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The Diesel Depot 15km race has been on the calendar since the inception of the Hamilton AC, which was formed and sponsored most of those years by VQS and the forerunners thereto.
On Saturday the race is back, and the weather in the build-up to the event will have reminded runners of the huge “washout” a few years ago when the skies opened with a vengeance on the morning of the race and safety determined the race be postponed.
It is a deceptively fast course given that the race is named after one of the toughest hills in the Buffalo City metro. It is a hill that has always had a place in training for tough races, too, including the Comrades Marathon that takes place on June 14.
The race starts at the intersection of Pearce Street and Chamberlain Road in Berea and offers one of the fastest starts on a road that has traditionally enticed runners to pick up the pace, even in training.
The intersection to Old Transkei Road offers a gentle downhill followed by an equally gentle uphill to the traffic lights at Devereux Avenue, a short stretch of dead flat to Beach Road, Nahoon, and then a long and fairly steep descent towards the Batting Bridge.
The race turns a sharp left towards the residential area that spans both banks of the Nahoon River, which is crossed a kilometre from the turn.
The song ‘A Long and Winding Road’ will cross the minds of runners venturing out into the region for the first time. Except it is also steep, with each turn offering a new challenge
As the runners cross the bridge over the river, they meet the first meaningful climb up through Abbotsford, which meanders towards Dorchester Heights.
A left turn into Two Rivers Drive, the course then descends into the suburb with a fine country feel to it, and the road is quite long, starting with a sharp downhill followed by fast flat running and then a steady, though gentle, climb to the turn that introduces the real Diesel Depot Hill.
The song A Long and Winding Road will cross the minds of runners venturing out into the region for the first time. Except it is also steep, with each turn offering a new challenge.
Well over a kilometre later, runners reach Hemmingway’s Shopping Centre, relieved that the hill is done.
Provided the race has been accurately planned, it is a pleasure from there to the finish as the race winds through Vincent and into Selborne, finishing at the Hamilton Club.
Few Comrades runners are likely to take a chance on the fast nature of the race, though some will join in for a gentle 15km jog before their run up from Durban to Pietermaritzburg a Sunday hence.
The defending male runner from 2025 is Masixole Xayiya, who finished in 50:14 last year, and he may be up to challenge the time set by Malixole Kalideni, who has a sub-50 of 48:26 to his credit and is running his first Comrades this year.
The fastest woman thus far has been Hanlie Botha with a sub-60 of 56:27.
Daily Dispatch
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