trailhead

My Weekend: Road Bike, Trail Run, Sea Swim and pirouettes on Clifton forth. That is a why Mondays are rest days!

2012-01-29T21:51:00.000-08:00

I remember that feeling of getting my first bike. It was exciting and represented a freedom I had not felt before. I got it for Christmas and my parents wrapped it in a sheet and put it under the tree. Many years later, when I bought my first mountain bike it represented a new level of cool. The black Diamond Back was COOL. I bought really ugly black Diadora shoes. They had red, green and yellow stripes on them but gave me a new ceiling of speed. I had arrived. This was before the days of suspension or helmest being obligatory. We smashed up the trails and roads around Stellenbosch.

I would get excited before a ride. I guess it is the same feeling a Harley rider gets a second before he cranks the engine.

Saturday:

We head out the door for a tour around the Mountain (pronounced with a jo’burg accent). I was on my new Cannondale CAAD8. This beast is so twitchy compared to my previous fat tacky recliners. I have to concentrate quite hard so as not to go skidding along the tar. But then this baby moves. It wants to go fast. That is exciting! We had a great ride. I was in good company with a Lotus, Cervelo and Felt. We left super early and had coffee before most folks had even made it to the Old Biscuit Mill for breakfast. What a way to start the weekend proper!

Sunday:

The trails around Lion’s Head. 9km of the best trail of this city. My hamstring was ok and had not complained. We took it easy and this will be the way to go for me. Once again we were out early and were eating fruit, watching runners at the Kloof Nek Classic deal with the heat. Some more successfully than others. Then Mel made the suggestion of a swim in Clifton. So late afternoon we headed over the Nek to the mayhem on the roads in Clifton/Camps Bay. Suiting up among the sun worshippers was weird. I had to hit the water almost immediately otherwise I would have died of the heat. We headed out to the bouy with me taking a more zig zag course than the others. This was the first time that I had swum out that far. The view was amazing! What a brilliant end to a fantastic weekend I thought. The swim was great and I did not feel cold thanks to the neoprene. My exit of the water was less than elegant. I was told that it is easier to take your wetsuit off in the water. What I did not realise is that it is easier slightly deeper in rather than in the zone where you get pounded by waves, knee deep and trying to get at least one leg out of its constraint. (I swore never to laugh at anybody in T1 again.) My pirouettes and cartwheels were less than elegant and caused quite a bit of entertainment… or so I was told.

Two Oceans Trail Run

2012-01-23T03:31:00.000-08:00

So the Two Oceans Trail Race 2012 sold out in under 3h!

Either you smashed your keyboard on Wednesday morning and are one of the 800 runners that are in or you are not. There is no point in moaning about the high entry fee as this clearly is no deterrent. Quite frankly this event is worth every cent. I have said it before here. This is the best trail run (of its kind) on Table Mountain. It is fast, hard, technical and FUN.

But we are not alone in having events sold out in record time:

From the Cape Epic website: “When the Absa Cape Epic race organization allocated 100 of the 600 available team entries for 2010 to be sold on a first come first served basis starting at exactly midnight on Sunday 29 March 2009, they expected to sell them fast, but not within 100 seconds!”

Here the DC Rainmaker reports on the Boston Marathon selling out in 8h. 468 000 entries! That is 16 entries a second!

Our TOTR is a mere one entry every 14 seconds.

So what is this massive boom for endurance sports coming from? Why are people putting themselves through all this training to do an event they will never win? An event they will never make money from? In fact the opposite can be said. The training, equipment and time required to complete most of these events is phenomenal.

So who is entering these events? It seems to me that we need some kind of outlet. Some kind of meaning, some kind of purpose.

Have a look at this link posted by Richard Branson here.

Let me know your thoughts below.

What is it about movement that is so fascinating?

2011-12-12T04:43:00.000-08:00

We are programmed to move. To run, walk, jump, play. Of course some playing is more serious than others.

The dancing here is phenomenal.

But what happens when you add another?

Geraldine Rojas and Javier Rodrigues do the simplest Milonga together. (the more I watch this the more I actually realise how complex their dance is. The subtlety is amazing) The dancers and their interaction with each other, the floor, music (or time) give the framework. Pretty intoxicating stuff when it all falls into place. Like a key fitting into a hole rather than fumbling with the rest of the bunch that never feel right.

That can only happen when we are present, in our selves, in space and in time. Listen to Mark Allen talk about it here. He knew when the time was right.

So too in competition. We need the other to bring out the music and bring out the best in us. I can watch Sammy Wanjiro and Kebede duel it out many times in the chicago marathon in 2010. Tears in my eyes every time.

I guess that interaction is slightly more hidden between the Hoyt’s here.

Movement needs space but it also needs time. To be present in both!

We are hard wired to move. That requires us to be present now in this space and in ourselves. If we can be both of those and share that in the company of others then all the better.

Hope you are inspired to have a happy holidays y’all!

Shoe Fetish

2011-11-21T23:46:00.000-08:00

Yes I admit I have a shoe fetish! I always have!

Nike Free Run 2, Five Finger Bikila, Saucony Kinvara

However this is not so much determined by fashion or colour (despite what this picture may suggest). I guess it started when I got my first pair of shoes in Wuppertal, deep in the Cederberg. I remember getting my first hiking boots (the Lubbe T3) at about the same time when I started rock climbing. The edging was not great so I was super stoked when I got given an old pair of EB’s which pushed my grade to well into the high E grade (SA not UK – 12’ish in modern grade). I did my first climbing trip overseas in 1991 and splurged: Boreal Ace (remember those?), Boreal Ninja and a pink pair of Scarpa ice climbing boots (yes they only made them in one colour). My climbing career settled on the La Sportiva Miura and sometimes the Cobra. Beautiful little orange slippers about 2 sizes too small. The idea in the mid 90’s was to get the best edging performance out of your footwear. As a result we all performed Chinese foot torture quite voluntarily. The results were not forthcoming and I quickly opted for one size bigger which gave the same performance but about 10 times less pain!

My fetish got a boost recently when I started trying to go more minimalist in my footwear.

"Fashionista!" you cry, "you are so busted". No hear me out:

I like the idea behind minimal footwear.

I like to think that we are all entitled to run injury free.

I subscribe to the thinking that it is better to strengthen your foot rather than build more support into your shoe.

I realise that there are no shortcuts in this journey and that this kind of adaptation takes a long time, months if not years!

Listening to Ross Tucker at the Sport’s Science Institute last night give his opinion on barefoot running pointed out some interesting things. I have observed the following in myself:

· It is incredibly hard to change something in your stride. I have tried to change my cadence and blogged about it here.

· When wearing 5 fingers or minimal shoes I have not immediately changed to a forefoot striker.

· I think that changing your running style is a learned thing. I believe this takes far longer than most of us believe. I was way surprised by Ross’ 3 month time period. I think that a transition is more likely to take a year or more.

· The body learns by way of playing and not by doing things in structured ways. I have experimented with Feldenkrais a little and like the approach.

So what makes me like a shoe? It makes me feel good! Recently I went searching for a new trail shoe and I settled on the model which made me feel great. But that is for another post. So maybe this post should be called a foot fetish rather than shoe fetish - hmm.

I have started down this slippery slope of trying to build my foot rather than my shoes and I dare not stop now otherwise I fear that the last 18 months may be lost. Believe me that is not somewhere I want to go again. So onwards I push not sure how deep this rabbit hole is going to be…

pain

2011-11-13T09:30:00.000-08:00

It has been an interesting last 7 months to say the least. I started with lower back, glute and hamstring pain all on my right side. This was not debilitating to the point of making me stop running. I just knew that I was always running sub par and there was this annoying niggle which would not go away. In fact it was more than a niggle. It was a real pain in the butt. It would come and go and when it stayed too long I would want to throw my shoes into the nearest bin and never run again.

My approach initially was to do whatever exercise/rehab was necessary to get this injury over with as soon as possible so that I could get back on track to my lofty goals…. As soon as possible.

It took about 5 months of the most painful lyno therapy for me to realise that this was not working. I was depressed and I was in a deep hole.

I had this niggling question in my mind: “why do we hold on to this injury? what purpose does it serve?”. I sought answers.

The “Aha” moment for me came one wet Saturday morning. I knew that I could only run for 30 mins otherwise the wheels would come off again but needed to get out and stretch my legs a bit so I took Tony Louren’s new Table Mountain Classics book and headed up Eastern Buttress on Devil’s Peak. I ended up in a wet, mossy gully with attention focussed and knuckles white….

Finally I traversed onto my favourite Mowbray Ridge and back down. After 2 hours on the hill my mind felt better than in weeks and my ache was no worse.

What was going on here?

Roger passed on this article on pain by Todd Hargrove. Ah the pain I was feeling was from my brain and not by body. Makes sense.

I need to focus on the now to leave my pain body behind as Eckhardt Tolle writes in “The Power of Now”. In fact this book turned into a pivotal point in my recovery. I have always lived either in the future (working on goals) or thinking what I could have done differently in the past. Now I was forced to live in the now.

I am not 100% yet by a long shot but I am certainly not injured any more. I am having to take every day as it comes and build my self up to some kind of fit. In fact today my arms feel tired like they have not in ages.

I have learnt not to follow therapists word like gospel but decide what I like from each one and discard the rest. I am trying to feel ok with telling them that I don’t want to stretch. I am learning to listen to my body more and try to do what is right and not what I think should be right. This is a long road and I know not where it is taking me I just know I like the view right now. I will pursue this path and I guess you can call that fighting spirit.

Three men and a bucket:

2011-11-07T23:22:00.000-08:00

We stood there, in the pavement, on the dark, surrounding the sugary offering to the gods. An owl came in to land on the Pavilion roof. Then Jonas arrived. Believes in Jesus you know. He was pissed off with the police arresting him. And can’t he have our food. The food and energy juice was not ours to give. The Triathlete and the Iron Man had disappeared on the out and back a few minutes ago. And without my companion for the day I could not work out the splits of when they were expected back. There had been an entourage following the matadors. Offering support, ensuring that they did not run of the edge of the world. They would return to where they had started much, much earlier. Now with the knowledge. This would be theirs forever.

"Aesthetics above everything else"

2011-09-28T06:12:00.000-07:00

North West Ridge on Western Injasuti follows the obvious line

Is what my climbing partner Tinie Versfeld told me a long time ago. Yes we were talking about climbing routes but the same applies to running and many aspects of life. Tinie knows all about aesthetics as he is a fine woodworker who makes unbelievably beautiful items that I hope to one day be able to afford.

So how do I define aesthetics?

An aesthetic rock climbing route has a purity about it that is obvious:

Cenotaph Corner climbs up an obvious corner. Left Wall takes the easiest line up, well … the left wall of that. The Nose Route on El Cap is the most aesthetic line up the big stone. Opposite it there is the DNB or Direct North Buttress.

Locally there is Africa Arête and Right Face. Two extremes of the climbing spectrum but both are incredibly direct and “the obvious way to go”. Or the North West Ridge on the Western Injasuti Triplet

So how does this relate to running? What trails are aesthetic?

Puffer (75 km from Cape Point to the V&A Waterfront over Table Mountain)

Otter Trail Run (42 km covering the entire 5 day Otter Trail run in one day)

SkyRun old route (100km from Lady Grey to Tiffendel) I am afraid the new route is just not the same and that is a real pity.

Three Peaks (Ascend Devil’s Peak, Table Mountain and Lion’s Head while returning to city centre in between each ascent) Yes I do believe there is an aesthetic there due to the iconic nature of those three peaks.

