Threatened with a knife and robbed: Ultrarunner was brutally attacked during training

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The British Tom Evans (31) looks for extremes. He already came third in the 251 kilometer Marathon des Sables in the desert and this year won the Western States Endurance Run (161 km) in the Sierra Nevada (Spain) and the Ultra-Trail in Snowdonia (53 km) in Wales.

He will not soon forget what he went through in preparation for his next race. As the Daily Mail reports, he was brutally attacked while training in South Africa. During a training session on Table Mountain in Cape Town, two armed men stood in his way. First they forced him to hand over his mobile phone and his running watch, worth almost 3,000 francs.

Threatened with death

Evans didn’t want to just give them the loot. He fought back and was able to take the cell phone back from them. But then one of the perpetrators pulled out a machete and a knife. “When I had the knife to my neck, they made it very clear that they would kill me if I continued to resist. So I quit,” Evans told the Daily Mail.

But it wasn’t over for him yet. Because the robbers discovered something more valuable than a cell phone and a watch combined: Evans’ wedding ring. He asked her not to take the jewelry from him. But she wasn’t interested in that. They threatened to cut off his finger if he did not give them the ring and pressed the knife even harder against his neck. “I thought my wife would rather have me back than the ring,” says Evans, describing the moment. “So I took it and gave it to the thieves.” Particularly bitter: Evans and his wife Sophia recently celebrated their first wedding anniversary. At least the attackers then left him alone and ran off with the loot.

Participation in the race cancelled

Evans walked back in shock and met another runner who accompanied him to the police. Hikers and athletes are repeatedly attacked on Table Mountain. The police therefore advise never to travel alone.

After this traumatic experience, sports took a back seat for Evans. He canceled his participation in the ultra race in Cape Town and traveled home with his wife. (beer)

Source : Blick