After a tough 98km on rolling hills totalling 2,600m of ascent, Ben Brimble and AJ Calitz of team K-Way North Face emerged victorious in the Open team division.
“It was great to race with AJ,” said Ben. “We had a plan and on Day 2 it came together. It’s a fantastic feeling.”
“We complimented each other well: AJ on the climbs and me on the flatter stuff, so the team dynamic was good.”
AJ Calitz was proud of Team K-Way North Face: “So privileged to run with the legendary Ben Brimble and get a victory!”
It may seem that they had it easy, but nothing could be further from the truth.
On Stage 1, the power duo were in third behind Givemore Mudzinganayama and Edwin Sesipi (team ASICS Elite Men) and Johardt van Heerden and Henno Havenga (Windhoek Light Pros). In Stage 2 the ASICS team dropped to fourth, and Windhoek Light to second, as Ben and AJ took the lead.
They maintained their position in the third stage, as Edwin dropped out, and Johardt and Henno only made sixth place. Team Asics Vets comprising Johnny Young and Nicholas Rupanga rose to second, from fifth in the first two stages.
After the dicing for the other two podium positions, Henno and Johardt took second overall in 7h32min, and Johnny and Nicholas in third (7h41min). AJ and Ben’s winning time was 7h12min.
The women’s win was decisive, with KPMG Salomon Ladies, Landie Greyling and Meg Mackenzie taking every stage. Katya Soggot and Chantel Nienaber of The Ladybirds diced Dunya Ansems and Taryn King of Takkie and Heels for second. Dunya and Taryn managed to beat the elite team by the slim margin of 9 minutes.
Leilani Scheffer and Dawid Visser of team Asics Beat the Sun gave an impressive performance, winning the mixed category in Stage 2 and 3. Nic de Beer and Tish Jones won the mixed category on Day 1, but Tish’s leg gave her trouble on Day 2 and they had to pull out. MyRoadLessTravelled (Maphuti Phaka and Tranquil Gumbo) took second in 9h05min, with Team Shesha (Grant Marcus and Kate Mapham) rounding the mixed podium.
Tranquil and Maphuti only had one training session together ahead of AfricanX but it seemed to work well. “I enjoyed working with her. We encouraged one another,” said Tranquil. “I also really enjoyed meeting some of SA’s best runners.
“Next time I would like to compete in the open male category as I feel that this will be more of a challenge.”
AfricanX 2016 overall results
| 1 | K-Way North Face | Ben Brimble | AJ Calitz | 7h12min |
| 2 | Windhoek Light Pros | Johardt van Heerden | Henno Havenga | 7h32min |
| 3 | Asics Vets | Johnny Young | Nicholas Rupanga | 7h41min |
| 4 | Asics Run Tough | J.C. Visser | Rohan Kennedy | 7h47min |
| 5 | Satisfaction Octopus | Matt Daneel | Al Leslie | 8h06min |
AfricanX 2016 women’s results
| 1 | KPMG Salomon Ladies | Landie Greyling | Meg Mackenzie | 8h28min | |
| 2 | Takkie and Heels | Dunya Ansems | Taryn King | 9h04min | |
| 3 | The Ladybirds | Katya Soggot | Chantel Nienaber | 9h13min | |
| 4 | Pace Cadets | Ann Ashworth | Michelle Ronne | 9h24min | |
| 5 | Time Freight ASICS | Natia van Heerden | Carla van Huyssteen | 9h54min |
AfricanX 2016 mixed teams results
| 1 | Asics Beat the Sun | Leilani Scheffer | Dawid Visser | 8h29min |
| 2 | MyRoadLessTravelled | Maphuti Phaka | Tranquil Gumbo | 9h05min |
| 3 | Team Shesha | Grant Marcus | Kate Mapham | 9h19min |
| 4 | Salomon Fishing in the Yemen | Laura Peddle | Iain Peddle | 9h33min |
| 5 | Love Actuary | Pieter Henning | Bianca Grotepass | 9h46min |
Photo Credit: Volume Photography Tobias Ginsberg
Posted by Stillwater Trail Running on Sunday, 13 March 2016
Winners of the @runtheafricanx, @BenBrimble & @ajcalitz, took it in style today! Well done, boys! #ASICSRunTough pic.twitter.com/9Q7I7FHg0s
— Modern Athlete (@modern_athlete) March 13, 2016
As easy as 1, 2, 3! @LanGreyling & @Meg_Mackenzie86 claim stage & GC victory at @runtheafricanx!#amazing @Salomon_SA pic.twitter.com/h204Q3cgpN
— Full Stride (@FullStrideSA) March 13, 2016
Finishing in a crowd of runners @ajcalitz & @BrimbleBen take the 2nd stage win & the @runtheafricanx GC victory!
— Full Stride (@FullStrideSA) March 13, 2016
