The 17th Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon (KAEM) in South Africa on 21st October was dominated this year by local runners. KAEM is a 7-day self-sufficient staged race with a total distance of 249 km.
Dirk Cloete finished first in 24 hours 42 minutes while Maretha Combrinck took first position in the women’s race with 28 hours 16 minutes. In fact, the first three women were all South Africans.
Dirk Cloete (RSA, 24h42.15) was followed by newcomers Tomas Sundman (Denmark, 25h32.55) and Thierry Triconnet (France, 26h32.51) in second and third place. Dirk’s victory was no great surprise as he also won KAEM in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
In the women’s race, Maretha Combrinck (RSA, 28h16.37) celebrated her third win while Allison Glass (RSA, 32h04.44) and René Vollgraaff (RSA, 33h21.01) took second and third positions.
This desert race is a truly extraordinary experience and a very intimate one with less than 50 runners taking part. They were lucky this year with the weather and a “cooler than usual” Kalahari with temperatures rising only to the upper 30 degrees Celsius.
“We are truly grateful to all our sponsors for making the 17th KAEM another successful event, enabling athletes and crew members alike to have an enjoyable and truly satisfying experience in one of South Africa’s choicest regions,” said Estienne Arndt, KAEM Race Director.
