Robinson takes WP 100 km title

William Robinson, a fourth year industrial mathematics student at UCT, won the 100 km Western Province road running championships held earlier this month.

The championships, which were part of the Cape Town Festival of running, took place at the 10-km course at Three Anchor Bay and were organised by the Hewat Athletic Club. With so few opportunities for runners to compete in ultra-distance races, the event attracts participants from all over the country.

"I have always had a fascination for the true ultra distance events, and the 100-km distance (runners complete 10 laps of the 10-km Three Anchor Bay course) was the next step up after Two Oceans, which I completed last year," he said.

Editor of the Western Province Athletics website, Robinson is able to keep a close eye on road running events, and decided to enter the 100-km, after doing well in the Knysna Marathon in July, where he finished eighth.

Robinson has been training regularly since 1996, when he first did well in cross-country and athletics at high school. He has been running road races for the past seven years, and recently ran his 25th half-marathon. He trains with coach Dion Middelkoop at UCT and has for the past four years.