Old Fisherman’s Trail Challenge (21 km Run from Fish Hoek to Hout Bay via the mountain)

And here are some international events that I can think of:

Western States 100 miler (160 km from Sqauw Valley to Auburn, California, USA)

Pike’s Peak (ascend the peak….

Badwater Ultra (runs from the lowest point in Death Valley to Mt Whitney)

Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (166 km circumnavigating the highest peak in western Europe)

Drakensberg Grand Traverse (210 km traverse crossing 6 major peaks in an unsupported push from The Sentinel to Bushman’s Nek)

Robben Island Swim (swim from Robben Island to mainland wearing only a cap, goggles and one bathing suit)

Frendo Spur Mt Blanc, Chamonix

The list continues but it does not include contrived races of which I cannot think of any right now. (Yes I don’t want to offend event organisers here too)

All the above can pretty much be described in one sentence to somebody who has no idea about trail running. There is a simplicity in something that is aesthetic irrelevant of whether it is a piece of furniture, a climbing route or a trail run.

There is also a beauty which is pretty evident. Looking across from Red Hill on the Puffer Route and you see Table Mountain in the distance is one of the most beautiful sights!

If you delve deeper there are certain underlying rules that may not initially be obvious at first.

To me the following are true for all the above:

1) Each event can be described in one simple sentence that can be understood by experts and laypeople.

2) There is something unbelievable, even magical about it despite it seeming simplicity.

What is aesthetic to you?

Please leave your comment below.

Poetry in Motion - Observing Killian on the TMC

2011-09-18T23:11:00.000-07:00

I followed the Table Mountain Challenge on Saturday and walked half way up Kasteel's Poort to Breakfast Rock to watch the action unfold. Killian Jornet arrived right on time at 10h20 with Team Salomon manager Greg a minute behind. Allen Benn was 6 minutes behind with Ryan Sandes (who was runnning in a team) closing the gap fast. Killian looked relaxed and as if he was just jogging along, not really going that fast. Super light on his feet where the rest were plodding in comparison. This leads me to think that this can be learned (not in the gym by getting stronger) but by running down hill alot. Watch this and be inspired! Hope you all have a good week.

Oh and the results can be found here.

Blood Sweat And Tears (and some really hard trainings sessions) is what’s needed to make you stronger!

2011-08-21T03:02:00.000-07:00

We are all lead to believe this and feel guilty for not putting in massive “peak sessions” every now and again.

So what happens when your physio or alternative therapist tells you that there is NO quality exercise to be done UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE?

“Pah sounds easy ey?” Or so I thought.

Running in super supportive shoes, then orthotics, then physios who just poke and prod then this is probably a longer path than you expect.

That is certainly the situation I have found myself in for the last 4 months.

I am not injured as such in the same way that a bike with a flat tyre is still a bike (I hope). It just does not have all that it takes to go down Chappies (or up for that matter) at full speed. The question is "Do you have what it takes to painstakingly examine the problem and fix the tyre (with a patch) and nurse the whole thing back together?". Think back to the days before quick release wheels and when we still fixed punctures rather than chuck the whole thing away.

Well I find myself in this exact situation at the moment.

The last 4 months have been agonisingly slow. I have run less than in the most off season period over the last 4 years. I have been reduced to sub 30 min efforts of walk, running to keep the pain under control. I have run slower that I have ever before. I have turned down invites to go for an easy run from most. I have been grumpy and depressed.

Fianlly I see a light at the end of the tunnel.

I am making progress and am into my second week of post injury training. The only reason I can say this is that I can see that I will finally improve. A 10 km run is still far for me at the moment and I have turned down most invitations to races for the rest of the year mostly because I do not want to go back into the pit which I am crawling out of.

I hope that I have learnt from this time. I know I will have to be super vigilant and listen to my body more than ever before. I hope to be able to differentiate between pushing hard enough and pushing too much. This is the etternal battle we all have to face.

This morning's run along Tafelberg Road brought back memories of when I trained there regularly. The hills seemed bigger than I remember and I walked some of them but I hope to be back stronger than before soon.

I'm Here to Win: Book Review of Chris McCormack's book.

2011-08-21T02:49:00.000-07:00

Well ok that was simple! State your intentions up front. Chris Macca McCormack has won most things in triathlon including 2 Ironman World champ titles in Kona in 2006 and 2010. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Macca is a profesional athlete and as such must win to earn a living. In other words he uses every trick on and off the course to beat his opponents. He talks again and again about the psychology of winning. He works out who his competition is at a given event and how to beat them. When you spend 8h racing you have plenty of time to work out these strategies. His strategies include telling his opponents what he wants them to hear. Creathing the perfect set up so that they race to Macca's stregths and not their own. Once he controls their mind he controls their (and his) race.

Macca is known for being outspoken and I am sure he has made some enemies along the way.

He is also not without faults or bad patches in his life although serious injury seems to have spared him until a month ago. (It happens to all of us sooner or later). His mother's death has shaped him deeply and he talks about this quite extensively.

I do wonder what an average Joe gets out of this book though besides hero worship. The (W)insights (scattered amoung the pages) start off as interesting extra info and then just turn into repeats of earlier text. Like he ran out of stuff to say.

His build up and strategy to Kona 2010 and his telling of the race going down is riviting. How Macca knew he was going to get caught. It was just a matter of when. Would he have to race 5 miles for the win or could he get away with holding onto the lead for longer?

I wonder if in a few years this book will be forgotten along with Macca. I enjoyed the book very much but am just not sure that it will make it onto my all time great list.

For those who are competitive in triathlon or any sport this book will certainly hold interest. For others it is still a good read.

Book Review: Dean Karnazes: Run, 26.2 stories of blisters and bliss

2011-08-14T06:51:00.000-07:00

How do you write a fair an unbiased review about a book where the author poses barechested on the cover? This is the question I asked myself once I finished Dean Karnazes latest book: Run!

Dean does not waste time, or words in coming to the point. His mission with this book, and it seems like with all he does (including his running) is to inspire others to do the same. He even has a whole chapter dedicated to (or composed of) fan mail and how he has inspired Joe Fatty to get off the proverbial couch. His sponsor The North Face must love him. The main character (besides Karno himself) is ex CEO of TNF Topher Gaylord. Hmm they must love him even more for that. But let me stop all the shit talking here.

This is a bloody good book! Very easy to read. Even I finished it in about a week. It is not brilliantly written but it certainly inspires to go out and run or if running is not your thing then just to go and "Never stop exploring"

Underlying all the american bravado and ego and record breaking bull Dean manages to deliver some real comical self deprecation.

I challenge you all to put your preconceived ideas about Team Dean aside and just go and read this book. If you don't in some way feel inspired to go for a run afterwards I will offer a full money back warranty (ha ha).

From Total Submersion to Total Immersion - my personal journey to learm to swim

2011-07-23T04:28:00.000-07:00

My dad describes his (and therefore my) style of swimming as "farm dam". (Head above water, and doing whatever gets you forward.)

So how do I land in a relationship with a triathlete with a long distance swimming background of note? (12 Robben Island crossings and first SA women to swim Rotnest) Well there is not much difference between our repective endurnace sports actually. Especially fringe sports. There is always a small, close core community and then a larger periphery of weekend warriors. I watched a few long distance swims and knew that this was beyond me. Certainly the cold was!

But what about this swimming thing?

How do you start something that seems so natural to others and so foreign to you? A few tentative questions did not give the answers I knew were out there until I met Georgie of Total Immersion SA. "Problem with breathing": "no issue, we will get you sorted in no time..." came the responses.

And so I enrolled on the intro course in Jan.

The group was 9 strong and I was certainly the weakest link with no real swimming experience other than I could not breathe and generally struggled. I expected that I would be asked to leave the show at any moment doing the walk (or paddle) of shame.

10 hours of drills in the pool was all it would take.

Or so the pre course pamphlet advertised. We actually spent about half our time talking about the correct way of doing drills and the other half in the pool doing them. I was cold a lot during that weekend. Not as cold as the triathlete woman who was shivvering constantly. The hot chocolate guy made quite a lot of money out of us!

(I am not being entirely fair if I don't mention that the course was actually fun and I certainly learnt something new. Without the course I would not have gotten to where I am now with my swimming. TI is a good foundation. The best I have come across.)

The probelm is that we all left the course having learnt some new drills but not really knowing how to swim! I practiced the drills in the Sea Point pavilion (as I don't have a gym membership) often spending my sessions in the baby pool. Glides, one arm glides, supermans etc etc. No real swimming. I asked for more assistance and help as our instructor was many hours away and help was and continues to be sporadic.

I persisted and eventually migrated to the Long Street indoor pool for more drills as the temperatures became colder. I searched youtube and found some demos. I borrowed Terry Laughlin's book and finally Georgie sent me a copy of his DVD. Now six months later I can put a decent length together feeling a little like a swimmer. Pretty much like a new runner would feel after their first 5km: out of breath and wondering how anybody can ever run a marathon... let alone the Comrades.

The thrill of learning a new skill and constantly scanning your body and going by feel in this very technical activity is a real joy and I will continue.

For those that want to learn to swim and have read through all the rambelings above I can only recomend TI as THE way to learn to swim properly. I can now see who can swim with ease and who just thrashes about in the pool and I know which one I don't want to be. That alone makes me continue along this path. My big critisism is the lack of follow up. I am the only one of our group who continues to practice the drills. After the course I was pretty much left to my own devices.

I guess this is like any tuition in that it can only provide you with a limited amount of skills and then the rest is up to you!

There is at least one challenge that I have my eye one. And challenges keep us going!

How to run on the promenade:

2011-06-23T03:52:00.000-07:00

There are several reasons why you would want to run on the Promenade:

1) To be seen

2) Because it is convenient

3) Because it is very beautiful in a weird urban kind of way.

For those who don’t know the promenade. It is a thin strip of pavement/cobbled walk way sandwiched between the Beach (main) Road and upmarket apartments and the wide Atlantic Ocean. It is one of those must run/walk/leisure strole experiences to do at least once in your life. The only other urban running experience which I feel comes even close is running across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Fransisco.

As with any new activity you need to know some basics before putting “tekkie to tar”. This is probably the most serious running arena in the country and there are several strict unspoken rules that may not be transgressed.

Rule no 1: Do not greet or acknowledge anybody or any other runner in any way. This is serious business.
Rule no 2: There are several distinct categories of runner who frequent the promenade make sure you follow all of the rules for each sub species. Outsiders are not tolerated! Best to blend in.

To better help you with this process I have outlined all of the running groups in order of social hierarchy.

Angel: Unless you are a full time model who does bikini shoots for a living then you do not fall into this category. (Yes you read correctly Bikini – so that excludes all guys. Some gorgeous male specimens may apply for honorary Angel status but….) Angels already know how to carry themselves effortlessly irrespective of what pace they are going. They wear the latest international active trend – tight fitting head to toe with the latest in minimal footwear. Their long straight hair floating behind them in a whif of rare perfume. Angels never sweat and if they do perspire then it always forms this perfect triangle shape on their backs. Angels are guaranteed to leave a wake of male and female jaws dropping behind them followed by whispers. If you don’t understand then I can’t explain.

Gym Rabbits generally have slightly too much bounce in their stride. Looking like they are avoiding a rugby tackle with each step. Open to both sexes. Gym Rabbits run only with ipods, the latest Nike Air Whateva and all so colour coordinated kit (pick up that pink detail from your shoes, in your top and hair scrunchy darling). Tri athletes have a honorary place the Gym Rabbit Fraternity. Only due to grown men wearing tights and looking good with shaved legs and the women’s outfits leaving very little to the imagination. If you fail to meet any of the above criteria then you are clearly the lowest of the low.

