23 November 2017

Robyn Owen Proves Dynamite on-and-off Road with Silver at Race-2-Stanford Triathlon

Submitted by: Viv Quann
Robyn Owen Proves Dynamite on-and-off Road with Silver at Race-2-Stanford Triathlon

WESTERN CAPE, CAPE TOWN - South Africa’s iconic Cape Whale Coast hosted the inaugural Pura Soda Race-to-Stanford Triathlon, a Half Ironman distance, on 18 November 2017. The R2S Triathlon, the acronym for Race-2-Stanford, starts at the sea and finishes inland.

Multisport sensation, Robyn Owen, 27, who grew up in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, (Jeep Team/Best4Sports), is a multiple-award winning adventure racer not used to racing on anything tarred and flat. Currently in training with her younger brother, top paddler Lance Kime, Owen used the triathlon as an opportunity to put into practise time-trialling, fast transitioning, and running on tired legs in a race environment, in preparation for the 2018 Kathmandu Coast to Coast World Multisport Championships. This challenging triathlon started with a 1.9km ocean swim in the Hermanus Harbour, then cycling through the Hemel en Aarde Valley on a 90km bike leg via Caledon and over Shaw’s Pass, and concluded in a 21km run around the beautiful and historic Stanford Village. Owen, who is a seasoned off-road runner, paddler and mountain biker, finished the testing race in just under 6 hours, earning herself a surprise second-place finish with a time of 05:50:48.

First place went to Kelly van der Toorn in 05:42:51, while Gabriella Gioia finished in third place in 06:01:12. Owen reflects on her experience, “I swam 1.9 km with numb fingers in a pretty chilly ocean; rode 90 km with skinny wheels on tarmac; and ran 21 flat kilometres, and wasn’t half bad! The water was as clear and blue as an ocean gets; the hilly bicycle ride was good, hard work; and the 3-lap run through Stanford was as good as any cross-country run course I can remember. I'm no triathlon connoisseur, but I don't reckon a half Ironman could get much better than that. The Pura Soda Race 2 Stanford is destined to become a classic. The race was great training for Coast to Coast; and the unexpected bonus was the second-place finish. Thanks to Paul Ingpen and the team for a magnificent event and the incredibly warm welcome. And a massive thank you to Best 4 Sports, Jeep Team, Sivi Gounden and Caelyn Gounden for the support and for kitting us out in all the tri-essentials!” 

Results – Race-2-Stanford Triathlon 

Women

  1. Kelly van der Toorn - 05:42:51
  2. Robyn Owen - 05:50:48
  3. Gabriella Gioia - 06:01:12 

Men

  1. Matt Trautman - 04:18:58
  2. JP Burger - 04:25:31
  3. Stuart Marais - 04:32:14 

###  EDITORS NOTES 

SOME OF ROBYN OWEN’S ACHIVEMENTS May 2017 – Robyn Owen joins Jeep Team South Africa  TRIATHLON 2nd in Race-2-Stanford Triathlon, a Half Ironman distance, November 2017.  ADVENTURE RACING & MULTISPORT 2nd in Coast to Coast Longest Day “World Multisport Championships”, New Zealand, (winning fastest run & paddle trophies), February 2017 Owen leads SA Youth Team to victory (1st youth team, 7th overall) in the Altay X-Trail Expedition Race in Northern China, 2-10 June 2017 3rd-place finish in 53km Merrell Whale of Trail, July 2017. 2nd in Hout Bay Trail Challenge, August 2017 2nd in the world-renowned Otter African Trail 44km race, October 2017 She was a member of Team Painted Wolf, an elite South African expedition racing team: 4th place (of 96 teams) at the Adventure Racing World Championships, November 2016 in Shoalhaven, Australia.  From November 2014 to February 2016, she was a member of the Merrell Adventure Addicts. During that period the team moved from 16th to 7th on the AR World Series rankings.

Specific results: 3rd place at the Patagonian Expedition Race, Chile, February 2016 6th place at the AR World Championships, Pantanal, Brazil, November 2015 2nd place at XPD, Queensland, Australia, August 2015 1st place at Expedition Africa, Swaziland, June 2015 FKT (at the time) for a mixed team on the Drakensberg Grand Traverse: 78h57m, November 2014  TRAIL / MOUNTAIN RUNNING 1ST - Otter African Trail Run 2016 & record holder (5th place overall, 4h48m) 24th & 1st South African woman - Represented South Africa at the World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships in Poland, 2013 1st place at Darren Holloway Memorial (Buttermere Horseshoe), Lake District, & 2nd place at Welsh 1000 m peaks fell running race, Snowdonia, UK (June 2014) Podium finishes at popular South African trail running events: Jonkershoek Mountain Challenge, Old Fishermans Trail Challenge, Helderberg Extreme, Matroosberg Skymarathon and Lesotho Ultra Trail (2013) KAYAKING 5 times winner (2010-2014) & current record holder of the Dusi Canoe Marathon 2nd place (U23 women’s K1) and 4th place (senior women’s K2) at the ICF World Marathon Championships in Rome, 2012. Past winner of many of the major canoe races in South Africa including the Fish River Canoe Marathon, Berg River Canoe Marathon, Breede River Canoe Marathon, Drak Challenge and 50 Miler Canoe Marathon (2008-2013) 4th place South African K1 River Championships 2016 (Fish River Canoe Marathon)  

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Published in Sports Range