FRONTIER NEWS
Addo staff run Alexandria Trail Run side-by-side By Fayroush Ludick
Penny Shiloane and Katlego Poss, Field Rangers in action side-by-side, as they were throughout the race
Addo Elephant National Park colleagues, Katlego Poss and Penny Shiloane participated and excelled in the annual Alexandria Trail Run which took place in the Woody Cape section of the park on 11 September. Kick off for their 14km race of the event was at 07h00 and they took one hour and 34 minutes to finish. They placed sixth and seventh respectively. Section Ranger, Zelna Breytenbach, says they only entered the race about a week earlier, and while they were initially only going to run the 8km distance, they decided to upgrade to the 14km on the morning of the race. Breytenbach says their team is very proud of Penny and Katlego for doing so well in their first race. “They are good friends and often go for training runs together when not on shift. They even ran side-by-side along the entire race and were a great source of support to one another.” Race organiser, Sheena O’Keeffe, says it was a spectacular day at Woody Cape. “What a privilege to spend time out there with like-minded people. Everyone was so happy to be out and about. We
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Penny Shiloane and Katlego Poss, Field Rangers, proudly showing off their medals
had 151 runners in total, 150 finishers and only one who did not finish. We even had five new course records!” The Alexandria Trail Run has various distances. There is an eight, 14, 39 and the new 52km Ultra Trail Run. “It is one of South Africa’s most spectacular coastal trails as it traverses dense dune forest to the wide expanses of the Alexandria dune field. It provides an unforgettable trail running experience and is a bucket list event for many serious trail runners,” says Sheena. She continues, “The Park is looking superb, nice and green! Evidence of care and maintenance is everywhere and the rangers were so helpful. It was a pleasure to be there. Once again, there were a number of people who had never visited this section of the park before, so we were happy to share the beauty with them.” With a year to train, who knows, perhaps Penny and Katlego may feel confident enough to tackle the 39km or even the 52km event next year. They could even take on the more gruelling 44km Addo Elephant Trail Run as well.