The Freak. Mid life crisis men and joggers of both sexes almost always have this look of eternal despair on their faces. Trying to do the mental arithmetic of how many more minutes they need to be out here to tick off their allocated calorie expenditure for the day. They often wear a heart rate belt which their “loved ones” bought them to “help with the weight loss program”. Hating every minute of it but returning day after miserable day because they are told this is what they have to do to “get into shape” whatever that may be. Freaks are easy to spot as they almost always wear t-shirt two sizes too big and the girls make sure these cover their butts. They know their place is pretty much at the bottom of the food chain in Sea Point. They wear the most supportive Asics Anti blah di blah shoe blissfully unaware of the Born to Run revolution. This knowledge and the Mc Donalds down the road guilt trip keeps them coming back day after day after day. The only salvation a Freak can hope for is to convert to messiah McDougal’s teachings and start to trail run (possibly one day looking down from Signal Hill and preaching the message).

The Imposter actually has no place on the promenade. They are tolerated and are here to hopefully be noticed by wannabe runners. If one is actually noticed by an Angel he is one step closer to fulfil his calling - to provide sperm to the Angels and to settle down and breed with the deity. Imposters move quickly (after having done some secret warm up sets around the corner). They hunt alone for fear of being left wanting.

and then there are the Real Athletes, moving undetected between the groups, unseen to the untrained eye......doing it for the love of it, the pure art of running, no need to dress for the occasion, all they wear is attitude, an attitude to run for the joy of running......so, if you spot one or more of these (yes this is the only species to congregate in groups), there is hope.....

All this complicated jostling for position takes place right under the noses of walkers old (in their colour coordinated tracksuits) and young (oversized Gucci Sunglasses and elbows paddling the air frantically).

Welcome to the socialites on the Promenade – a truly unique experience!

SLK 2012 Advert Ksenia Lauren

2011-06-15T02:51:00.000-07:00

So a slightly different post today

Hope you have a good Youth Day tomorrow and enjoy the ride:

http://speeddate.mbusa.com/trailer_us.html?uid=31747cad76e20b4a7e9dcfbc33f1330f14f25-TEVPJFJVU1Q=&lang=en&country=us&pm=standard

PS why can’t we have running shoe adds like this? ;)

Friday Inspiration - Geoff Roes on Western States 2010 win

2011-06-03T00:22:00.000-07:00

It sounds like there is going to be an equally big show down this year. Who is going to take top honours this year? Watching this clip makes me just want to put my tekkies on and hit the trail! (oh and Clif Bar make awesome energy products)

Running the Road:

2011-05-31T01:00:00.000-07:00

(evening run along the promenade)

Milky yellow setting sun between a wild frothing ocean and a dark grey sky.

I zip up my Helium and turn into the strong headwind. A swimming girl and dragonfly are my only companions. Today the usual gym bunny joggers are nowhere to be seen. Their lycra, colour coordinated outfits and Gucci sunglasses are no match for a real winter storm. The odd car stops by the side of the road a window winds down and a camera points towards the incoming mess. Moments later the car speeds off to hot chocolate and a log fire.

I tuck my head into the wind and continue at my slow pace. Waves crash the retaining wall next to me and rise up. Frozen for seeming eternity before they crash downwards. Time stands still as I marvel at the energy. Metalica’s question in my head “Do you feel alive?” “Yeah I feel alive!” I shout. The words are lost in the wind.

Frothy latte soap bubbles float horizontally across my path and land on the grass. Finally I turn and run with the elements back to my car.

Yeah bring it on!

Who are you?

2011-05-28T06:12:00.000-07:00

“You are what you eat!” I have heard it said. Easy enough. So what do you eat then?

Healthy breakfast check, no more take out lunch check, you cut down on your cold ones at the end of the day check, no second helping of ice cream check.

But when the gun goes off you are more than happy to flood your system with caffeine and sugar to the max. Who of us give even a second of thought to what is in the gels and potions that we smash away during the race. If it makes some promise to improve our time then we seem happy with that. What is a little caffeine, guarana, taurine and sucrose between friends anyway?

I recently received a “complementary gel” sent to me. It gives no list of ingredients, no “manufactured by”, no claims what so ever. I am not so worried about trying any of these stimulants once off but continual use over months and years surely cannot be that good for you.

Do you ever read the ingredients list of your favourite fuel?

Hard Questions:

2011-05-24T05:15:00.000-07:00

When last did you crouch down in your shower? Not quite child pose, not quite like Usain Bolt in starting blocks. Down there things are different. You can feel pain and really think about it. It smells different. The hot water plays differently on your back like the opening melody of Riders on the Storm, finally dripping off your top lip or chin. Things become clearer. Things come into focus as you look out of your hot water lens. You know what to cut away in your life and what to keep. You know what has to be done to go forward, to get better.

I remember watching a western where a cowboy is wounded in his chest by an Indian's arrow. Sitting, leaning against a rock he pours some gun powder around the wound, lights it to disinfect the wound. He grits his teeth as a pulls out the arrow. He knew what needed to be done to get better.

Do you really know what is required to improve? Do you know what you need to cut away to beat the opposition? Are you willing to grit your teeth and pull out the arrow that is holding you back? Are you willing to admit to yourself what your Achilles heel is or is it easier to carry on? Covering up the wound and hoping it will go away?

Sometimes it is obvious like a foreign arrow. Sometimes it is harder to figure out. That habit which has served so well up until now. From time to time we have to crouch down in the shower and think. We may not like the scum that we see but recognition is the first step or so they say.

“Sing, Goddess, of the rage, of Peleus' son Achilles the accursed rage, which brought pain to thousands of the Achaeans."

African X Trail Run 2011 prediction

2011-05-05T22:06:00.000-07:00

Place your bets gentlemen! This is gonna be a mega weekend of racing. The weather forecast predicts pretty perfect running conditions! So who is going to be the winner after three days of tough racing?

I could not come up with any competitor lists in the mens category but I know that Dion Middlekoop and Bruce Arnett are competing under the Hi-Tec banner. I place them as favorites.

The really interesting race is going to be in the very closely contested mixed team category. We have three teams that are very strong:

Sue and Ian Don-Wauchope,

Michelle Lombardi and Mark Collins and

Katya Sogot and Raoul de Jongh.

This category traditionally comes down to who the strongest women is so let's compare here:

I am lucky enough to have raced in the vicinity of all three of these fine ladies so here is my take (any of them can outrun me on a good day so I hope they don't take offence otherwise I can face a bitch slap or three!)

Sue is a phenominal runner and is really strong. She pulled away from me on all the uphills at the first Otter Trail Run. The only chink in her armour that I can think of would be the technical descents of which there are not many at AX. Sue is married to one of the fastest guys around (Ian won the Skyrun and impressed all by some strong running). I assume they will race well together.

Michelle is amazing with loads of experience and many wins to her name. She knows how to keep the pressure on and keep it on hard! She has the experience of winning last year and she is virtually a local. Mark and her have raced together plenty and work togther like a well oiled machine! Question is do they have the speed to keep up with some speedy competition?

Katya is a phenomenon! She has come from nowhere a couple of years ago to beat the best women. 1st at the HBTC beating Michelle, 1st at TMC. She has no fanfare. I have seen that look of determination in her eyes when racing hard. Luckily she is partnered with the Urban Ninja Raoul de Jongh who put up a 77 at the Two Oceans half. Not shabby at all! Can Katya and Raoul hold their enthusiasm and speed together for three days? Hmm?

I am biting my nails for these three teams! The pressure is on and I wish all of these 6 runners strength and speed and above all have fun out there!

Good luck to all taking part this year.

Hopefully see you at the start line next year.

Ritual

2011-04-27T05:41:00.000-07:00

One of the hottest scenes of Demi Moore is her shaving her hair in G.I. Jane. She is taking it to the next level, rising to the challenge, raising the bar, stepping up to the plate.
Rituals have a way of getting us ready. Shaving my hair before a race is one of my favorites and I regularly do it. When I run my hand over the stubble I feel like a racing machine. Light fast and ready. Quite the opposite to Samson who lost his power.

But then again so much of our rituals is mental. (Many years ago Gareth and I were venturing on to the rock climbing route Alone in Space: 6 or so pitches up to grade 22. This was definitely our limit at the time. We got ready at the base of the rock wall at the Wolfberg Cracks in the Cederberg. We both kept taking sips from the water bottle we had with us until we had both drunk far more than our share. Until somebody remarked on this. We were not thirsty at all and I had not noticed it at all but this was our ritual to get us ready for the task at hand.

We all have rituals that we follow and use. Nothing wrong with that! Use them to the max I say (if they work for you). If you smile to yourself while reading this then you may want to reconsider some habits.

What are your rituals?
(leave your comments below, you can always do so anonymously)

Two Ocean's 22km Trail Race Report

2011-04-24T08:52:00.000-07:00

Devil's Peak middle traverse

Hardcore trail running meets precise organisation and a spectacular fan fare at the finish. I feel like a hero sprinting down the field at UCT. The grass has not been worn by thousands of feet before me, crowds are cheering for me alone. No I am not in a dream but I am getting ahead of myself.

We are surprised to find eager and nervous masses walk towards Jammie steps in the morning coolth. I have decided to go as light as I can for this race. 2 Gu gels and 500ml of water will have to be enough. Coach Dion and Dawn are sitting on the steps. Mel joined them for hot chocolate while I decide to run off the nerves along our normal warm up route towards Newlands Forest. On my return I meet Jayde. I feel strong and know this is going to be a good day. Dion, Jayde, Dom Wills and Ian Little are all at the start and awaiting Trevor Ball’s instructions. Dion is certainly the clear favourite to take this event with the likes of Cas, Ryan and Nicholas not here.

Trevor counts us down and we cross the timing mat (a first for me in trail running) and we run down the road. Nobody pushes the pace until Dion heads into the first corner as the rest of us pretty quickly fall into single file up the first hill toward Rhodes Memorial. I count 7 runners in front of me including Dom (in ridiculously bright red surfing baggies more suited to Gunston 500 than a trail event) and Jayde. I am exactly where I want to be. Rhodes Mem flashes past and we get our first downhill and I check who is around me. Dion is gone in the distance as I would expect and there are several chasing him. Right now my focus is on getting the legs turning on the easy terrain. I know the real first uphill on Plumpudding will be showing.

I manage my effort well and am pleased to see Neil Myburgh (the first of many friendly marshals and crew) cheering us on. The short scruffy section and I make up a couple of places. I know they will come past on the less technical sections but that is ok.

One hour or so into our run and I hope I have dosed my effort correctly. The back and forth of earlier on is behind me. I run by myself at the fastest pace possible. I know few will be much quicker on this technical stuff but I am surprised that I don’t catch the group of 3 ahead. We are running at our highest point on the trail- the middle traverse on the front of Devil’s Peak heading towards the King’s Blockhouse. There are plenty of marshals and medical staff as we approach the scramble section above the blockhouse. I know it well and suddenly the triathletes in their skin tight kit are right in front of me. I sneak past them and hop down the scrambles. Left at the Blockhouse onto the dirt road and then the technical single track. Then into Newlands Forest. I love these single tracks of technical ups and downs, in quick repetition as if by machine gun. You are never sure what is coming next. Like trying to listen to Ellen Degeneres on a coffee overdose. Trevor has come up with a masterpiece as we snake into the forest. Up along the fence, dive under a tree trunk, sharp turns and technical footing. “Yeah another hill” I call to every marshal. They are sure to get very different comments in the next few hours! Many runners would find this perfect route quite a challenge as Amy Ebedes describes here.

