Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 55, February 2014 | Page 14

Feature

Tearing up
the Trails
In action during the 2013 Otter Trail Run.

With an up-and-down year behind him,
Kane Reilly is determined to do things
right in 2014, but one thing won’t
change: He’ll still be tearing up the
trails all over South Africa.

T

his is going to be a ‘consolidation year’ for
21-year-old trail star Kane Reilly. He did well on the
SA trail running circuit in 2013 and was selected for
the SA Team for the World Mountain Running Champs
in Poland last August, but the Stellenbosch University
B.Comm student says his studies suffered as a result,
and his three-year degree has become a four-year plan
as a result. “My main priority this year is to finish my
degree. I’ve only got a few subjects to finish up, but
I want to get them done, and that’s why I have only
picked three target races for 2014 to focus on.”

PROFESSIONAL APPROACH
Images: Cherie Vale/Newsport Media & Courtesy Salomon

– BY SEAN FALCONER

problems, but I’m not going to blame that for my poor
performance… I reckon my head just wasn’t in the
right space. Still, I figure that if I can get through 42
kays in that state, I can get through any race!”

This will see Kane lining up for the ProNutro AfricanX
Trailrun in March, teamed up with his good friend and
World Champs teammate, Thabang Madiba, followed
by the SA Long Distance Trail Champs at the Outeniqua
Traverse in June and the Otter African Trail Run in
September. “I enjoyed the 2013 Otter and felt I was
close to getting it right, so this year I want to put into
practice what I learnt last year.”

HARD WORK PAYS
Kane took up running at school at Bishops in Cape
Town, but says he only got serious about it in Grade
11. “I did well in the southern suburbs schools scene,
but when I ventured into the club cross country races,
I was being smoked by some of the club runners. So I
came out to Stellenbosch in 2009 and started working
with Jacques van Rensburg, and within a year I was
running in the same Western Province team as those
guys.” That improvement also allowed Kane to chase
down his first big running goal, to break the school’s
3000m record, and in Matric he shattered the old mark
of 9:02 with a stunning 8:45!

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ISSUE 55 FEBRUARY 2014 / www.modernathlete.co.za

Looking ahead, Kane says that if he qualifies for the
2014 World Champs at Pikes Peak in Colorado, USA,
he is not yet sure if he will be able to go. “I’m not
completely ruling it out, but I would need to go train in
the Drakensberg, then head to the US to acclimatise,
so I will have to see how my studies go first.” Even
if he doesn’t get there, Kane has a long-term vision
for his running, starting with turning professional
straight after he completes his degree. “A lot of older
guys have told me to take the opportunity while I
can, before I need to start working, because it’s an
opportunity that a lot of people never get. Thankfully
my parents support me fully in this, as do my sponsors,
Salomon and GU.”
Kane thrives on the rougher trails.

Since then, he has enjoyed much success, but there have
also been some disappointments, like finishing fourth in the
Jonkershoek Mountain Challenge Marathon in Stellenbosch
last May. The event served as the SA Mountain Running
Champs and the top three men and women would be
selected for the World Champs in Poland, so Kane gave it
everything and with just 5km to go was in the lead. “In my
mind I had already won it… I was not celebrating yet, but
I was getting a bit emotional, because that feeling of being
an SA Champ is a phenomenal feeling! But it all changed
in the last kilometres, and I was very disappointed to only
get fourth, because it’s every athlete’s dream to represent
their country.”
So when he was offered an extra slot in the team if he
could cover his own expenses, he jumped at the chance,
and then AJ Calitz had to withdraw from the team anyway,
so he was in… but in Poland things just didn’t work out
for Kane as he finished 307th. “I was over-trained, had a
few niggles going into the race, and I was taking life far
too seriously. Then on race day I also suffered stomach

For now, however, he is just focusing on not making
the same mistakes as 2013. “Last year I learnt that
burning out can happen easily if you’re not careful.
I went through a stage of being overly competitive,
but now I am running for the love of doing it, not just
to be on the podium. I know that if I’m enjoying all
aspects of my life, then the podiums will come. That’s
my New Year’s Resolution, I suppose.”
Kane in action during last year’s
ProNutro AfricanX Trailrun.