Muronga and Janse van Rensburg win Fish River Ultra-marathon

WINDHOEK – Athanasius Muronga and Julia Janse van Rensburg are the champions of the 65 km Windhoek Light Fish River Ultra-marathon.

Muronga won the men’s race for the fourth time and Janse van Rensburg the women’s competition over the weekend.

The Fish River challenge consists of non-stop self-supporting races, where runners compete in a 65km or 100km course within 24 hours.

The runners started at sunset on Saturday at the Hobas camp site, situated at the northern end of the Fish River Canyon, and finished at the Ai-Ais Resort in the same canyon, in the early hours of Sunday.

The last competitor crossed the line just after 01h00.

Information availed to Nampa by David van der Sandt who was hired by Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) to document the race, said Muronga from Noordoewer completed the gruelling run in eight hours, six minutes and 24 seconds (8:06:24).

He said Muronga’s winning time was considerably slower than previous years.

“Very tough conditions along the route resulted in the toughest event since the inaugural Windhoek Light Fish River Ultra-marathon in 2011,” he said.

An audio clip availed to this agency quotes Muronga as saying he was proud to win his fourth consecutive title.

“It was very tough today and very difficult but I decided that this is my country and I would not allow anyone to beat me at home,” he said

Windhoek resident Janse van Rensburg produced one of her best performances in her long distance running career, finishing in 8:45:09 seconds.

Janse van Rensburg, who prefers road running, said she did not expect to win, but enjoyed herself despite the conditions.

“At times the river sand was very loose and we had to run into a head wind but I managed to keep going,” she said.

Only eight out of 70 runners did not reach Ai-Ais.

Race organiser, Tinus Hansen from African Extreme Promotions, said a decision was taken to cap the number of entrants to 70 for environmental considerations.

Event sponsor, NBL through their Windhoek Light beer brand, made a significant contribution to conservation in the country by donating all the entry fees towards a fund for upgrading ablutions facilities at Kochas Drift, a popular stop-over point on the Fish River Canyon hiking trail.

Last year, the company donated entry fees towards conserving Namibia’s wild horses. – Nampa

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