70.3 from the sidelines

This was the year I had decided to do a bit of running only and give triathlon a break for a few months and focus more on coaching as opposed to racing.
We headed up to East London with 3 bikes – not our own but the Horner’s don’t know how to travel light so we landed up with 3 athletes bikes so they could fly in comfort 
It is always so exciting to see thousands of athletes when you arrive at Orient beach, and that feeling at the pit of my stomach was worse than ever – we call it FOMO – fear of missing out!
This year MTD combined we had 92 athletes on the start line. All the MTD coaches were in East London racing together with their own athletes and along with our funky new red trucker hats, we all looked pretty smart.


From MTD we had Travis holding down the fort in the pro category. We then had a strong AG contingent with the likes of Fred, Richard, Arné, Michelle, Antonelle just to name a few.
Although we weren’t racing, being a spectator was equally as exciting. As we waited for the guys to come out the water there was a nervous silence around the crowd. The loud speaker boomed to life as Fred raced through transition ahead of the rest of the field. I got serious goose bumps as he jumped onto his bike and began his 90km bike. There’s nothing quite like watching the first AG athlete come past in MTD kit. Fred was initially from an Olympic distance background so both Kent & I knew he was super-fast but there was also a possibility he may run into trouble if his pacing wasn’t correct…


Followed closely behind was Rich Lawrie – PE coach and an athlete who has grown stronger and stronger each year. Rich had become an absolute machine on the bike and with tough and windy conditions on a hilly bike course Rich was the biker to watch.
The girls were having a battle of their own with Arné having a fantastic swim out in the top 3 of the ladies. She knew she’d have to get a lead on the bike & swim with some fast runners coming from behind in the run.
Antonelle Saporta has improved amazingly under the watchful eye of Coach Rich – her chances were big for a podium spot.


In the 45-49 AG Michelle Enslin was questionable if she would even start with a tummy bug that landed her in hospital the day before. Nevertheless, she had put on a brave racing face and was giving it a go.
Back to the guys, Fred was giving it a serious go on the bike. Rich eventually caught him at 45km and at the turn around Rich shifted into another gear and gave it a massive effort back home. Meanwhile Rohan “total newbie” Meyer was having the race of his life and was mixing it up amongst the best age groupers.
In the pro field out on the run, Trav moved steadily up the field to finish in an impressive 7th spot. Although Trav races pro we surely can’t call him pro whilst holding down 2 jobs and dealing with a 1 year old little princess!


Onto the run Rich was out ahead and all he needed to do was keep a strong mind and steady pace to finish in 1st place overall and 1st in his AG. At around 16km Fred’s body literally couldn’t take it anymore and he landed up in the medical tent. When I asked him how fast he was running he said “not fast, only 3:50/km”. The Long distance endurance Gods had come to teach dear Freddie a lesson – but he will be back stronger and faster than ever. The cross over from Olympic distance to 70.3 distance is always an eye opener for every athlete!


Rohan just missed the podium in the 25-29AG finishing 4th in his first ever 70.3.
In the 55-59 AG Dave Rosenstein had a fantastic race sneaking into 3rd position.
Great results for the MTD ladies with Arné van Rensburg, Antonelle Saporta & Michelle Enslin taking 1st in their age groups. Arné taking 35 minutes off her time from last year.
Jarryd Cooke & Hein van Der Walt both had fantastic races to finish in 2nd & 3rd spot for the 18-24 AG.
Final mention must go to Karla Lokotsch who never got mentioned on awards evening because a male athlete had entered as a female by mistake!!! So once things were sorted out it was later discovered that Karla got a 3rd spot in her AG. Well done Karla!!
Narrowly missing podiums were Brad Flemming and Ian Eadie – next time guys!


It was so amazing to watch all our MTD athletes race so well. There are plenty of Tri clubs & training groups out there and some incredibly talented athletes, but one thing that MTD has over any other group is team comradery. In MTD’s 11 year, some amazing friendships have been built and some special bonds have been formed.
Hands down MTD most definitely won 1st place at the after party. Thanks to all those MTD athletes for closing the doors of Buccaneers… no names mentioned!
Special mention must go to all our coaches who put in all the hard work & effort. They are all genuinely concerned for their athletes and it is awesome to see this happening in front of our eyes.


