By PETER MARTIN

LAST year’s CuPedis Washie 100 women’s winner Susan Hurter was attacked near the 160km road race’s halfway mark on Saturday night – but bravely pushed on to finish in 11th position.

The attack happened at about 2am on Saturday, nine hours into the Port Alfred-East London race. Hurter, of AS Eagles Pretoria, was suddenly accosted by an unknown man and dragged off the road by her hair.

He demanded she switch off her light – all the runners wear them at night to protect them from on-coming traffic But she refused and fought back, screaming loudly.

About 300m away, Joburg lawyer Alec Wainwright, who was acting as a second for his son Stuart, heard her screams and drove as fast as he could to her. The attacker saw him coming, released Hurter and disappeared into the thick bushes alongside the road.

The athlete was badly traumatised but, after about 50 minutes, decided to push on. Stuart Wainwright insisted on running alongside her for the rest of the race. She finished in 21 hours, 52 mins and 11 seconds, compared to 19:00:50 last year.

Her husband, Mike, said it was a real wake-up call and hoped the organisers would provide protection next year.