Finally a sign with a left turn. I stop for a moment and make sure. Yes we go left down the steep gully towards the river, out the other side. As if flying very low over tree tops. My feet hardly touch the ground. I count down the hills (+1 as I am sure that Trevor has a sneak up his sleeve). The last hill and I see a runner in black crest as I hit the bottom of it. Shorten stride, power the arms! Then I see Mel, Herda, Dawn, Ake and Roger cheering me on. Across the knee deep field. I am closing the gap but it is not enough. I pass some 10km runners.

I only get confirmation of overall 3^rd place once I finish. Some runners got lost and I lost count somewhere along the way. I am very pleased with my run. I could not have hoped for better.

For the first time ever I win money which is quite a treat!

Afterwards we sit on the lawn and chat with friends all pleased with a superb outing in the hills.

This will certainly be a real toss up to entering the ultra in future!

The Impossible Road

2011-04-19T10:16:00.000-07:00

Any running store worth its pepper will tell you that the Asics Kayano and the Saucony Kinvara have nothing in common. In fact they are pretty much at polar opposites of the footwear spectrum.

Saucony Kinvara

The Kayano (now in model 17) is the top of the range stability shoe with lots of cushioning. I started my road running in a pair of these. (That was after a short stint in trail shoes on the road) I was told by the guys at my local running store and physio no 1 at the time that I pronate on my left foot and hence this was the shoe for me. Fast forward to today where I am buying a pair of ultra light, ultra flexible, neutral Kinvaras on line. But let me tell the whole story. (If you want to skip the boring details scroll down the last paragraph)

The Kayanos did me well. I was given exercises to strengthen my core by physio no 1 as I had started to develop ITB in my right knee. I could not really do the exercises well at all. In fact I could not do them at all. I kept telling my physio that I felt my leg was not aligned. The treatment did not really change. I gave up and sought help elsewhere.

At some point I went to visit the an alternative practitioner who had an affinity for telephone books . She did her tricks and it helped - to a point.

I continued to run dealing with various levels of discomfort.

I was recommended to see a healer who had brought the wounded back from the wheelchair. Some swear by him. I have never been in as much pain as after one of his treatments. I was not allowed to run for 3 days after being treated, no sleeping on your stomach....

Posture and symmetry is what I learnt from him.

All this helped - to a point.

I remember stopping mid run and wanting to take my road shoes off and throw them in the bin and just give up! The pain was just too much. The point is not that I don’t like pain. The point is that dealing with it every step of the way and not seeing improvement lets me question things!

I heard about myofascial release and made an appointment with physio no 2. I listened to him talk about these mythical fascia. I bought a foam roller. The best R300 I have ever spent! We had competitions at home to see who could grimace the most in pain. Those of you who have tried will know.

We tested bunkies and bum stretches and he worked his stuff.

Within a couple of months I went from pain to running the 100km Skyrun. A year later I felt better than before but still at about 70% of what I believed was my potential. I still felt out of alignment at times.

Modified Asics Kayano 16
(shows loads of cushioning and the holes I drilled into it)

At about the same time I visited my friend the orthotist who uses the rsscan. This fantastic machine tells him exactly what is wrong with your gait. Turns out my left foot pronates (just as the running shop guys said). My right though first supanates, then immediately comes back into pronation in the toe area. I modified my Kayanos by drilling holes into the medial post. I used wedges and now orthotics. In my mind these were getting more and more.

I have bought a pair of five fingers which I blogged about here. I wore them for a day before visiting The Orthotist. He was amazed. My left foot was as before but my right pronated and supanated worse than ever! How could this be? My only explanation is that my feet are not strong enough to deal with no support. After a day in the Vibrams they had tired.

Enter physio no 2. He treated my symptoms but not the cause.

Last week I finally got an appointment with the queen of alternative treatment. Yes she is eccentric and yes she is different.

I have been told to buy a pair of neutral, flexible shoes and never use my orthotics again. Orthotics you see block your body pretty much like a motion control shoe."Why control the natural motion of your foot?" asked the Queen.

She worked on all the wrong places (my left ITB, left calf etc when my right hurt).

It sounds like she has a plan and I am intrigued enough to stick with it for the next three months and see. If I can get this right then A+. If not then I can always go back to my orthotics and tested methods. I certainly don't want to because I believe that I am entitled to run pain free.

So what is the point of this drawn out tale?

* Don't settle for second best when you feel that the "experts" aren't fixing the issue.

* you can learn something from everybody. (I learnt about posture, foam rollers, that trying to do an exercise without correct alignment is no use)

* I am not an ueber human runner. I just will not give up in trying to improve. Like all athletes I have niggles which need treatment.

This story is not finished. I doubt that it will ever be! What I am sure of though is that I will continue to improve. Otherwise what is the point?

Getting strong

2011-04-12T05:10:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning I headed out the door to test myself on some hills having neglected my climbing skills for too long. It was just getting light as I turned into District Six and uphill. Then over bridge no 1 (but more of that soon) then up the steep zig zag jeep track we will be doing on the Two Ocean’s Trail Run, over Tafelberg Road as the first (hot) rays of sun hit me. My shirt was off as I headed upwards. Ok a few short cuts from the race route here as I was under time pressure. Oppelskop Ridge lookout arrived quickly. Photo stop with my BB. I then chose the wrong traverse level. At least I know what not to do on race day! The ground flowed under my feet as I headed towards the blockhouse and the first other mountain users I had seen that day.

Through the turnstile and down the single track. Yes it is just as tricky as I remember it. Better keep it steady here. Then weaving through the forest to second breakfast of fruit and ice cold orange juice! What better way to start the day. The roads were streaming with runners putting the final touches on their training for the real Two Ocean’s 56 km or 21 events.

Postscript: (The Tripple Challenge)

The Two Ocean’s 20 km Trail Run forms the first of three events I am super psyched for. A sub 1h45 would be nice here.

Then the Helderberg Trail Run 24 km on the 22^nd May. I know very little about this event except that it has a monster climb in it so it should be a good tester.

The Volunteer Wildfire Services 25km is one of my favourite trail races. I have been told that it is now scheduled for the 19^th of June. It is not technical at all but the hills are brutal. I am aiming for a sub 2h.

All in all a busy 2 months of racing ahead!

Iggy Pop: “Raw power is all you need”

About bloody time: SANParks to Beef Up Security on Table Mountain

2011-04-07T00:17:00.000-07:00

I have just read this release below. I personally know at least 5 people who have been attacked on Table Mountain. This is way too much! I hope that the promises made below are actually followed through and that this does improve everybodies safety of our mountain. Here the press release:

The Chief Executive Officer of South African National Parks
(SANParks), Dr David Mabunda, announced today that the organisation
will be dispatching armed rangers in the Table Mountain National
Park.

He said the impact of crime over the years in parts of the Table
Mountain National Park had resulted in a decision to increase the
number of rangers patrolling the area by 50. The park currently
employs 43 rangers and 12 visitor safety officers. Over the next three
years efforts will be made to increase the number of additional
rangers by a 100 in total.

The rangers will be responsible for all matters related to the
functions of rangers in national parks including visitor safety,
visitor rescue, anti-poaching, disaster management, and crime
prevention in general.

SANParks has also decided to expand the number of dogs utilised in the
Park as these have been shown to be an effective mechanism in security
operations.

The recruitment process for the rangers will begin immediately.
Rangers will be trained to the same level of the Kruger National Park
rangers, with emphasis on safety, rescue and disaster management. It
is envisaged that the first recruits will report for duty within the
next three (3) months.

SANParks will continue to maintain its excellent relationship with
SAPS, the City Metro Police, the Province, and with its other partners
in a multi-stakeholder approach to combatting crime on Table Mountain.
The intervention enjoys the support of Western Cape Premier, Helen
Zille, who gave it her approval when Dr Mabunda contacted her on
Monday 04 April 2011.

Dr Mabunda said that “SANParks is aiming at making a significant dent
in the incidence of crime on Table Mountain. To achieve this SANParks
will be increasing the visibility of rangers on the TMNP and will be
providing the needed resources to ensure both an effective deterrent
and a quick response to crime scenes”.

He further said “We cannot allow the internationally iconic status of
TMNP to be negatively impacted by ongoing crime in this area. The
economic implications for the Cape Town City and the country are
significant, such that, together with our partners, we have to act
decisively in dealing with this issue. At the end of the day the Table
Mountain National Park is there for all, and we want both our domestic
and international visitors to be able to enjoy the Park to its fullest
without any fear”.

Issued by: SANParks Corporate Communications on behalf of Chief
Executive

The Cemetry

2011-03-31T04:22:00.000-07:00

I am not sure who said “Today I do what others won’t so that tomorrow I can do what others can’t”. This is in my head when I head out the door this morning leaving sleeping beauty under warm covers.

Headlamp on my head I run past the night shift workers, some hookers and general vagrants into the darkness.

I won’t make tonight’s track session with the lads so I decide to do my own hills. So I set off down Main Road Woodstock heading towards Rondebosch for my warm up. I did not have enough time to go to Rhodes Memorial for our usual suffer fest so a reasonably steep incline would have to do. I found Browning Road.

Warm up done, now 10 X 60 seconds or so of sprinting (or at least going as fast as I can) waits. The bottom of the road is illuminated and some early bird office workers huddle in a corner sheltering from the light drizzle. My first rep and I head off into the gloom. The further up I go the darker my surroundings, until I realise that I am running into a cemetery. I found a turning point at 62 sec around a skew curb stone. This would do nicely. Back down to the Main Road and a piece of chewing gum on the tar. I had to work fairly hard both on the ups and downs to not let the times slip (not at all as easy as running with a group). I manage to hold on to keep times within 6 seconds of the first rep.

Slowly, slowly my surroundings come into view and I can see the clouds lift in the distance. Today is going to be a good day! I jog home to start the day.

Langebaan

2011-03-28T10:23:00.000-07:00

I was not one of the cool kids at school. When everybody else was talking about the great weekend at Langebaan etc and how they scored girls I just held my head low and hoped nobody would ask me about these exotic locations.

doing battle with the Black Mamba

I obviously have some unfinished business as I have been to Langebaan twice in two weekends! No not to score girls but to do battle with the Black Mamba! Last week I was there to do the half marathon as a training run and see how my pace was coming on. My plan was to try and average at 4min pace until the bottom of the monster and then see what I can do from there. The gun goes off and we run into a headwind... nobody wants to run my pace so (foolishly – I guess) I try to break the wind sticking to my plan. The first few km’s are on pace but I am running too hard. Other tell-tale signs are that Alae and Ludwig are behind me (not a common occurrence). We do our little jaunt out on the dirt which I love and then turn onto the road. After a short loop to take up the slack we head back to town. All of a sudden the breeze is from behind although it never feels like it. The Road goes quiet, the tar radiates the heat and the sun stings the back of my neck! I knew this would come but I was hoping to hold on a bit longer.

I suck the last few carbs out of the water sachet at the next table and hang on as best I can.... Eventually Alae steams past followed by a freight train of guys attacking the Mamba! I stumble on.....

One week later:

My legs are tired from Saturday’s ride around Cape Point and trail run. I start too late and my mission is to get revenge on The Mamba. When I reach the 39km mark (for the marathon) I take a split hoping to impress myself a mere 1000m later with olympic results. It takes only a few meters of running and I realise that I am instinctively aiming for the shade of the waist high foliage on the side of the road. Of course it is useless but I know no better. Onwards and upwards I struggle through my private Badwater agony. Finally I reach the white 40 painted on the bitumen. This time there is no Coke Arch, no photographer, no cheers from WAG’s. Just me and my thoughts. I push on over the crest and to the first stop street then turn. Back up to the top and down the steep side I have just climbed to finally retrace my steps via the dirt road and trot back to town and the ocean. Two bottles of diluted juice don’t touch sides.