Kent & I had a vision 11 years ago as we sat staring at each other on our little green plastic table and chairs in the lounge of our 65 square meter flat coaching 2 athletes each …. We wanted to create an Academy where athletes could feel welcome – old & young, beginner to Olympic hopefuls. MTD is a home away from home, where many call it their family and we definitely couldn’t have done it without Richard, Mandy, Rowland, Travis & JD…. Thanks guys – you’re all amazing!

Name & Surname Swim Bike Run OVERALL TIME AGE POS OVERALL
POS
Travis Johnston  0:28:24 2:30:51 1:21:41 4:25:33 7 7
Richard Lawrie  0:29:33 2:31:57 1:26:18 4:32:21 1 11
Brad Fleming  0:33:37 2:37:08 1:28:54 4:45:04 4 20
Rohan Meyer  0:29:29 2:42:02 1:28:23 4:45:33 4 21
Jason Reed  0:34:02 2:43:22 1:34:11 4:57:01 5 38
Mauritz Erasmus  0:29:37 2:49:41 1:34:03 4:58:30 6 41
Carl Mangan  0:30:18 2:50:07 1:37:37 5:03:32 11 64
John Grobler   0:30:12 2:52:57 1:36:27 5:05:25 10 71
John Grobler 0:30:12 2:52:57 1:36:27 5:05:25 10 71
Donavon Shehab  0:36:35 2:48:43 1:36:36 5:08:18 17 79
Grant Guerin   0:36:29 2:47:09 1:37:07 5:09:13 15 82
Jarryd Cooke  0:27:43 3:08:17 1:28:59 5:10:09 2 84
Wayne Jelliman  0:30:52 2:51:30 1:42:09 5:11:30 16 90
Hein Van Der Walt  0:38:28 2:57:09 1:37:11 5:19:09 3 106
Rowland Visser   0:32:58 2:55:00 1:44:45 5:21:07 5 115
Rowland Visser 0:32:58 2:55:00 1:44:05 5:21:07 5 115
Francois Olivier 0:37:44 2:47:52 1:47:57 5:21:21 17 117
Paul Vosloo 0:29:36 3:03:27 1:44:05 5:23:32 5 125
Michelle Enslin 0:35:40 3:00:20 1:44:33 5:27:46 1 146
Ryan Schmidtz  0:31:37 3:12:09 1:38:16 5:27:56 9 149
Mark Roberts 0:36:33 2:54:14 1:49:30 5:28:20 24 151
Eric Hoffman 0:31:54 3:01:22 1:47:27 5:29:21 9 155
Mariella Dierks  0:38:31 3:12:20 1:35:45 5:31:38 7 163
Dylan Jennings  0:42:21 3:02:59 1:34:59 5:31:50 25 165
Gavin Payne  0:35:47 2:55:32 1:56:04 5:33:35 31 175
Antonelle Saporta  0:30:54 3:10:27 1:46:32 5:33:37 1 177
Jono Grant   0:39:26 3:02:03 1:45:21 5:34:43 33 182
Jono Grant 0:39:26 3:02:03 1:45:21 5:34:43 33 182
Dean De Conin 0:30:53 3:00:56 1:57:52 5:36:39 34 198
Monique Janse Van Rensburg  0:36:26 3:08:44 1:47:10 5:37:30 9 203
Warren Reid  0:35:00 3:04:34 1:50:06 5:37:38 36 206
Conor O Sullivan  0:30:03 3:04:20 1:58:51 5:40:53 41 229
Alan Horn  0:38:21 3:07:47 1:46:52 5:42:41 10 240
Gareth Price  0:39:04 3:03:48 1:51:12 5:43:54 43 252
Arne Van Rensburg  0:30:28 3:10:40 1:56:12 5:44:27 1 255
Mike Selikson 0:38:24 3:01:46 1:55:30 5:44:46 12 257
Kevin Dewar 0:38:28 3:03:49 1:56:24 5:47:13 8 272
Flip Cloete 0:47:31 2:56:49 1:51:26 5:47:37 41 278
Gareth Montano  0:36:35 3:05:21 2:01:01 5:51:14 48 304
