foot, which involved overcoming carefully chosen obstacles that extend over a specific trail.

The Black Ops Elite race, incorporating 35 obstacles over roughly 16 kilometres of trail, was the main event of the weekend. Combining both Rookie and Commando obstacles with the addition of endurance obstacles that involve carrying and dragging heavy objects for set distances, the Black Ops is the hardest race of every WARRIOR Weekend.

The men’s elite race was close-fought, with Claude Eksteen (Supa Mama), Thomas van Tonder and Armin Botha each showing their strengths in a tousle for first place. Eksteen, 2017 Series Champion, showed his experience, taking the win in 01:34:04, 35 seconds ahead of Race 3 winner, van Tonder in second (2017 Series Runner Up), and Botha in third with a time of 01:34:48.

In the women’s elite race, the lead changed hands throughout the race as 2017 series winner, Trish Eksteen (Supa Mama), and Race #2 winner, Carla van Huyssteen (KeyHealth Team Nevarest) fought for victory. Eksteen showed her strength and racing prowess, taking the win ahead of van Huyssteen in second and Nedene Cahill (Supa Mama) in third.

In addition to the honours and the R10 000 prize purse, Claude and Trish Eksteen each got to drive home in a WARRIOR-branded Toyota RAV4 – theirs to drive until the next event in KwaZulu-Natal on the 14th and 15th of July.

Another highlight of the weekend is the Reebok Sprint Race – a shorter, faster and highly intensive course. This race has grown in popularity since its inception last year and is producing a specialist field of sprint athletes. This past weekend, the elite men’s race saw Juan-Pierre Mare and Trevor Lagerwey go head-to-head for the title. Lagerwey took an early lead, maintaining it until the Balance Beams, the second last obstacle on the course. While he paused to regain his balance, Mare seized the opportunity, passing Lagerwey and taking the win by just over a second. Finishing in third was Jan de Beer Jnr. In the women’s elite sprint race, undefeated this season, Dominique D’Oliveira claimed her fourth consecutive title ahead of Mandie Landsberg in second and Cindy Wills in third.

In the 10km, 22 obstacle Commando Elite race, the men’s top three were Conrad Herbst, claiming his first race win in a time of 00:46:18, Bernard van der Schyff with a time of 00:47:01, and Calen Hastie in 00:48:43. In the women’s race, gold went to Sam Ryder, silver to Race 2 winner, Tarryn Butler, and bronze went to Gabriella Holmes.

The Rookie Elite athletes completed a 5km course incorporating 15 obstacles. In the men’s elite, Justin Landsberg claimed the top step of the podium ahead of Nick Oberholzer in second and Janus de Klerk in third. The women’s title went to Sam Gilchrist in a time of 00:43:03, while Megan van Tonder and Karen Denny finished in second and third respectively.

The next WARRIOR race takes place in Blythedale, KwaZulu-Natal, on the 14th and 15th of July. This Toyota WARRIOR race also doubles as the firs South African OCR Championships.

Results – Toyota Warrior #4

Black Ops Elite

Men

  1. Claude Eksteen                                 01:34:04
  2. Thomas van Tonder                       01:34:39
  3. Armin Botha                                      01:34:48

Women

  1. Trish Eksteen                                     01:55:15
  2. Carla van Huyssteen                      02:03:48
  3. Nedene Cahill                                    02:08:10

Commando Elite

Men

  1. Conrad Herbst                                  00:46:18
  2. Bernard van der Schyff                 00:47:01
  3. Calen Hastie                                       00:48:43

Women

  1. Sam Ryder                                          01:07:07
  2. Tarryn Butler                                     01:08:28
  3. Gabriella Holmes                             01:08:51

Rookie Elite

Men

  1. Justin Landsberg                              00:35:11
  2. Nick Oberholzer                                00:37:12
  3. Janus de Klerk                                   00:39:37

Women

  1. Samantha Gilchrist                         00:43:03
  2. Megan van Tonder                          00:45:53
  3. Karen Denny                                     01:00:12

Reebok Sprint Race

Men

  1. Juan-Pierre Mare
  2. Trevor Lagerwey
  3. Jan de Beer Jnr

Women

  1. Dominique D’Oliveira
  2. Mandie Landsberg
  3. Cindy Wills

Teams

  1. Cape Valies
  2. BeSnapped
  3. Nevarest

For the full results of Toyota Warrior #4, visit www.jumpertrax.com.

For more information or to enter, visit www.warrior.co.za.

 Toyota Warrior Race 2018 Dates:

Warrior 5/SA Champs           14 – 15 July                              Blythedale, KwaZulu-Natal

Warrior 6                                11 August                               Nelspruit, Mpumalanga

Warrior 7                                 20 – 21 October                      Meerendal Wine Estate, Cape Town, Western Cape

Warrior 8                                 24 – 25 November                  Tierpoort Adventure Farm, Pretoria, Gauteng

Toyota WARRIOR, powered by Reebok, is back with mud and obstacles built to sustain and delight the thousands of athletes, large and small, tall and short, thin and large that are ready to challenge themselves having fun building better humans.

The event calls adventure seekers from all walks of life – whether a weekend WARRIOR or an elite athlete hoping to snatch up the series title. With a Rookie, Commando, and Black Ops category on offer, WARRIOR has something for everyone.

For the first time in the popular series there will be an escape route for those who don’t find the idea of mud particularly appealing. Instead of diving into the infamous Mud Monster, participants will have the option of taking a penalty loop that will take them the same amount of time to complete. The ‘mudless’ option will not be made available to any Elite athletes, however.

Adventure seekers looking for some extra high-speed excitement have the option of entering the popular Reebok Sprint Race.

A specifically designed children’s obstacle course will be available for little adventurers, as well as a WARRIOR Kids Zone under the supervision of child-minders.

There are some exciting things in store at the 2018 TOYOTA WARRIOR SERIES, powered by Reebok:

 

Exit mobile version