Sometimes it does not have to be fun to be fun – Mark Twight

Postscript: The West Coast Marathon is a fantastic event (so is the half marathon). There is only one hill with 3 km to go. It is a real test of grit to not walk it! Highly recommended!

Black Mamba is the last hill on the Marathon (far right)

Blood on the Tracks

2011-03-04T06:45:00.000-08:00

So I have been getting Tangled up in the boys in blue by joining the UCT crowd for their once a week speed work session. We have done mainly 1000m repeats with down to 60 sec rest. Truth be told Coach Dion has always got some little twist on this theme to keep us entertained. Why would a trail runner (read slow runner) put themselves through this pain you ask. The Simple Twist of Fate is that after my disaster at UTMB last year I had to refocus and rethink. You’re a Big Girl Now! And I realised that I cannot train the same way as last year and expect faster results. Yes I was pretty amaze by how well a large volume, low intensity regime worked. I do fear that I have exhausted this avenue though.

The competition is getting faster and faster (As shown by Ake Faqerang breaking the Bat Run record a couple of years ago.- It now stands at 3:35) Meet me in the Morning I hear for the next showdown. The speedsters refer to the local 10km, 15km or extreme 21 km. Not the epic trail stuff I know. I cannot Shelter from this Storm for much longer so I have to get into the fray and join em.

Truth is that our weekly puke session has several layers to it. Egos are made and broken, potential romances debated or vented. Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts is never far from the door when a bunch of boys, drenched in sweat run around a field under the gaze of first year Venus.

The pain of the back straight as we fight into the Idiot Wind is long forgotten as we finish our reps in front of the club house.

So what am I hoping to achieve and why the long silence (from blogging)?

As Prof Noakes and other brainy folks tell us we are not training our bodies but rather training our mind (our Central Governor). Ego and Central Governor make an interesting mix when I see guys “win” the training session and then break at a race a few days later.

I maintain that we need to learn from other mainstream sports in order to improve and evolve.

I recently picked a fight with a fellow runner 2km from the finish. Previously I would not even consider taking him on. However out in Paarl I decided to try something new. I pulled up alongside, He responded, I pulled ahead and thought that I had it in the bag as he dropped off. I knew my pace was not sustainable but I was willing to go there. He came back. And I kicked again. He dropped back a little and I knew I had to open a gap big enough that he could not catch me on the field. I would never have been able to take my mind there a year ago. I think we need to feel the pain in order to be more comfortable with it. That is the lesson I have learnt from track. Oh and it is quite fun to be done with your race in under 60 mins and lounge around the rest of a Saturday ;)

So who of you will come and watch the African Cross Country Champs at the WPCC in Rondebosch this weekend? The main races start at about 11h00 on Sunday. See ya there.

Brakenfell 10 km road race 19 Jan 2011

2011-01-21T00:17:00.000-08:00

“Where have all the good guys gone?” came the sms from Coach Dion. *

I just finished the race and we were comparing our results (Dion ran the Trail Series). We both finished further up the field than either of us expected. My speed work of the last few weeks has left me thinking that I was ready to try to break 38 min this Wednesday.

So after a warm up with Arnold which was quicker than expected we lined up. Quick sprint down the sports field then head out on the twisty course around the neighbourhood. The first km went down in 3:35. Oh dear, ease it back a little! The next three were spot on pace. Then a slow one at 3:54. But I was still on pace with 18:51 for 5km. The first two women runners passed me briefly but I managed to hang onto the little group. Twisting and turning. As we headed into the wind I tucked behind a taller runner. The first women was tiny and running barefoot! No help there. Up a little hill then 34:07 at 9km. It was on! A slight downhill towards the school gate. Hard left and then onto the field. I saw the seconds tick away on the official clock. 37:43 and I was finished in more ways than one.

Coke and Steri Stumpie. I handed in my card and was surprised by my overall position of 17^th (my highest position ever in a road race)

Driving home into the setting sun I wondered why heroes always ride off into the sunset in the westerns. Makes no sense to me – you just can’t see where you are going!

*Some paraphrasing

ten toes - ok 5 fingers - first run

2011-01-14T01:29:00.000-08:00

Yes, yes I too have fallen into the fashion trap and bought a pair of Vibram Five fingers from Drifters Xtreme.
I certainly hope this purchase does not remain a fashion accesory but hopefully improves my running.

I have been wearing them for a good few weeks now and have been amazed how comfortable they are. So today was the day to take them out for a little spin on tar. 5km it was to be. I combined minimalism with high tech by attaching my Polar footpod to them to see if anything would be different.

Straight off I noticed a destinctive slapping sound as my forefoot hit the ground. (similar sound when running in slops).
Then I noticed my cadence was way high. Normally I run at 82 (this is up from about 78 a year ago). Today my average was 88! Normally I can only hold this for very short periods of intense concentration.
Yes my calves felt like they worked harder than before!
At this point I think 5km is about the max.
No knee pain, no ITB niggles.
Yes you do get A LOT of looks!

I intend to do this easy run once a week and see how it changes the rest of my running. Will keep you posted.

Another end of yeat post

2010-12-26T07:57:00.000-08:00

At this time we like to reflect and post on what has been and what is to come: here goes my contirbution:

A cup of tea after a race is always the best!

Earlier today I was standing chatting to Gary Blakey of Blakey's Beans. Yes he does do tea!

I started to stroll up the dusty hill with hot refreshing drink in hand. No this was no trail in my book but the closest to trail running I have done in the last month or so. The Tokai Manor House 16km is a gem of an event. I cheared on friends as they came in. I thought about the last year. It has been truly good.

I have never been fitter than I was in August.

I was never more surprised by a result than by TMC in Sept.

However I have also been inspired to take my running to another level. I am not sure what that is but I am doing track once a week and busy building a base around this.”Why am I running track with guys way faster than me” you may ask. “What has track got to do with trail running?”

I think I have exhausted my potential on my current training. I simply can not repeat the same training and expect different results.

What are those those results I aspire to? Not sure yet but here are some projects that inspire me for next year:

Two Oceans Trail Run

VWS sub 2h

Breaking 38min for 10km (I am 4 dec short or long depending on your interpretation)

Mweni Marathon Trail Run (depending on date clashes)

Outeniqua Marathon

Voet van Africa Marathon

Breaking 3h for a marathon (not the Cango downhill...)

Yes this is more road but the experience and speed gained will only help.

So what about the year past?

Here are some of my picks from ‘10:

Best Training Route: Easy Rider

Best new running idea: long runs with low HR and only water to train better fat burning systems.

Hardest training weekend: Bat Run followed by Kloof Nek Classic the next morning with Roger. ( The first hard weekend is always the toughest.)

Biggest Lemming moment: Agreeing to run the Mast Marathon.

Spectating Highlight: watching Jayde, Michael and Martin battle it out to break the Bat Run record. Well done Jayde!

And so we go forward into another adventure filled year.

Hope you are inspired to surpass yourself in ‘11!

Speed Kills! But then what does not kill you makes you a better person – or so they say!!

2010-12-14T00:03:00.000-08:00

I have one descent week of training behind me. Last week had one track session, a couple of easy runs and a 2h long easy run. This week is hectic with work commitments (and yes our staff party is tonight) so in order to keep momentum I decided to head to the promenade just after dawn to put down some quality.

There was the smell of smoke in the air as Mel and I jogged to our starting point. We were to run a loose game of tag up and down the cobbles. Her lead would prove impossible for me to catch her but it did provide the early poop scooping dog people with a fair amount of amusement. Yes the wind was out in force, no this was not going to stop us. From the Dragonfly to the puke bench measures 500m and so it was. 60 sec rest. Simple actually. 20 min warm up and a jog to cool down. Done and dusted in about an hour.

That was the plan...

The first four went ok as I settled into my pace. “One third down” I thought. Then the wind caught me and times slipped. A beautiful girl with drug strained eyes and soiled sports jacket walked across my path. The last two and I would have to give quite a lot to do reasonable times. 1:41 felt easy with a strong wind behind me. But on the last I was punished, suddenly paddling ferociously against the current, gasping for breath, feeling like I was sinking. Suddenly I was released as the gust disappeared and I reached the far shore and safety.

The smell of smoke is still there. Brain fry I realise.

Inspiration: TNF Endurnace Challenge 2010

2010-12-07T03:08:00.000-08:00

Check out the pace of these boys!

The top guys finishing in an average pace of just over 5min/km over 80 km and 3270m of climb (40m per km) that is steeper than up to the Mast and back!

Just the inspiration I need before this evening’s track session!

Sky Run 2010 my experience

2010-11-19T06:18:00.000-08:00

A year after my biggest trail adventure I find myself back in Lady Grey with Neil, Roger and Kylie. Quite a few things have changed in the past year.

I find myself as part of a group of 35 runners who are wearing red bibs to indicate that we have completed the course before and should know what we are doing, ha!

4h45 after John-Michael Tawse blows the starters horn we arrive at the first water just after Snowden. Roger fills up quickly and continues to move forward- relentless forward motion!

I hurry to catch up and feel like a leach as I have not really been able to contribute much on the navigation front. I hope that later on this will change. I hope that my mountain experience will help.

Roger, Jayde and I have been running in an informal group. Joking and singing. Jayde: Abba, Durran Durran and beach boys. I briefly try to include some Dylan but is lost on the youth.

Jayde is slower at the refreshing stream and is off the pace. We push on and run with real and virtual friends for a while. Dom Wills joins us and his company is great. Avoca, Skiddaw and then down the valley to Balloch.

There is a real festive atmosphere going on under the trees and I don't want to tear myself away. The Red Bull girls offer us refreshments but I turn them down.

"Roger"

"You good to go?" Comes the reply

And we are off.

Balloch wall awaits. It is hot and steep. We choose a line further right and it works well.

Up in just over an hour. We stumble down the other side.

Dom, Roger and I push on the road. We walk the ups (there are always more when you are tired) and jog the flats and downs. One of us will up the pace to a jog, the others fall into step without a word.

Our running pace is painfully slow at 8km an hour and I push the walks to over 6km/h. I find it more efficient to walk so my motivation drops.

River crossing at Wildfell with shoes off is a relief. I won't make the same mistake as last year by blowing it on the Bridal Path. I smash a caffeine gel and it does not take long to kick in.

I feel strong and am able to push the pace towards darkness and CP Turn. The fires, warm tea and friendly faces are very welcome. We know we are on the home stretch. I also know that we probably have the trickiest section to go as far as navigation is concerned.

GPS in one hand and map in the other we forge on into the warm night. We do not talk much. We both know. The vague outlines of mountains help. I make some wrong turns but we keep forward momentum going so all is good.

Halstone Peak and Tatum and co catch us.

I sit down briefly to send a text msg to Mel as there won't be any reception for the entire next day.

I jog to catch up. Less than 5 km from the finish and we all can't wait for this to end.

Fences, short climbs, cliffs, prickly bushes and a river crossing within site of the banners stretch us.

We finish in a group. Time and place irrelevant.

We are Skyrunners!

I will post a "How to info" for Skyrun in the next couple of days.

News Just In: Three Peaks Challenge new record!

2010-11-06T04:19:00.000-07:00

Andrew Hagen has just broken the long standing Three Peaks record. Probably the longest standing record on trail in SA and without a doubt the oldest trail race in South Africa.

Three Peaks was started by Carl Wilhelm Schneeberger in March 1897 like any good challenge does: after a couple of pints. The challenge was to ascend all three peaks around the city bowl in a day.

He managed to complete the challenge in 9h05 excluding rests in the old Johannesburg Hotel in Long Street.

One hundred years after this incredible feat Don Hartley gathered a crowd of 13 runners to take on this challenge on 13 September 1987. Don himself has won the Two Ocean’s Ultra Marathon on two occasions in 1972 and 1973 in a fantastic time of 3h24:06.

