To say that Ngubane 'killed' the race would not be an exaggeration. His winning time of 6:30:05 for the 73 kilometres over three days was almost an hour faster than the last time he raced at Golden Gate. He won two of the stages, but missed out on winning the last stage by 12 seconds.

Ngubane, who also won the Mont-Aux-Sources Challenge, says he did not plan to compete in the Golden Gate Challenge because he was hoping to represent South Africa at the World Trail Running Championships. Unfortunately for him, Athletics South Africa decided not to send a team.

It was a case of 'all dressed up and nowhere to go', or in Ngubane’s case, 'all trained up and nowhere to race'.

'That is why I decided to do the Golden Gate Challenge', he says. 'I did not want all the long hours of hard training to go to waste. I think it was the best I was ever prepared for any race.

'I can honestly say that all the experience I have gained over the last few years by competing in trail runs is starting to pay off. I was confident going into the race, knowing what I should and should not do.'
The Golden Gate Challenge consists of three stages: 27 km, 29 km and 17 km. The athletes were warned not to be fooled by these distances, because they also had to deal with high-altitude mountainous areas.
The race started at the Glen Reenen Rest Camp and the first stage on the Ribbok Trail included steep climbs nicknamed 'Kneebrake', 'Moedbreek', 'Hartbreek' and 'Inbreek'. The route took the athletes across the legendary Brandwag mountain, a signature of the Golden Gate. Ngubane said the first 9 km was the toughest, but it did not stop him from claiming his overall victory by outrunning his nearest rival, Nomore Mandivengerei, by more than six minutes.

The second day was called 'Exploring Little Serengeti'. Athletes reached the mountain plateau after 10 km of uphill running, and their suffering was rewarded with the beautiful view of the surrounding mountains, as well as some four-footed spectators such as zebra, eland, bontebok, hartebeest and wildebeest.

By winning the second stage Ngubane increased his lead by another two minutes.

Ngubane says the first 9 km of the third stage was the easiest because they ran on a tar road. Mandivengerei managed to outrun him by 12 seconds to win the third stage and finish second overall with a time of 6:37:59. Solicitor Manduwa was third with a time of 6:56:22.

Bennie Roux (Nedbank Running Club) finished seventh with a time of 7:39:16.

The women’s race was won by Tracy Zunckel, who finished with a time of 8:31:11.

Nonsikelelo Mbambo and Carine Gagiano (Nedbank Running Club) were in a ding-dong battle for second place. After the first two stages Mbambo had a lead of almost eight minutes, but Gagiano fought to the bitter end to make up time and won the last stage. In the end the two athletes were separated by only 20 seconds – Mbambo’s overall time was 8:57:06 and Gagiano’s 8:57:26.