Jan Hendrick Gutter  0:32:02 3:06:29 2:04:28 5:51:37 42 310
Craig Anders 0:42:04 3:03:59 1:54:08 5:55:00 54 335
Sean Tait  0:37:19 3:09:48 2:01:55 5:55:35 56 339
Alan Wrankmore  0:34:16 3:18:51 1:54:56 5:57:17 60 367
Mauritz Mollentze  0:39:37 3:16:04 1:55:30 6:00:03 53 401
Morne Janse Van Rensburg  0:39:34 3:16:02 1:59:16 6:02:15 56 422
Michael Lombard   0:37:09 3:12:48 2:05:48 6:06:29 60 462
Cathering Priday 0:39:13 3:23:01 1:54:16 6:08:27 10 481
Brent Renyard   0:36:47 3:10:37 2:13:20 6:08:48 62 486
Karla Lokotsch  0:34:51 3:23:13 2:04:15 6:09:29 3 495
Dave Rosentstein 0:45:20 3:08:44 2:05:52 6:11:09 3 520
Corbyn Dolley  0:48:46 3:20:49 1:53:01 6:15:48 87 560
Estie Cloete  0:49:30 3:20:59 1:54:42 6:15:54 13 561
Costa Saridakis 0:46:22 3:21:05 1:55:22 6:16:01 89 562
Peter Baker  0:36:06 3:23:01 2:06:41 6:16:27 28 567
Jaco Du Plessis  0:41:00 3:15:37 2:15:28 6:22:22 94 653
Callum Holley   0:41:45 3:23:32 2:06:26 6:25:06 102 689
Xander Van Biljon  0:36:44 3:23:45 2:19:45 6:29:43 82 751
Lea Steyn  0:36:08 3:30:10 2:15:14 6:29:57 29 756
Werner Kannemeyer 0:40:33 3:18:22 2:20:04 6:30:29 123 765
Marolien Schmidt  0:42:02 3:31:52 2:08:04 6:31:38 27 779
Monica Roode 0:42:55 3:23:28 2:16:10 6:33:22 5 796
Jeanette 0:40:08 3:33:22 2:11:59 6:35:04 22 822
Annelize Du Plessis  0:36:32 3:40:28 2:05:22 6:36:17 29 849
Mario Zanninello   0:38:59 3:21:03 2:26:58 6:40:31 26 918
Mandy Lowings 0:45:43 3:30:53 2:08:43 6:41:06 25 925
Jason Kumm  0:41:49 3:38:56 2:12:22 6:44:53 134 988
Reghardt Strauss  0:34:41 3:31:31 2:23:59 6:45:03 104 990
Lindy Collins  0:37:35 3:44:45 2:07:58 6:45:20 27 995
Lindsay Steele  0:38:53 3:48:48 2:08:22 6:45:34 40 999
Nick Van Der Walt  0:41:54 3:22:47 2:34:49 6:49:48 61 1071
Kim De Bruin  0:38:02 3:40:10 2:20:25 6:52:15 21 1104
Jenni Horn  0:44:37 3:35:57 2:20:04 6:55:36 9 1160
Alexandria Reid  0:41:04 3:35:22 2:30:56 6:57:14 15 1186
Cameron Burt  000:41:44 3:44:04 2:27:07 7:07:47 48 1334
Ian Eadie  0:39:12 3:31:29 2:44:18 7:12:03 4 1385
Stacey Lee Partridge  0:39:30 3:54:18 2:42:34 7:31:54 76 1610
Pieter Klinkenburg  0:45:14 3:31:40 3:01:11 7:32:33 237 1619
Andy Lucas 0:45:18 3:28:29 3:09:52 7:35:16 229 1640
Karen Trottman Pitt 0:44:43 3:59:33 2:34:26 7:35:19 40 1641
Clare Rainey 0:36:51 3:57:57 2:48:55 7:36:40 79 1660
Songo Fipaza 1:00:14 3:57:03 2:18:46 7:37:07 240 1666
Yolandi Eldridge  0:48:48 4:13:15 2:21:20 7:42:32 81 1703
Juan Amie Gutter 0:46:50 4:06:23 2:34:59 7:53:59 24 1829
Neville Noble  0:43:15 3:56:02 3:04:51 7:57:48 242 1861
Kimberly Vorster  0:46:04 4:18:47 2:52:36 8:13:40 27 1953



 

 

 

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