Prodigal Khumalo soared to victory at Ultra-Trail Cape Town on Saturday.

On Saturday, 2 December, hundreds of trail runners lined up for an epic race day. UTCT presents three trail races of 100km, 65km and 35km that traverse the mountains of the Cape Peninsula. The races cover sections of Table Mountain, Lion’s Head, Signal Hill, Orangekloof, Llandudno, Hout Bay, the Constantia Winelands, the upper slopes of Kirstenbosch Nature Reserve and Devil’s Peak.

Zimbabwean Prodigal Khumalo smashed the men’s Ultra-Trail Cape Town race record by just under an hour, in a sensational time of 9:51.00. Other SA race favourite Ryan Sandes was only minutes behind him in a time of 9:56:03, with Scotty Hawker from New Zealand in third place in a time of 10:04:27.

Prodigal Khumalo said of his win: “The guys really wanted it, we raced from the gun. I used the same strategy as last year but was better prepared, and with the competition around me, I had to push.”

@utct 100km 2017 was more like 2016 I used the same strategy and it worked.The difference the competition was high and I ran a course record.Im stocked and stuck in between making a decision if I can fully focus in the trails or road running time will tell.Thank you #teamprodigal #mrpsports #maxedelite#racefood#tomtom#kingsfirearms #beechies#32gi

A post shared by Prodigal Khumalo (@prodigalkhumaloooo) on Dec 2, 2017 at 8:09am PST

All of the first three men finished under the current record, reflecting the elite calibre of competition in the race. The first woman across the line in the 100km race was Lucy Bartholomew, the 21-year-old trail-running sensation from Australia, in a time of 11:21:49, well ahead of second placed South African, Robyn Owen, who crossed the line at 12:06:40. Naomi brand, also South African, was in third place in a time of 12:20:23.

Today i wanted to run well, not for me, but for South Africa, for everyone that supports me, for my family. It’s amazing what the body can do with such a powerful emotion behind you. A day i will never forget. 1st plants and a new course record at the @utct ❤️??? So much love, i can’t describe!

A post shared by Lucy Bartholomew (@lucy_bartholomew) on Dec 2, 2017 at 8:25am PST

“There are not big mountains here compared to what I run in France, but this was tough, you have to have the full package – run fast and climb hills – I learnt a lot from this race, “ Bartholomew said.

Ryan Sandes was happy with the end result: “It was really tough against the Comrades guys; I tried to push early on the technical bits, so I had to work harder on the flats and the downs. It was really awesome to run a big race at home, and the encouragement from the crowds has been incredible, all along the route at the aid stations we felt that support.”

Finish line love at Ultra Trail Cape Town. What a day. I went to some dark places but experienced a crazy amount of support on the course. Thank you Cape Town ??✌??: @mountain_creatures #RunningHome

A post shared by Ryan (@ryansandes) on Dec 3, 2017 at 9:38pm PST

Nic Bornman, founder of the race, said he has seen the race grow exponentially since the inaugural event in 2014: “Each year the race has doubled in size, but this year, with being included in the World Tour, it has exploded, attracting numbers of elite international runners, which is fantastic to see.

For more information, visit https://www.ultratrailcapetown.com/.

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