Köhne sets a record in Croatia

GEORGE NEWS - Rebecca Köhne (20) from George, the women's winner of the Istria 100 by UTMB - an international trail run in Croatia - returned home on Tuesday afternoon with a gold medal and a new course record.

The race, held on Sunday 16 April in the beautiful town of Istria, forms part of the UTMB (Ultra Trial Mont Blanc) World Series adventure that has a total of 35 events in Asia, Oceania, Europe, Africa and the Americas - including the MUT (Mountain Ultra Trial) which will take place in the Outeniqua Mountains in George from 26 to 28 May.

Talking about her experience, Rebecca said it was all new territory for her. Her greatest expectations were exceeded when she ended not only with a win, but also set a new course record in a time of 1:31:52.

"There are many distances to choose from, but I did the 21km trail race," she said. "The course is super flat and runnable which isn't really my strength; I prefer climbing, so this was a big challenge for me. I went up just over a week before and ran and trained in Croatia with a teammate of mine to get a feel of the surroundings.

"It was tough, but fun!"

She said it rained the last few days leading up to the race, so trails were wet, muddy and slippery which made it a bit harder to run faster.

Rebecca won the race and set a new course record in a time of 1:31:52.

"I am very happy with the result and very pleased to see all the hard work is paying off. I want to thank my sponsor Asics for helping me live my dream. My coach Brendan Lombard for being the most amazing coach. My manager from Asics, Luke Jacobs, for being my 'go-to person', for helping me sort everything out.

"And a big thank you to everyone for all the support, it means so much to me."

Rebecca's parents, Nikki and Donavon Köhne, and her grandfather Nico Köhne are all very proud of her achievements.

"As a family we would have loved to be there in Istria with her - especially her dad who is also a keen runner," said mom Nikki.

"The photos she's sent us are breathtakingly beautiful. We tracked her on an app that they make available, so we were sitting on the edge of our seats for the duration of the event. It was her first international race."

In the company of winners: Rebecca Köhne (middle) at the award ceremony in Istria, Croatia.