In 2001 Chad Ulansky arrived on the running scene and lined up for Three Peaks. He set a blistering pace and set a new record at 5h27:29. This record stood until today!

The record has been under threat for a little while now. Bruce “The Legs” Arnett equalled the winning time a few years ago.

This year however Ake Faqerang and Andrew Hagen were certainly going to be the favourites with both runners having won the race twice before. Ake has returned to South Africa after several years away and won the super competitive Hout Bay Trail Challenge in July while Andrew chose to focus on this event.

Last year Andrew posted ridiculously fast times up Platteklip Gorge but what was more impressive was his time of 11min and change DOWN!

view up Platteklip Gorge

Conditions were looking good this morning with temps being cool and not too much of a breeze about. Devil’s Peak was under cloud for a little while but that did not last. The first few runners were fairly close together on peak 1.

At the start of Platteklip Ake just managed to start ahead of Andrew. However soon Ake was passed and Andrew pushed the pace. He set a time of 2h13 for that leg with a time of 15 minutes down Platteklip! Then down to Greenmarket Square again and head up the final peak of Lion’s Head. There was no real competition here as second place was already 10 minutes behind. Andrew completed this in a respectable 1h24 posting a total time of 5h23!

Phenomenal effort and a huge well done to Andrew and all other runners to complete this amazing event. A definite must on every person’s trail running bucket list!

What does it take to win?

2010-10-28T08:40:00.000-07:00

I am not talking about winning a race where you don’t have much competition or where you are able to win by miles. What does it take to win against the best? This does not only relate to winning but the competition we take part in is about running against somebody or something else (like a time). Otherwise we would all take a slow walk and have a picnic halfway. I should really ask what it takes to bring out our best performance irrespective of whether that is at the front, middle or back of the pack.

This ability to push again and again, to dig, dig deeper and then give that little bit more is not for all but is amazing to watch when it does happen.

The great athletic battle that comes to mind immediately is: Dave Scott and Mark Allen in the 1989 Hawaii Iron Man. The two men did battle for 8h but when you look at where the race is won it really came down to one strategic move. Probably only a split second where Mark could hold on for longer than Dave. That second is where history is made.

When we go race we have no way of telling where that point is in a race. One guarantee I can give is that you will be really tired already and be pushing to your max. You will not think that you can push harder than you are but then suddenly you are faced with a challenge: Do you go in all the way or pull out of this hand because the going is too hot? I have only glimpsed that situation a couple of times and I certainly can’t claim any expertise but I recon that the ability to go on and be bold can be trained. I hope it is!

Now watch this clip from 1997 where Sian Welch & Wendy Ingraham both have to really dig deep just to finish. Yes it is also from an Iron Man event. (Until we get better TV coverage for trail races I will have to stick with these ;))

Ultimately the winner of this battle for 4th comes down to the woman who is able to think the situation through a little bit more and come up with a solution which is plan B. I am sure that nobody wants to finish an event on their hands and knees but this is what it took.

Paula Newby Frazer hit the wall in spectacular fashion 1995. It took her 20 min of lying on the road to be able to regain her energy enough so that she could continue and finish. The guts for this performance is amazing. She knew that once she accepted any medical assistance she would be disqualified.

Now look at this footage from the Chicago Marathon recently with The Science of Sport comments here. Sammy Wanjiru pushes again and again trying to get a gap. He is able to keep the pressure on and keep Tsegay Kebede guising as to when the next attack will happen.

So what has this got to do with trail? I don’t know of a trail race which has gone down to the wire in the same way but it will happen. Every time we race we do want to do our best. I hope that these inspire for us to dig deep next time we are asked whether we are in or not.

Hope you are all inspired!

Newlands Forest TT

2010-10-18T23:44:00.000-07:00

So here is a little uphill time trial to have a go at. From the Fire Base do a short warm up (you may want to add an extra loop) Then blast up 1.5km with 332m of altitude gain. I managed 15:28. I wonder if sub 15 min is doable. I did not remember that I had to stop my Garmin at the top. My brain felt a bit fuzzy so I have included some of the walk down but you get the idea. Check the link here.

Nightmare on Peak Street:

2010-10-18T23:28:00.000-07:00

Peak fitness it certainly was not, neither quite nightmare status. On Sunday my running partner (who shall remain anonymous) and I were locked in a scene from “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”. Remember the scene where Toby McGuire is left in the desert after hitching a ride in the open top. Yip we were left in a weird place best described as “bat country”.

Skyrun is just around the corner so a solid get fit (or Opf...) session was deemed necessary. Neither of us had checked the weather forecast (we are still used to the cool temps – so how warm can it be?) Schoolboy error!

I was tagging along for the ride and not too worried about logistics or directions. I was happy to follow others. What started out as a pleasant stroll up a shady Kasteel’s Poort finished as a scorching trek across the vast Silvermine oven both of us lost in our own bubble. Check out Garmin Connect for the GPS route here.

We pushed the pace despite the temperature. I was grateful that I chose a wide brim hat for our outing. My partner was wearing only a Buff as a bandana. I noticed that my sweating had slowed considerably in the heat of the day. I noted the signs and tried to force down H2O despite not wanting to. Every stream was a haven for cooling us down.

As we descended into Echo Valley, 20 minutes from the end, things started getting weird. My partner who had me in stitches earlier with songs and hilarity all of a sudden hit a cramp and then got that million mile stare in his eyes. Not good, not good. I got him to lie down with feet raised. Dizziness and nausea. We sat in the middle of the path. A little gel or some sugar would have done the trick here but I needed to do some real negotiation to get him to eat an energy bar. I could see it was a struggle. Minutes later we are able to stand and stumble on. We reach the road and see a girl who is shaking, bicycle in hand, blood starting to ooze from one hand. She had just been knocked over by a car who had not bothered to stop! My friend just gave her a big hug and said that he had a tough day too. Down and down to the Main Road in Kalk Bay in search of sugar and caffeine mixed in a bottle of Red Top. Sitting on the pavement, street children swirling like vultures, ready to pounce at the first sign of weakness. Hare Krishna disciples handing out sweets to tired travellers. Finally we find our car. Sit down again, mixing whey powder out of a big tub with some other secret ingredients thrown in for better recovery. I don’t ask any questions. Tyres screeching as we speed off out of this bubble, stereo blasting.

On Track:

2010-10-08T06:55:00.000-07:00

September was always going to be my month of recovery but I ended up doing more running than anticipated. Nothing focused, just running because I want to. I was happy to run TMC and do pretty well. Obviously the training has paid off and has shown me the way to what I am capable of. I recon I could go faster next year with a bit more speed training thrown in for good measure.

My goals for the rest of the year are to do Skyrun and work on my speed for the road. I have not run anything fast for ages so it will be fun. I even joined coach Dion and the gang at the UCT track on Tuesday. I will continue to do so and see where this takes me. This and working on general strength and core strength will be the focus. (and trying to not fall off my new mountain bike on every ride I do!) Happy weekend all!

CRAG midweek trail run

2010-09-27T02:03:00.000-07:00

I have been spending a fair amount of time in Newlands Forest scouting the single tracks. Most I did not know properly for a new super route. I really think this is one of the best trail outings I have run. And I am having fun with my Garmin plotting it and other variations. It is 90% single track and got some up hills and then some fast down hills.

I recon this will become a classic. Pretty technical so a reasonable amount of technical knowledge is advisable.

Check out the Google Earth image here:

To view in Garmin Connect click here.
Pretty cool stuff to view

Table Mountain Challenge 2010 race report

2010-09-21T23:40:00.000-07:00

First of all thanks Trevor for putting on a great show. It all seemed to go smoothly (for me anyway). The week leading up to the race was filled with late nights and trying to catch up to work so no real focus on my little jaunt around the flat top. By basic strategy was to run leg 1 in 45 min, leg 2 in under an hour and then see if I could run about 2:15 for the last leg...

I stood at the start checking out the nervous faces around me. There was Bruce, Dion, Jayde, Katya, Caroline and Ryan Scott looking like he had just stepped of the cover of Men’s Health. This are the dudes and dudets who were supposed to produce the goods and there I was.

Chicken Man (Aka Trevor Ball) counted us down and we dashed up the first hill. I counted 18 runners ahead. Hmmpf I thought. “I can’t be that kak” Then Katya Sogot skipped past and my legs were burning already. This was serious. I could not get chicked so early on. Jayde (who promised to run easy) and my other buddies had disappeared into the distance. My ego shouted at me to get my legs into gear. To quote Herda: “I felt like I had a puncture in each leg and I only had one spare.” This was going to be a hard day if I did not TTFU (I will explain that tomorrow).

I decided to hang in as long as possible and see what I could do later on. First check point arrived spot on time despite my legs feeling like they were dead for most of the long drag up the hill. I was just behind Katya who dived through the turn stile without evening slowing down. Darn shorties I thought. My buddy Jayde could just be seen in the distance. I pushed until I caught him just before the aloes. We passed a couple of teams who looked like they were struggling and let downhill master Andrew Hagen past on the switchbacks from the aloes. He was gone in well under 60 seconds! The rest of leg 2 was pretty uneventful with pretty flat running.

Constantia Nek was a hive of activity. I thought I was pretty quick through the checkpoint but Jayde was faster and had about a 500m gap and was going great guns. I once again closed the gap in the forest and we ran together along the contour around towards the bottom of Llundudno Ravine. Dom Wills who was in a team passed us after a brief chat and I plodded up the steep climb thinking Jayde was just on my heals. Jacques Marais was just around the corner and I laughed as I passed him. Always nice to see him smiling and cheering us on when we are kaking off. There were some more runners struggling up to the top of the mountain. Some seemed quite relaxed though. I caught and passed Ryan Scott who had shed some layers. Then Dion who was nursing a calf. I was hoping that I would make up some positions if I could run here. Or at least not lose any more positions! Well I did not see another runner for ages.

3h30 at the top of Kasteels Poort. Hmm the questions was asked in my mind. It thought it would be possible- just! I pulled out all stops on the steep rocky descent where I passed a couple of runners. Then onto the “flat” but treacherous Pipe Track. I gave it whatever my legs had.

Check out the link here for my Garmin download. Let me know if you like this and I will do more of these in the future.

Table Mountain Challenge 2010 by leoruns at Garmin Connect - Details

utmb 2010 in pictures

2010-09-20T12:52:00.000-07:00

Chamonix Valley: peaks on the left are: Les Drus, Aiguile du Midi (furthest right of the spikes) and Mont Blanc (highest peak in Western Europe) UTMB runs down the valley and finishes high on the slopes on the right.

UTMB Leg 1: View down the valley from Chamonix showing Les Houches and the first climb before St Gervais.

Italy: Looking NE from the Arete du Mont Favre towards Courmayeur. After that the route continues onto the green ridge and off towards the top left hand corner.

UTMB last 14km: From Col des Montets, La Flegere down to Chamonix!

Les Drus- the moody peaks just above my campsite

Starting my modeling carreer

Registration: getting my timing chip

My sister Annie and I at the start (can you tell that I am nervous?)

And then the race was all over!

And we were on holiday!

So more trails and sightseeing:

Mel and I doing the tourist thing on the Aiguile du Midi

Refocus:

2010-09-10T07:41:00.000-07:00

The big question in my head for the past week has been what to focus on for the rest of the year. It was always going to be to get strong and try to regain some speed. I have not run anything fast and unencumbered by a heavy pack for 8 months.

