Theron Claims The Bronze At MTN SA Marathon Champs

Race Report : Garmin adidas

So many fourths, but finally a third!

Francois Theron (Garmin adidas) could be forgiven if he had nightmares about the number four, because try as he might, every time he competed in the MTN National Marathon series, he finished in the 4th position.

Theron finished 4th in the MTN series no less than seven times.

But he did not allow this state of affairs to discourage him and on Saturday, during the MTN National South African Championships – N3TC Dirty Harry Marathon Race over 120km, his perseverance at long last paid dividends when he managed to finish 3rd.

Theron was ecstatic afterwards.

“I could not believe it when, at long last, I crossed the finishing line in the 3rd position.  Praise the Lord!  After so many 4th places and so much bad luck, I got my podium at last!  And, what’s more and to make it even more special, it happened at the South African Championship.”

Burry Stander (Specialized) won in 4 hours 17 minutes, with Ben-Melt Swanepoel (Specialized) finishing 2nd in 4:24:00 and Theron 3rd in 4:30:00.

This, in Theron’s own words, was how the race played out.

“We took off with a long neutral zone, but soon the racing was on.  Burry and I went to the front and, particularly Burry, set a hard pace up a short steep climb.  This caused a split in the field and a few riders had to work very hard to get back to the front.  A group of about eight riders, including Philip and me, broke away and headed off to the first big climb of the day.

“I decided to stick to my game plan and stay within my limits, aiming to have a strong finish. I was in sixth place at the ‘king of the mountain’ section and later on I managed to catch and pass Brandon.  During the rest of the race I just looked after my equipment, and maintained a strong pace.

“Every now and then I could see the riders in front, but my efforts to join them were of no avail.  I knew there was still a big steep climb ahead, so I quickly settled back into my rhythm.

“Going up the second last big climb, I saw Kevin next to the road fixing a flat.  I then knew that I should be in fourth position, but I just wanted to make quite sure and asked the camera guy for confirmation.

 ‘You’re in third place’, was his answer.

“I didn’t realise that Max had to pull out of the race, after his Cannondale Dual Suspension had broken. This  just shows how hard the terrain was.

“I know it was not nice of me, but hearing about Max’s bad luck put a massive smile on my face.  I looked at my Garmin edge and saw that I wasn’t too far from the finish.  Still not taking any unnecessary risks, I went as fast as I could.

“The race was shorter than advertised but the very hard, rocky terrain still made it a tough one.  It was a very well-marked and well-organized race.  I can only say well-done to MTN and N3TC for putting together such an outstanding SA Championship 2009.”

Two flat tyres put an end to Philip Buys’ hopes of having a good finish, while Marc Bassingthwaighte lost his personal battle against the flu bug that had been pestering him for more than two weeks.