Although the gap between Gagiano and second-placed Arnold Smit was only 32 seconds, a win is a win. Twenty years from now race records will still show that Gagiano won.

 

Feminists might be tempted to claim Gagiano's victory as proof that there is no such thing as a 'weaker sex'.

 

However, this is not how Gagiano sees it. For her it was just a matter of clever racing over the three days.

 

'My main goal every day was to keep up with the race leaders, which were the male athletes, to make sure that I would be in contention to win the women's race. I never thought, even for one moment, about winning outright. I can honestly say that the men were nice to me throughout the race.'

 

The Oyster Catcher Trail Run follows the famous oyster catcher hiking route from Gourikwa Nature Reserve (20 km), to Gouritsmond at the mouth of the Gourits River. The next day the route goes from Gouritsmond to Boggoms Bay (20 km), and on the last day from Dana Bay to Mossel Bay (16 km) on the St Blaize hiking route, which is a popular hike that follows the 30-metre high contour along the cliffs eastwards towards the Cape St Blaize Lighthouse.

 

Gagiano described the race as fast and flat.

 

'Day three was the most technical and challenging as far as I am concerned. It was also the day we had to do the most climbing – I think about 600 metres.'

 

'Day two was also reasonably challenging, because we had to run a lot on loose sand and rocks.'
 
'I can honestly say that scenic-wise, it is one of the most beautiful races I have ever competed in.'

 

The unexpected battle between Gagiano and Smit was rather interesting. On the first day she outran him by two minutes and she went on to increase her lead on the second day by another 48 seconds.

 

Smit, who was involved in a titanic battle with third-placed Nelius Swart, seemingly grew stronger every day. He completed the last stage in 1:34:27, which was the fastest time of the day. Gagiano ran 1:36:43.