I intended to take a Flowin class at Mark Suerings sparc studios for some time but did not want it to interfere with my training for UTMB. I am glad that I held off until now. So on Wednesday I went to a class. Part of me nervous, part feeling a bit cocky and wondering how hard this could really be. Well all that I can say is that two days later I am sorer than I have been this entire year. My core and arm muscles are in pain. I am shocked how I have ignored this area in my training.

To be honest I am still sceptical as to how the many plank type exercises will help with running. But the standing, running, skating, lunging type exercises will be pretty good. Well let’s see. I certainly hope that they get easier with time!

So what is on the menu for the rest of the year?

TMC: I have previously two legs of this race. But am super psyched to push it and see how things go. To be honest though I have not been focused since France so I will have to be careful not to go out too fast!

Skyrun: Yes I will be there. Let’s see if we have another stella day like last year. I am psyched for a superb quality day in the hills.

In-between I want to run some halves on the road and then see how that goes. I am psyched for the rest of the years’ running!

UTMB 2010, my experience

2010-09-02T11:30:00.000-07:00

I can’t really call this a race report but here goes my experience anyway.

27 August 17h00: 1,5hours to kick off I get dressed and ready. I look out the window at the mountains and the last checkpoint: La Flegere. I know that the next time that I see this either the route will have finished me or I would have finished the 166km circumnavigation of Mont Blanc. Either way I know that I will be stuffed. I drink in the few moments of being alone and quiet. No sense of rush or urgency as there will be for the next two days or so. Everything is in place, training has gone well and I know I am fitter and stronger than I have ever been.

I know this will be hard, very, very hard. The hills I have experienced here in my lead up are tougher than anything I have ever seen. Despite this knowledge I am calm.
Mel, my sister and I walk to the start a couple of minutes away. The town square is electric with nervous energy. I take up a place 30m from the start arch. This is the furthest I have been back in the field before but I hope that this is not too optimistic!

The announcers try to work the crowd into a mad frenzy. It is lost on me as I look at my Polar. My HR is well over 120. Then it dies. Better that way.
The Conquest of Paradise is played at full blast many, many times over and I have to choke back the tears as I realise this is it. The elite are ushered in. The only one I recognise is the tall Scott Jurek. I know that competition is going to be hot this year as many top runners are here.

The countdown starts and there is a push for the line. The gun goes off and we surge forward. A couple of minutes later we slow to a walk as the path narrows. This happens several times in the first few km’s.
I am running through the streets of Chamonix and the vibe is intense. I think Mimi and Guy are still in front of me but they are adopting a more sensible pace. Cheering everywhere. I pass Mel and Annie and they shout encouragements. I slowly weave my way forward. The pace feels good and I am strong. The drizzle starts and out come waterproofs. I favour my Helium as I think I will only overheat. Finally I hit a rhythm in Les Houches. I realise that my pace is faster than expected. I go up the familiar first hill. Some how it does not seem so bad after a few weeks of French altitude. Down the other side is the steepest descent I have ever seen. Tiny steps and I up the cadence. Yet many runners pass me here. Their sticks clicking away.
St Gervais (at 21km) is the first big town and I can hear the announcer and music 20min before we get there! This is going to be something else. I realise that spotting Mel and Annie is going to be tricky. They have worked out a complex schedule of seconding which hopefully gives me encouragement and the right food at the right time during the event. Suddenly we are in town and running along in single file with children and adults cheering us on. Allez, Allez, Allez, Allez……….. I feel like a super hero about to save the world! I clap hands with some of the kids and acknowledge the cheering as much as possible. I see Estienne from Extreme Marathons only because of the SA flag he is waving. Then Mel and Annie are there. I grab a new bladder, some Mule bars and I am off to more cheering as we wind our way through this tiny town.

10min later we are heading up a slight hill in the dark and two runners come back towards the long headlamp snake.

‘Course Fini’ is all I heard. There was a slight pause but we carry on. Then officials in French. ‘Cancelled’ and ‘Avalanche’ is all I understood. Mobile phone call to Mel and she confirms it. More confusion. I continued on to La Contamine (31km) to catch the bus back. There would be food and more info. I was in the top 300 or so. Slightly faster than I wanted for this point in the race but I was feeling good so no worries.

At La Contamine we heard that 80 mile an hour winds at a Col and mudslides had lead to the decision to cancel the race. Cancel not postponed, not anything else.

We had to wait for busses back to Chamonix was the instruction. Luckily I met Tim Englund and we both chatted in English while we waited in a warm hall. The organisation at all times was brilliant. We waited less than 30min before a bus took us back to the start. As we were about to exit the bus another announcement. Race is cancelled. Tomorrow 10h00 you can get back the deposit for your timing chip. Thank you very much.
At no point did anybody seem aggressive towards the organisers or question their decision to call the race off due to conditions. We were just disappointed. I was in denial.
Back to my room to regroup with my fantastic supporters. We talked and sms’ed loved ones back home.

I woke up at 7h00 or so, turned on my phone and read a sms in French. All I could make out was UTMB, CCC route, bus depart 6h30, start 10h00. Somehow I did not put things together. I somehow suspected there may be a restart but I searched the official website- nothing. I tried to confirm with others- nothing. The only site that had some info was irunfar.com. Amazing to see an American had more info that the official race website.

We went to the start to get our deposit back and details became clear. Yes there was a restart, yes it was too late…..
As sudden as that!
So what am I left with?

I am in awe of the UTMB and the organisation around it. I want to come back despite not having a clue as to how to afford it. I have some ideas to training for it which will certainly help. I am not angry that the race was cancelled. I am disappointed that I did not get a chance to run the CCC route. But other than that I am inspired to what trail running can be. This is a whole new level which we can aspire to.

I am overwhelmed by the support and love and messages I have received from everybody. This is a truly moving experience on that level alone. Thanks to all of you!

note: I will post pictures next week when I get back to SA.

aiguile du midi

2010-08-25T08:18:00.001-07:00

The sun has finally appeared! There is an amazing vibe in town with slick looking dudes in bright coloured shoes, packs and jackets everywhere. And I am not talking about climbers either. Trails runners from all over the world have descended onto Chamonix over the last few days. It is the size of the Argus expo morphed into the size of a reasonable sized town. There we were two wide eyed zef efrikens walking every shop flat and perving at all the gear. Something else I tell you.
But this morning we took the cable car up to the Aiguile du midi at 3842m. The views were amazing to say the least and the cable car ride did result in some shrieks.
This afternoon I registered. We visited the expo. The usual nutrition and accessory stands were there. I even found a compression sock manufacturer who makes different length socks. Check out sigvaris. Currently they only do a recovery sock which I am testing as I write this. A few hours into the test and they feel pretty good. Full report to follow!
Now for a big pasta and chill out. Bags pack tomorrow and then Friday I am off!

chamonix the centre of the outdoor world

2010-08-18T05:24:00.000-07:00

1991: - I arrive ready to test myself in the Mecca of climbing. My bag is heavy and I pitch my tent in the pimple of Chamonix- Snell's Field. Free camping only because it is technically illegal so that means no ablution to speak of. The filth is heavy in the air but we are here to test ourselves against the masterpieces of old. I pitch my tent in a ditch and get comlpetely drenched during the night. I get locked up in a shower in the tennis club after sneaking in undetected! I end up doing a hanfull of routes on the lower peaks. However I learn a huge amount and this is a turning point in my climbing career.
2010: My focus has changed but my bag is just as heavy. I camp in the Mer de Glace campsite with several stars. It is actually just across the river from my previous home. Sparkly bathrooms and WiFi make quite a change. I again pitch my tent in a hollow and get punished. I have learnt about travelling fast and light and head for the trails with a skimpy pack as my only companion. The French snobbish attitude has not changed much. I have found free internet in town and decide to keep my homies updated.
This truly is the outdoor center of the world. Trails are well marked and very runnable, that is if your legs will allow you! The hills here are so steep that my heals seldom touch the ground. The downhills are just as bad. I can only recomend this as a trail running/walking destination. The free buss services access several spots around the valley with trails of utmost beauty.

I have checked out three sections of the UTMB course so far and it has helped immensly to feel more confident. Today is a general rest day and checking out the last few km's into town. Tomorrow I take the bus to Courmayeur and run a section there. That should also help as I plan to head to 2500m. The sun has even come out a bit yesterday which lifted my mood imensely!

Black Diamond Competition!

2010-08-11T07:07:00.000-07:00

I am fortunate to announce the second competition in conjunction with Black Diamond. This time around the guys and girls from Ram Mountaineering have sponsored me a Black Diamond Icon Headlamp worth R 730! This is an awesome headlamp which throws a massive beam that has served me well during all my night training and several Bat Runs. I can truly recomend it!

All you have to do is guess my finish time at the UTMB. Post your predicted time in a comment below. The person with the closest time wins. I will announce the winner early Sept when I am back in Cape Town. Please tell your friends to enter. I promise I have no interest in who puts down what and I won’t be offended if you put down a DNF. A hint: the fastest times are around 21h, I am aiming for 30 - 36h and the cut off is 46h. Take your pick!

If you are interested in following the goings on during the event check out the website here. They have loads of info if you scratch around a bit.

To check on my status during the event it will be easiest to search under South Africa and then fill in my whole name (Leonhard RUST). Not sure how this works yet but I am sure you will work it out.

There are some interesting videos on the “Get Ready For” page. With one of the top guys from last year giving advice. Some cool footage too.

Oh My decision is final and I will ship the prize to the winner free of charge in SA.

Easy Rider take three:

2010-08-11T06:44:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have visions of sitting on a big chopper cruisin through the country? Hair flapping in the wind.... sorry here my dream bubble bursts (I don’t have any hair).

The plan was simple: Run from Kloof Nek to Constantia Nek via the VWS route and lower jeep tracks. Once we arrive at the lovely coffee shop/ water tap (scones optional) we return via higher trails trying to clock 2000m of uncontrived ascent. This includes ascents of the Cons Nek ascent via the metal bridge, descent of Cecilia Ridge, Aloes on the Contour Path, Newlands Ravine, Oppelskop Ridge, down past the cannons and through Deer Park back to the start. Simple actually! 41+ km of premium trail right in the heart of the city and 2000m ascent exactly. Just the training I need.

I tried it once with Roger until I blew horribly on Newlands Ravine. My HR stopped at 124 and every single step turned into one of Hillary’s on the Big E! Then Roger flew to the US and I was quick to recruit Adrian. He agreed without too much hesitation. So off we went and our legs blew on the ascent of Newlands once again. We limped back to our cars. Two days later I mailed Adrian and he signed up for another round with this beaut. Saturday 7th we saddled up and headed out under cloudy skies. I was carrying more supplies than before and even snuck in a caffeine gel- just in case! I knew this would be a 6h outing.

We ran strong and arrived at Constantia Nek in 2h17 then the big stroll up to the back table passing Linda and partner, the scramble down Cecilia Ridge went quicker than expected. Then cruising past The Aloes and a steady pace up Newlands. At the top of this we met a lone traveller in the mist. He hitched a ride with us for a little while before we turned towards Oppleskop, sending him into “bat country”.

We knew that we had done it. Easy Rider was born. We had fed the rat and it was satisfied. This is trail running at its best in the heart of our city. Less than 2km is on tar and we double back on our path for about 5 km. We completed this great run in just over 6h total time. We walked most of the uphills and ran everything else. It includes jeep track, single track, steep ascents and descents. One of the best trail routes I have ever done!

Random thoughts around gear and techniques

2010-08-02T23:48:00.000-07:00

In a sport like trail running we pay a weight penalty for every extra tool we carry with us, so getting kit that really works is critical! (a fantastic headlamp that turns the darkest night into day will require a prohibitive battery pack, whereas a lighter option may save you on weight and therefore energy expenditure and therefore might actually make you run faster)
In my build up to the UTMB I have thought of many different angles of how I can optimise my performance. I have always been a bit of a gear head and love kit that really works! Here are some random thoughts which I would like your comments on. If you have somethng to add please do so in the comments below.

