MARK ETHERIDGE: All guns blazing for runners in historic Cape Town race

One year before the democratic era of SA in 1994, saw another novel event blasting on to the road running scene in Cape Town.

It was a half-marathon with a difference, runners being sent off by the firing of a canon in the front of Seeff House on the foreshore at 9.30am and with the firing of the Noon Day gun on nearby Signal Hill, signalling the 2hr 30min cut-off.

Seeff were one sponsor and The Argus newspaper, for whom I worked at the time, was the other. “They will be known as Gun Runners”, was the booming declaration by then (and now late) editor Andrew Drysdale.

This weekend will see the 30th running of the event (interrupted only by two Covid Pandemic cancelled years).

The race now known as the Outsurance 94.5 Kfm Gun Run has become an institution of the Cape Town running scene and has attracted big names from around the country, with 2024 Olympic triathlete Vicky van der Merwe is in this year’s field.

It’s fascinating taking a trip back down memory lane to chat to some of the people who have played, some of them are still playing, a huge part in making it the success that it is today.

Initial winners in 1993 were Warren Petterson and Terri-Lee Bedford in 64min 10sec and 78:45 respectively.

Both remember the race remarkably well, more than a quarter of a century down the road.

“It feels like yesterday,” says Petterson, now 56, and who due to a long-time knee injury, rarely runs these days. “I had a great battle with Owen MacHelm. We ran together most of the way until I surged somewhere in Three Anchor Bay, not far from the end in Green Point, and got a gap of about 10sec. He rode me like an animal until the finish!

“I remember the first prize was R1,500 [that translates to around R8,500 in today’s terms]. I ran in Sports Cafe colours for which I was paid R750 and then the owner of Sports Cafe, Leon Markowitz, gave me another R750 for winning. That money helped me pay for the final year of my town planning degree at UCT.”

Bedford, now 58, married name Farr, lives in faraway Tauranga, New Zealand.

“The main incentive was the big first prize because I was getting married in December that year. I was running for Celtic Harriers, though I was coming out of a knee injury, suffered during the St James Church attack in July of that year [armed gunmen stormed the church, killing 11 worshippers]. I hurt my knee trying to get away.”

She says she remembers having a “comfortable run without too much competition and all-in-all just a nice day”.

“Warren and I had to give the big canon trophy back but we also got a Cup that we could keep and by that time I was in New Zealand and asked my mom, a runner herself, to donate the Cup to her club, Constantia Run/Walk for Life and they used it as a floating trophy for the top lady each year.”

Now a teacher at Bethlehem College in Tauranga, she and Petterson have remained good friends over the years, in fact catching up in person in the Mother City earlier this year.

Interestingly, there will still be a T Bedford lining up for Gun Run this year. “My sister, Dr Toni Bedford, a dentist in Sea Point, will be doing her second Gun Run”.

In terms of sheer longevity, look no further than organising club Atlantic Athletic Club’s Mark Wagenheim who has run all 29 Gun Runs to date.

A man who also has an incredible 44 Two Oceans ultra-marathons under his belt, Wagenheim only has fond memories of his club’s event.

“It’s fantastic that it’s grown to this level and I think the current route going up and along Kloof Road is one of the nicest we have in Cape Town.

“I remember the initial medals/badges used to be a little canon.”

Now 68, he has many anecdotes of the race. “One year, the race started at Green Point Common and ran through the V&A Waterfront, and we got to one of the big hotels and there was a traffic boom that was supposed to be up, but it wasn’t and you had the chaotic scenario of thousands of runners trying to squeeze through to the other side.”

Despite it being one of his favourite races, Wagenheim thinks it could still be better. “It’s one of the great races of Cape Town and the numbers have increased so well but if we look at something like the Great North Run, in England last weekend, it had more than 40,000 runners [actually closer to 60,000]. I really think the city should do the same to allow more people to take part, like Newcastle does for the Great North Run.”

Sadly, he doesn’t get to take another shot at a 30th finish this year, a meniscus tear in his knee ruling him out, his first injury in 45 years of running!

And then there are the many people behind the scene, working tirelessly to ensure the smooth running of the race.

One who stands out is Chris Readman who has been part of the race since the very early years, whether it’s as Atlantic men’s club captain, chair or president and has been so involved that he’s never actually run the event!

“Months and months of preparation and hundreds of thousands of rand go into this race yet it just takes one tiny mistake to mess things up.

“In the early days we put the race together with a bunch of volunteers but it got more and more complicated as it grew and we had to contract out certain portfolios and now Top Events handle a lot of the organising.”

The Gun Run took over from a popular biathlon (cycling/running) event that used to be an annual event.

“We had a series of sponsors which dried up and at one stage, I think it was 2005, we had to put it on without a sponsor and it was a low-key affair.”

One issue which still irks Readman is when people complain about the entry fee to run a half-marathon. “The reality is that in SA one can still run a 21.1km for the price of a pizza. They should find out how much it costs overseas.”

And he’s very proud of how the race has evolved into a two-day event. “On Saturday we have a 17km trail run, 10km run, a 5km fun run/walk and also what has turned out to be a very popular event, the 5km pet walk [Animal Welfare Society is an official charity partner], and then Sunday is the flagship Outsurance Gun Run half-marathon.”

One of the memories that still stands out for him is the early years of the event when the Noon Gun on Signal Hill signalled the end of the race.

“The first person to finish after the gun had fired, would get the spent cartridge, along with a plaque saying: Good Afternoon”.

Journeying into a democratic rainbow nation, surviving the Covid-19 pandemic, there’s no doubt this iconic SA event is still going great guns.