Big Five Marathon

Last updated

Big Five Marathon
DateJune
Location Entabeni Game Reserve, South Africa
Event type Road
Distance Marathon, Half marathon
Established2005
Organizer Albatros Adventure Marathons
Course recordsMen's: 3:16:01 (2010)
Flag of South Africa.svg Johannes Oosthuizen
Women's: 3:45:24 (2016)
Flag of Denmark.svg Anne-Sophie Eriksen
Official site Big Five Marathon
Participants151 (2019)

The Big Five Marathon is a marathon race situated on the savannahs of South Africa. The race gets its name from the famous animals of Africa referred to as The Big Five Game: lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo. The course of The Big Five Marathon runs through the private game reserve Entabeni in the Limpopo Province, situated between Johannesburg and the Kruger National Park. Even though the course runs directly through a lion territory, safety problems will not be an issue as the route is watched by helicopters and armed rangers. The course of the marathon is atypical for its magnificent savannah scenery among the wildlife of South Africa as well as for its toughness. Even though the marathon is taking place in the wintertime, the sun can be brutal on the open savannahs. In addition to this, the course will be ascending quite a lot from beginning to end.

Contents

History

The Big Five Marathon appeared for the first time in 2005, and has been held annually since then.

In 2007 The Big Five Marathon was held on 30 June. The overall winner was American Jerry Spears, who finished by 3:18:13, 24 minutes before the runner-up crossed the line. Among the women 45-year-old Lynn Biesheuvel, also from South Africa, was the fastest by 4:17:31.

In 2008, The Big Five Marathon happened on 28 June. The winner of the marathon was 28-year-old Hylton Dunn from South Africa, who finished by 3:55:06. The fastest woman in the field was 32-year-old Canadian Heather White, who crossed the finish line after 4:42:42. In the half marathon distance, two South Africans took home the gold: Wihan Swanepoel (1:53:18) and Lynn Biesheuvel (2:03:48) won in the men's and women's contests, respectively.

The Big Five Marathon 2009 had the same male marathon winner as last year, South African Hylton Dunn, who even cut 25 minutes off his finish time from last year's and finished by 3:30:06. In the women's marathon field Australian Richeller Turner crossed the finish line as the first one after 4 hours, 43 minutes and 6 seconds of running. The half marathon winners were South African Wihan Swanepoel (1:44:20) and South African Kim Laxton (1:44:20). A total of 115 runners crossed the finish line in the two distances.

Past results

Key:  Course record

EditionYearMen's winnerTime (h:m:s)Women's winnerTime (h:m:s)
1st2005Flag of Denmark.svg  Leif Vincentsen  (DEN)3:49:38Flag of Denmark.svg  Pia Lyholm  (DEN)4:22:15
2nd2006Flag of South Africa.svg  Jan Petersen  (RSA)3:35:59Flag of South Africa.svg  Lerato Letsheng  (RSA)4:47:01
3rd2007Flag of the United States.svg  Jerry Spears  (USA)3:18:13Flag of South Africa.svg  Lynn Biesheuvel  (RSA)4:17:31
4th2008Flag of South Africa.svg  Hylton Dunn  (RSA)3:55:56Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Heather White  (CAN)4:42:42
5th2009Flag of South Africa.svg  Hylton Dunn  (RSA)3:30:06Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Richelle Turner  (AUS)4:43:06
6th2010Flag of South Africa.svg  Johannes Oosthuizen  (RSA)3:16:01Flag of South Africa.svg  Melandie Jennett  (RSA)4:06:14
7th2011Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Scott Campbell  (GBR)3:36:04Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Inez-Anne Haagen  (NED)3:47:07
8th2012Flag of France.svg  Pierre Poulain  (FRA)3:48:18Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Suzanne McKeen  (AUS)4:01:13
9th2013Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Jan Havránek  (CZE)3:50:45Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Jo Tebbutt  (AUS)4:26:31
10th2014Flag of New Zealand.svg  Robert Loveridge  (NZL)3:23:37Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Cory Newman  (AUS)4:12:57
11th2015Flag of Japan.svg  Shigemi Takayoshi  (JPN)3:24:52Flag of the United States.svg  Shannon Rahlves  (USA)4:03:33
12th2016Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Justin Keane  (AUS)3:53:18Flag of Denmark.svg  Anne-Sophie Eriksen  (DEN)3:45:24
13th2017Flag of Denmark.svg  Frank Johansen  (DEN)3:28:03Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Corelien Kloek  (NED)4:00:23
14th2018Flag of Spain.svg  Joan Pere Carbonell  (ESP)3:35:49Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Sharon Ryder  (AUS)4:10:10
15th2019Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Vincent Dussault  (CAN)3:40:13Flag of South Africa.svg  Sarah Silber  (RSA)4:06:49
16th2021Flag of Italy.svg  Christian Stuffer  (ITA)3:38:41Flag of Italy.svg  Birgit Klammer  (ITA)4:47:46

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References

    Additional info on the official Big Five Marathon website