Delta Draf is running well

On Tuesday, April 26, the clouds gathered and unseasonably early snow fell on the mountains round Franschhoek. The organizers of the Delta Draf, scheduled for Saturday, April 30, looked at the snow-capped peaks and wondered if they should change the Delta Draf to something else. Maybe the Delta Downhill Skiing Competition?

But Saturday dawned bright and sunny and 611 eager runners turned up to compete in what is now a very popular, recognized event in the Boland Athletics calendar. And no wonder …… there can’t be many other running events which take place on a wine estate with the track winding through a series of vineyards and along the shady banks of a river! The marshal’s directions are along the lines of “Start off at the Shiraz block, turn left at the Semillon, keeping  going until you see the Mouvedre and then dash right past the Grenache to the finishing line!”

A total of 346 runners completed the 10 km course, and a further 265 the 5 km fun run. The winner of the prestigious Veldvlugtig Shield was William Kaptein of Robertson. Now, just a word about this prize. As you may well know “veldvlugtig and vogelvrij” means being an outlaw with a bounty on your head. This does not mean that William is an outlaw! Far from it! This young man has represented South Africa overseas and won many races wearing the green and gold proudly.

The story is that one of the first owners of Delta (luckily no relation to any of the present owners) murdered a neighbour known as Arrie Lekkerwijn in the late 1600’s. He was declared “veldvlugtig and vogelvrij” by the authorities after having gone on the run. He was never caught and legend has it that he is still running and running and running. Hence the name of the prize which is awarded to the overall winner of the Delta Draf.

After the race the competitors crowded round the food stalls to feed their hunger with curried chicken, boerewors rolls and other Cape delicacies. Other families wandered off to Fyndraai Restaurant for a picnic on the lawns, enjoying the wines made from the very vineyards they had passed through at speed a short while earlier.

While the runners and their families relaxed and rested their weary legs in the warm sunlight, the Delta Langbroek Band and the Soetstemme choir entertained them with excellent Cape Jazz and Kaapse liedjies and songs. A fitting end to what has now become a fixture on the Boland running programme.

Everything is running well at Solms-Delta.

By John van Zyl (who, together with Charlotte, completed the 5km race in a passable time!)    

Click here to view all the Race Results in a PDF.  Or for more info and Top 10 results click here.

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