Mityaev and Croft Dominate the South African Race – iRunFar

After a day of fierce warmth and competitors, the 2023 Extremely-Path Cape City 100k topped Dmitry Mityaev (Russia) and Ruth Croft (New Zealand) as this 12 months’s champions.

The race began at 6 a.m. native time in Cape City, South Africa, on Saturday, November 25. The 98-kilometer (61 miles) race is one in all a number of that occurred in the course of the weekend pageant. It’s distinctive in its panorama, with mountains, seashores, and cityscapes all through the extremely. The race started at Gardens Rugby Soccer Membership and lined 4,972 meters (16,312 ft) of elevation achieve. The route is entrance loaded in its climbing, with 1,700 meters of achieve within the first 25k, scaling Desk Mountain and Suther Peak.

Race day was a scorching one, with athletes consuming as a lot water as doable on route and on the checkpoints. On the checkpoints, race crews poured ice cubes in athletes’ packs and positioned socks full of ice throughout their necks to cease the athlete’s physique temperature from rising within the noon warmth.

The race was set to be an thrilling one, with final 12 months’s males’s champion Mityaev returning to compete in opposition to favorites similar to Thibaut Baronian (France).

Sadly, Tom Evans (U.Ok.), one of many males’s favorites, was lacking from the beginning line after being held at knifepoint in Cape City whereas coaching for the race. Nonetheless, that didn’t cease him from cheering his Adidas Terrex teammates in the course of the occasion.

The ladies’s race gave the impression to be simply as dramatic, with Marianne Hogan (Canada) competing in her second go at this occasion, after having taken second two years in the past. Nonetheless, she was a little bit of a wild card given she’s been getting back from harm. All issues instructed, worldwide famous person Croft was in all probability the ladies’s favourite.

Learn on for the complete race story.

2023 Extremely-Path Cape City 100k Males’s Race

Dmitry Mityaev’s (Russia) operating profession has gone from power to power lately, after operating the quickest time ever within the mountain race at Mount Elbrus and successful this occasion final 12 months, he was all the time going to be one of many strongest contenders. Proper from the start Mityaev dominated, staying on the entrance of the pack as much as the primary checkpoint till he determined to interrupt away and run alone for the remainder of the race, and he by no means stopped.

Between Desk Mountain at 31k and Llandudno 41k, it appeared that Mityaev had taken a fall with a nasty gash on his left thigh. This was adopted by a flawed flip after hopping from the roads and onto trails simply earlier than the Llandudno checkpoint. He may very well be forgiven as a result of the rugged path regarded extra like somebody’s again backyard than a operating route. Evidently, none of those setbacks stopped him and Mityaev got here via the end line at 10:43:06, 19 minutes forward of his subsequent opponent.

While Mityaev took the lead, competitors was heating up between second, third, and fourth locations. Caleb Olson (U.S.) and Thibaut Baronian (France) have been 10 minutes behind Mityaev coming into the checkpoint at Llandudno, adopted carefully by Anthony Costales (U.S.) and Darren Thomas (U.S.). Though as predicted Olson got here in second at Hout Bay checkpoint at 57k, Baronian dropped again to fifth place behind and gave the impression to be dipping. Nonetheless, Baronian managed to climb again as much as fourth place for the rest of the race till he crossed the end line. Thomas would lose floor later, easing again to complete tenth.

While Mityaev crossed the road in first, the gaps grew bigger between the remainder of the rivals towards the tip of the race. Individuals crammed the remainder of the boys’s podium, with Olson putting second at 11:02:28, adopted by Costales in 11:24:08.

2023 Extremely-Path Cape City 100k Males’s Outcomes

1. Dmitry Mityaev (Russia) – 10:43:06
2. Caleb Olson (U.S.) – 11:02:28
3. Anthony Costales (U.S.) – 11:24:08
4. Thibaut Baronian (France) – 11:36:29
5. Simon Desvaux De Marigny (Mauritius) – 11:42:01
6. Mads Louring (Denmark) – 11:48:35
7. Johannes Löw (Germany) – 11:55:46
8. Ryan Sandes (South Africa) – 12:02:58
9. Ricardo Cherta (Spain) – 12:11:55
10. Darren Thomas (U.S.) – 12:29:29

Full outcomes.

2023 Extremely-Path Cape City 100k Girls’s Race

This 12 months’s winner was Ruth Croft (New Zealand), additionally the 2022 Western States 100 champion. To win this race, Croft put in an unimaginable effort and dominated the ladies’s race all through the course. She started head-to-head with Marianne Hogan (Canada), however after the fourth checkpoint at Desk Mountain, 31k into the race, the hole started to extend between the 2 athletes.

By checkpoint 5 at Llandudno, simply 10k later, Croft had elevated her lead by 9 minutes and handed via at 4:55, only a few minutes behind Beth Pascall’s course report tempo. Nonetheless, since Pascall’s report, the course has modified, making it tougher to check the course occasions. Because the race progressed, Croft turned a good stronger athlete and elevated her lead.

While Croft gave the impression to be operating her personal race on the entrance, the competitors was fierce between Hogan and Ekaterina Mityaeva (Russia) for second and third place. At Desk Mountain there was a widening hole, with Hogan seemingly taking the lead. This was promising for an athlete who was recovering from harm and matching related occasions from her efficiency at this occasion in 2021 when she positioned second. However in the course of the latter half of the race, Hogan took a fall on a gravel sidewalk, and after this she was handed by Mityaeva who moved in to second place.

While the battle continued for second and third, Croft crossed the end line to win in 12:12:20. Hogan managed to push again and completed in second place at 12:39:53, adopted by Mityaeva in third in a really shut 12:44:07. In doing so, Mityaeva improved upon her fourth-place end on the race final 12 months.

2023 Extremely-Path Cape City 100k Girls’s Outcomes

1. Ruth Croft (New Zealand) – 12:12:20
2. Marianne Hogan (Canada) – 12:39:53
3. Ekaterina Mityaeva (Russia) – 12:44:07
4. Varvara Shikanova (Russia) – 13:20:15
5. Samantha Reilly (South Africa) – 13:31:09
6. Kerry-Ann Marshall (South Africa) – 14:46:08
7. Olivia Dubern (France) – 14:49:18
8. Corrine Malcolm (U.S.) – 15:36:27
9. Lisa Geffen (South Africa) – 15:43:30
10. Chloe Bishop (South Africa) – 16:30:58

Full outcomes.