By Staff Reporter
Hundreds of participants crossed the finish line at the 48th edition of the Discovery Surfers Challenge, today (11 February) at Nahoon Beach as the rain ended with the clouds giving way this morning for the rising sun, making it a perfect day for runners and surfers.
The days’ activities consisted of four races for entrants of all fitness levels with the 10km trail run and 5km Open fun run seeing young and old, fit and unfit take part and many making a family outing to enjoy the natural beauty of the coast.
The 17.5km surf ski paddle race and 17.5km trail run attracted the more competitive athletes who were cheered on at the finish line by spectators that came in numbers to support the event.
7 Star Media and the Eastern Cape Rising Sun were invited by main sponsors Discovery to join the Discovery Vitality team on the 5km Open fun run.
Walking with the Head of Marketing at Discovery Vitality, Celeste Williams, she confidently spoke about how Discovery will continue to be part of this annual event which is all about healthy competition.
“The Discovery Surfers Challenge is a special one, we doing it for the last 18 years and our goal is to make community events of this nature more accessible and get people more healthy in a fun way. If exercise is fun, more people are likely to do it. We are pleased to host an event that encourages anyone to get more active in ways they find both enjoyable and challenging,” she added.
At the finish line, we were honored to meet Doug Kunhardt who has taken part in every Surfers Challenge since its inception in 1974.
“I am not a runner, I’m a surfer. We started the race with the late Dennis Bratfield, Athole Bratfield who is in Canada now, and a few others who worked hard to kick-start this race in its first 10 years. Neville Wilkins came on board at a young age, I think he was 23 years and took it over and he needs the praise for keeping this going. He is a little Sergeant Major and we salute him, the team, and the sponsors,” explained Dough.
He recalls surfing at Nahoon Beach from the age of 12 and being a member of the Buffs Club then. At age 72, Dough is aiming to complete his 50th race and when asked what keeps him going, he laughed saying, “As the days get closer to the event and we meet with the guys for a beer, they ask about taking part in the race and after about four beers you end up saying, ‘yes I’ll be there!’”
We pray you have good health Dough and we see you at the finish line for your 50th race in 2025!
DISCOVERY VITALITY RUN SERIES
The Discovery Surfers Challenge is one of many sporting events Discovery Vitality sponsors. Annually the Discovery Vitality Run Series is hosted all over South Africa with 16 races held in the year.
Celeste plans to continue growing this platform in smaller cities and townships by partnering with recognised running clubs to help save running in the country. Her team has already started and recently hosted the first run series in Soweto. From East London, the team will head to the next event in Cape Town.
As a Discovery member, you can be part of the Vitality program and the benefits are two-fold. Members earn points that contribute to their Discovery status and by being part of the Team Vitality Running and Cycling Club you get 50% off all running events sponsored by Discovery.
“There is something for everyone and this makes fitness fun, convenient and it creates opportunities. At the core of it, we getting people healthier, which is not only good for each and every member but good for our society,” explained Celeste.
Celeste concluded by thanking all sponsors and well-wishers for making the event a memorable and successful one.
For full results and more photographs of the Discovery Surfers Challenge, visit the website or official social media page.
