'I'm happy with the turn out' - Khumalo celebrates Orcas 15km challenge as a success
On Sunday 15 December, Orcas Academy which was founded by Comrades Marathon gold medalist Prodigal Khumalo hosted the second edition of Orcas 15km Challenge that finished at the Amphitheater situated at Durban's famous North Beach. The race had been scheduled to take place at the Inanda Dam but the terrible conditions of the route after the roads in the area were damaged by the recent heavy rains, meant that the club had to find an alternate venue. In the end, Jo Keppler - better known as a trail runner emerged as the winner of the women's race in a time of 1:09:40, followed by Nolwethu Majiya in 1:11:21, with Amahle Mbense rounding out the top three 1:13:43 as Orcas runners swept the podium.
In the men's category was dominated by the Nedbank Running Club as all three podium positions went to the Green Machine. Benjamin Nyongesa of Kenya claimed top honours in a good time of 47:06, Lesotho's Letlatsa Nape was second 48:59, while KZN native Ncendisani Phungula finished in third place in 49:51. Speaking after the race, the 36-year-old Keppler said the victory meant a lot to her especially after failing to finish last month's Ultra Trail Cape Town( UTCT) 100miler due to sickness.
"I'm happy with the way I performed. It's nice to do a bit of road running. Last month, I did UTCT but unfortunately by 135km, I had to pull out because I was sick. So to close the year with a victory is good. Now I'm looking forward to start preparing for the 2025 road running season. In the first half of the year, I do road and then during the second part, I do trail," explains, Keppler, who obtained fourth position in Ultra Trail Drankersberg 65km.
With the race attracting over 400 runners compared to the 200 that participated in the first edition, Khumalo believes they are heading in the right direction and have reached the target. The event is the last KwaZulu-Natal Athletics race of the year when most runners have already ended a long season, so Khumalo is encouraged by the rising number of participants.
"I'm happy with the turn out. We wanted to have 400 runners especially because the race happens in the festive season when lot of people either on holidays or attending some other entertainment events. We managed to exceed that target. Last year we had 200 which makes it a massive growth compared to last year. Plus the positive thing is that we had more sponsors coming on board this year. It's good to have companies supporting road running," he shared.
And having catered to over 400 runners and walkers who enjoyed the new venue, Khumalo suggests that the forced change in venue may have been a blessing in disguise because now they are considering to using the Durban Amphitheatre again next year. "I can see people loved the finish. Its big and also user friendly. At first we were going to use Inanda Dam but changed due to route being damaged by the rainy weather conditions. So next year, we are going to use this finish line again."