Adventure seekers faced their fears in emphatic style at the IMPI Challenge #2, held at the Van Gaalen Kaasmakerij in the North West Province on Saturday, 2 November 2019.

Offering a trail run with a twist, IMPI Warriors could choose between four categories when entering the IMPI Challenge:

  1. IMPI Corporate
  2. IMPI Challenge
  3. IMPI Dash
  4. IMPI Mini.

The respective winners of the competitive IMPI Challenge men’s and women’s race were Andrew Leeburn from Kensington in Johannesburg and Danel Du Plessis from Potchefstroom.

The men’s action

“I’ve done the IMPI Challenge for the last couple of years. I also know this particular trail route at Van Gaalen, so I was excited to give it a bash,” says Leeburn.

“My goal was to go out, race hard and enjoy it. I found myself out in front, having to set the pace, which is not a usual position for me in a race. I like to follow and then put pressure on the front runners. Setting the pace was difficult. I raced hard in front and used every opportunity that I got, especially the running legs to try and put distance between me and the guys chasing me down. The long trench going through the mud was my favourite obstacle. It was taxing but fun. It’s a great feeling to finish first.”

Leeburn completed the roughly 10km course, which featured 18 obstacles, in a time of 01h05m44s. Johan Boonzaier came in 2nd, while Glenn Gordon finished 3rd.

Girl power

Du Plessis, a relative newcomer to OCR just went out to see what she could do. “I started with a fellow athlete from DC Tigers. When I got my rhythm I decided to push it. After each obstacle, I started to enjoy it more and went all out. I’d definitely recommend this event to other athletes. It challenges you,” says du Plessis, who finished in 1h15m36s, ahead of Cindy Wills in 2nd and Welmari Cousins in 3rd.

For more information on the IMPI Challenge, visit www.impichallenge.co.za.

Photo Credit: Kyle Cestari