Cape Town’s rugged mountain spine growled under gale-force winds this weekend as the 2025 RMB Ultra-Trail Cape Town (UTCT) delivered a World Trail Majors finale worthy of folklore.
Overnight gusts of up to 90 km/h tore through the Race Village and forced it shut. Yet out on the trails, runners charged ahead, defiant as wildfire against the wind.
And in the eye of Friday’s storm, a 22-year-old from George lit up the course like a flare.
Rebecca Kohne: The Young Star Who Ran Her Own Legend
In her first-ever ultra, South Africa’s Rebecca Kohne didn’t just win the women’s 55 km Peninsula Traverse (PT55), she dominated it, running with the calm cunning of an old sage despite being the youngest contender among the favourites. She clocked 6:11:44, claiming her maiden ultra victory and outpacing seasoned international rivals as if slipping past them on a breeze.
A former track athlete who only stepped onto trails in 2022, Kohne arrived at UTCT without the weight of expectation. She only had the sturdy self-belief of someone ready to test her limits.
“I had a really nice day today and really enjoyed the course. I ran pretty conservatively and ran a bit harder towards the end of the race,” an elated Kohne told The Athlete, still flushed with the thrill of her finish beneath the towering presence of Table Mountain.
When asked whether she believed a win was possible in her debut ultra, she laughed, shaking her head.
“No, I didn’t think so. I was hoping for top five. The biggest thing I take away from today is not to count yourself out until the end. I just ran my own race, and I was focussing on how I was feeling. I just solved my problems as I was going through the course, and it turned out to work out for me.”
For now, she is keeping her future plans open.
“For now, I will just enjoy the victory and decide what to do next when I return home,” she added.
Her poise, patience, and tactical maturity turned the PT55 into a masterclass. She is proof that she is no longer a rising star, but a force breaking new daylight across South African trail running.
World-Class Warriors Brave Cape Town’s Wild Side
With the Race Village closed for safety and Table Mountain National Park swirling with remnants of the storm, athletes set out into terrain that glittered after sunrise—slick rocks shimmering like fresh-forged armour, singletracks curling like serpents along the slopes.
Across UTCT’s six distances, champions etched their names into the mountain’s memory.
2025 UTCT Winners
100 Miler (UTCT 100M)
• Men: Douglas Pickard (RSA) – 21:49:11
2. Aleksei Tolstenko (RSA)
3. Admire Muzopambwa (ZIM)
100 km (UT100 – Men)
• Jeff Mogavero (USA) – 11:04:53
2. Dmitry Mityaev (Neutral)
3. Matthew Healy (RSA)
Jeff-Mogavero-2025-Ultra-Trail-Cape-Town-100k-mens-winner
100 km (UT100 – Women)
• Sunmaya Budha (Nepal) – 12:25:55
2. Antonina Iushina
3. Tara Fraga
Sunmaya-Budha-2025-Ultra-Trail-Cape-Town-100k-womens-winner
55 km Peninsula Traverse (PT55)
• Men: Johannes Wingenfeld (GER) – 5:13:26
• Women: Rebecca Kohne (RSA) – 6:11:44
35 km Table Mountain (TM35)
• Race called off due to gale force winds
23 km Explorer (EX23) & 16 km Kickstarter (KS16)
• Events completed; official results not yet published.
A Wild Weekend That Tested and Revealed True Grit
The 2025 UTCT wasn’t only a race weekend. It was a reckoning with mountains roaring, winds raging, and athletes answering with grit sharpened on stone.
South Africa’s pride swelled with a home podium sweep in the 100-mile, while Rebecca Kohne’s breakout run signaled the arrival of a new generational talent.
In a race where the elements snarled and the trails rose like living beasts, one truth held firm: the mountains may howl, but trail runners howl louder.
