The gauntlet has been thrown.
Will anyone in our Class of 2017 pick it up? Will someone improve on Dirkie Moolman's 1995 time to the top of Mavis Bank?
A 'course best' of 1:53 for 21km seems almost pedestrian. After all, when last was 1:53 not only good enough to be the fastest ever time over 21km, but to have stood as a course 'best' for over 20 years?
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Over the past two decades there have been many Kings (and Queens) of the Kloof. Some have held the front spot to go on and be first back to the village, while others have paid the price for their early lung-bruising triumph through the Kloppershoekkloof.
Certainly a 21km run of 1:53 does not sound spectacular as a 'best time'. However, since Rodwell Sims in 1996 no-one has reached the Mavis Check Point in under 2 hours. That magical sub-2 hour run through the kloof remains the domain of only four runners, one of whom will line up this year for his 21st Rhodes Run, although it is unlikely that Jannie le Roux will be looking to repeat his 1:57 effort of 1991.
Will a sub-2 be under threat this year? Some of the tracks through the kloof are far more runnable now compared with when Dirkie set his mark but to crack that barrier still remains dependant on legs, lungs and weather all playing their part.
By 9a.m. on 8 July we will know if Mavis has smiled kindly on our 'King of the Kloof' or if Dirkie's time will remain the 'best' for another year.
Images: Craig Muller (Backyard Adventures) catches Mavis Bank on a clear morning in 2014 - a few hours later snow covered Mavis Bank
The second set of 2014 photographs were taken by Greg Raubenheimer 'up high' when the weather changed
For all 'Best Times' see here
