The 51st running of the Discovery Surfers Challenge takes to the pristine beaches that lie in petulant wait for thousands of runners on Saturday.
Playing out between the mouth of the Kwelera River and Nahoon Beach or the Gonubie Hotel to the same finish and the 5km over Bonza Bay and back to Nahoon on Saturday afternoon, another record field is expected on a clear date in respect of mostly sometimes clashing fixtures.
Entries continue to come and increase by the day, according to the organisers.
Choosing who will challenge for the podium positions is difficult.
Good news for the race, and the organisers in particular, is that last year’s winner Keagan Cooke from Nelson Mandela Bay, the son of a once young Hudson Park High schoolboy cross country runner, Guy, is returning.
His time last year was a sound 68:44. It gave him a 35-second victory over local man Owen Tshibo.
The time was also two minutes faster than any other runners in the past five years and the second fastest recorded since the route increased by one kilometre to 17.5km in 2010.
Cooke will have his family, including elder brother Jarryd and sister Chelsey, in the field and both are likely to be prominent throughout.
Awonke Bungu, who won in 2023 and 2024, has indicated he too will be back. His times were 73:34 and 70:40. The previous winner, also with two victories to his name, was Bulelani Mgubo, who ran a personal best of 69:48 in 2019.
There are races throughout the field and not simply confined to up front. Traditionally, the paddlers give the runners a go and use prevailing winds to their advantage. As soon as entries indicate who is in the field, it will be reported.
One of the concerns for local supporters of the race is whether 11-time winner of the longer Surfers and twice winner of the Gonubie to Nahoon option, Hanlie Botha, has recovered sufficiently to chase another title.
Sadly, the runner who has also won more of the Gonubie to Nahoon races than any male or female, and a recent winner of an award for performances on the roads, Caryn Lategan, will not be running due to a school event her daughter is taking part in down the coast. It should mean her sister Lauren Ranger will be the favourite in that event.
More news will flow through in the days ahead and there are bound to be runners of all ages showing off their prowess, but with particular interest in the junior runners who have been exceedingly prominent in recent times. There is a track and field meeting on Saturday morning for school-going runners, though they are all mostly strong enough to participate in both.
The Surfers also tend to show up runners who are not necessarily on the club circuit, but do take part in trail runs, which are similar in many aspects to the Surfers Challenge, offering more freedom to their competing juices.
On Saturday, all will be revealed, the recently unpredictable weather included.
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