I have been looking at other sports for inspiration for an extra edge.
Why? Quite simply there is way more money in cycling and triathlon than in trail running. Money = innovation. So what do cyclists or triathletes do that we could try or copy to our advantage?

Lycra:
Besides looking particularly nice on the female form, lycra does have performance advantages. I have only recently bought a pair of tight shorts (or short tights- not sure which) to run in. It did take several weeks of window shopping and then many hours out on my first run to not feel like I was totally exposed. Lycra dries much quicker than loose fitting running shorts! Quicker drying means not loosing excess heat in a wind chill situation. (I suspect that it may also cool you down quicker when wet due to evaporative cooling in the heat-maybe somebody can give some more scientific insight here). For a running top I will certainly consider a close fitting top to get the added benefit too for the future. Even with quick drying fabrics I still finish a run with my shirt damp from perspiration.

Shedding Heat:
The latest Bicycling Magazine has an article on Allen Lim in it and I read it with interest. One of the big things he talks about is shedding extra heat. From my own experience and confirmed now from the Lim article: Keeping your core temperature down is critical. I have always favoured waist belts rather than backpacks for this reason. I sweat less while running with my back uncovered. This will not be the case at Mont Blanc where I simply cannot fit all the stuff into a bum bag!

Every now and again you see triathletes running with a sponge tucked in to their running top. Think of a mountain stream as the trail running equivalent. In fact I did exactly that on the last leg of the Hout Bay Tripple Trouble last year in the blazing heat. The day was hot and I realised that hydration and spending as little time in the heat as possible would be key. I came to a stream and drenched my Buff in it before wearing it around my neck. It was not long before it was dry. I did the same on the way back! I think this helped a great deal with my race. I ended up feeling strong all the way through to the end and not getting too fried out there.

A little while ago I was reminded by a friend of mine who is new to the trail: Weather changes are amplified tenfold when on a mountain trail compared to when exercising in urban surroundings. So we should pay even closer attention to the detail. This is especially true for getting too cold.

A couple of weekends ago I went to cheer on friends at the HBTC. I am always amazed at the contrast of front runners to the back markers. The top guys run in short sleeves and then the back markers come along with full waterproofs-drenched in sweat. I wonder what comes first: going too slow so that you need a waterproof to keep the elements off or putting a waterproof on and then sweating so much that performance grinds down to a super slow pace? I was on Mount Rainier a few years ago and noticed how my partner was wearing full Gore-Tex. I wore a wind breaker while active and then put on extra layers over the top when we stopped for the occasional break. My partner instantly froze when we stopped not because he wore too little but because he wore too much, perspired and then cooled down too much.

Thinking back to trail running. The more you perspire, the more you need to drink, the more water you need to carry per hour on the trail. The vicious circle continues! In fact the less weight you can carry on a trail, the more efficient you will be and the less energy you will require and the faster you will run. Here is a way to turn that vicious circle around! I have never had to run wearing a waterproof to fend off the rain. I hate getting too hot when I run. This of course is different to running in the heat. When you run in the heat you just have to slow down a bit and try to cool down as much as you can.

In fact when I start a race I try to anticipate what I will feel like 20 mins into the event. When in doubt I shed another layer- at least that is what I try to do, sometimes I chicken out and carry the extra security blanket.

Nutrition:
This is a topic for a seperate post sometime soon but for now just some thoughts.
I believe not nearly enough athletes give enough thought to this. You can get by with a hand full of gels for a half or full marathon but when trying to race for 5 plus hours nutrition becomes an important issue. I believe that is why so many runners struggle on leg 3 of the HBTC (heat and low energy). And consuming things that you like (or don’t dislike too much) is key. Yesterday Mel has reminded me that you can run 28+ km of trail with a cut up banana as your fuel! How much more natural can you get?

During the Skyrun last year Andre, Roger and I had a standing joke of eating every half hour. For 18+hours of effort even the best gels become tedious! I am fortunate to have Mule Bar on board who supply me with a whole mixture of great flavoured bars. I actually look forward to the bars on a run. They taste like real food. They are also pretty natural and don’t contain too much extra stuff that does nothing for you. (read the nutritional splurb on the wrapper if you want details) See the Sunday Times article on Lim articel here for his famous rice cakes he made for team Garmin in the 2009 Tour de France.

Footwear:

The ideal pair of shoes should give you loads of protection for minimal weight. I do a stride drill once a week (Joe Friel’s barefoot strides: 8 – 10 X 20 second repeats where I try to get my cadence up high. For me that is about 33 to 34 strides per 20s interval.) I have been doing this drill for 6 months and have noticed that my cadence on the road has gone from 78 – 79 range to in the mid 80’s!! Over the winter I tried to do this drill in my super light-weight Asics DS trainers. The effect was dramatic! It was really hard to hit my target of 33 footfalls in the 20s. I was a full one to two strides behind! Heavier shoes do have their drawbacks in that they will require more energy to pick them up with every step!

What ideas have you thought or wondered about?

Black Diamond Comp results!

2010-07-25T23:39:00.000-07:00

The news you have all been waiting for:
When I was on the mountain between Kasteels Poort and Corridor Ravine in very heavy mist and a strong breeze things still seemed wide open. Ake was looking strong with John on his heals. Will was about 20 seconds behind but things still seemed wide open. By Constantia Nek Ake had 4min on Will....

The final result:
Ake Fagereng in a smashing 4:11

John Collins

Greg Goodal

So as far as the predictions go nobody predicted Ake in first (including Ake himself!) and Man Overboard and Mel predicted John in second. Man Overboard predicted 4:16:20 and Mel predicted 4:17.

Drum Roll!!

Well done Man Overboard. One BD Flash backpack is on it's way to you! In fact drop me a mail on emailDOTleorustATgmailDOTcom with your contact details and we will take it from there.

Thanks to all who contributed. Watch this space for the next competition to be announced in the first week of August!

The Alpinist Club Run

2010-07-23T06:55:00.000-07:00

I parked my car in down town in that part of lower Loop Street where most squeaky clean trail runner types don’t venture. Between the strip clubs and bad karaoke doors just about to open their doors to trade for the night. Welcome to the dark side of the trail. My old mentor and Jedi of past moved from the shadows. I could hardly get my Camelbak onto my back before he spun on his heels and I had to sprint to catch up. The beep of my Polar echoed behind. There was a low cloud hanging over town and the threat of a storm was in the air.

We headed into oncoming traffic and up the closest hill, weaving through homebound traffic. Suddenly there was the gateway we were looking for. Unnoticed to most and certainly invisible to the untrained eye. The sliver of a single track went plumb up the hill, steep enough so that my heels did not touch the ground and the fire in my quads was raging. This breed of trail running was not the kind you can learn from a “5 step plan” in Shape Magazine. This is the real deal. Rusted barbed wire fence forced a quick contour then more climb. The glimmer of city lights just enough to pick out detail underfoot. Picking up the pace as the terrain levelled. Concentrate or you will get hurt. Almost seduced by lycra clad figures ahead. But no, we took the low road. That way there would be more climbing later. Bring it on! Tree roots and low hanging branches. More climbing but by now the terrain is familiar.

Reprimanding to keep up! I up the pace in the growing gloom trying to make the best of a slip stream. Down back into the heart of the city. Oncoming traffic, weaving through groups of pedestrians. Some startled, some amused. Faster and faster. I have not run this pace for a while. A few intersections later we are at the start. And so it goes. Returning to the place you have been before to see what you have not seen before.

If you must have the stats 12 km, 590m of climb, in the heart of the city, mostly single track affectionately known as “Death Grip”.

PS the Karaoke clubs were trying to kill "American Pie" for another night.

UTMB update 2

2010-07-14T03:52:00.000-07:00

As of this week I enter my second 4 week block of peak training for the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc. The event is 7 weeks away and so I thought to post a quick update.

The UTMB is a 166 km ultra trail run around the highest peak in Western Europe (Mont Blanc). We start in Chamonix, France and then run counter clockwise into Italy, Switzerland and back to the start. The route follows the Trail du Mont Blanc hiking trail for the majority of the way. The big challenge (besides the distance to cover) is that we have 9500m of altitude gain and loss over that distance. That is a massive 57m/km on average. So my training diet has been hills, hills and some more. See my post “In Search of a Hill”

Check out the profile here:

I fly to France on the 12th of August and the race starts on the 27th of August. I plan to spend the first week before the race hiking the second half of the route and acclimatising along the way. On the 22nd Mel (who will be seconding me) arrives and we will do some touristy type things and generally go through the final prep for the race. Mel and my sister Annie are going to be travelling around the course and their task of supplying me with various items which I need is one not to be taken lightly! I owe them big for just agreeing to this madness!

The cut-off for UTMB is 46 hours and I hope to finish somewhere around 36 hours or so. So many things are unknown and many unknowns can influence that. I will only have a better idea of how things turn out from about 100 km in! The event starts at 18h30 in the evening so sleep deprivation will be a real issue. I hope to be able to finish before I need a sleep break but I will have to see how it goes. One thing is for sure: unexpected things will happen.

The question is just how we can sort them out. I really feel like a small cog in this machine. One thing is for sure when I cross the finish line Mel, Annie and I will cross the finish line together.

Support stations will be about 3 – 4h apart at my pace so I will have a fair size pack with me.

This is whole experience and journey so big for me. Right now this feels like the biggest thing in my running or even climbing career. It is the same feeling I got before my first trip to Yosemite in 1999 when I climbed The Nose route.

There will be some pretty big names competing at the top level at the event. Killian Jornet, Geoff Roes, Karl Meltzer, Scott Jurek are all billed to be there. Those guys will finish anywhere from 21 hours so I won’t even get to see them but it could be quite a fun thing to follow if you are interested.

The race website can be found here.
Here is an overview map of the course:

So that is why I have been running with a pack and with extra weight. I will keep you up to date on my prep here. I plan to post info on kit and a bit more detail on my training in the next couple of weeks. The race is just around the corner and there is a mountain of stuff I need to do!

Hope you have the time to follow this journey!

Black Diamond Comp announcement:

2010-07-13T00:53:00.000-07:00

I am very fortunate to announce that Black Diamond has offered to sponsor a product every couple of months for my blog. Rather than pocketing the cash and retiring to Kommetjie I thought I would pass this on to you! So here goes!

For July Black Diamond is supplying me with their ultra light Flash pack. It is super light and will certainly be a great companion for any fast and light outing. Perfect size for running, biking, day walks or just mucking about.

How the comp works:

The person who predicts the finish order of the Hout Bay Trail Challenge for the top three men will receive this great prize worth R 410! All you have to do is:

Leave a comment to this post by the end of 23 July 2010 with your prediction of the top three finishers in their finish order. Also post a finish time for the winner (This will only be used if we have a tie breaker.).

So tell all your trail buddies of this super deal and leave your comment!

To start this off I will give you my take on some of the favourites:

William Robinson has won here before in 4:21 in 2008. The question is are a couple of weeks training good enough to win it this year?
Dion Middelkoop is on form this year and running strong. If Dion does not go out too hard (and blow later) he can take the overall and vet title.
John Collins from Team Mazda running fame is back at it. New to the HBTC but strong enough to give everyone a run for their money. John came second in last year’s Otter Trail Run.
Jayde Butler is the dark horse in this bunch. Jayde started the year with winning the Bat Run ahead of Mike Bailey. Then he won the Addo 50km. Watch out boys Jayde wants it bad!
Nicholas Rupanga is undoubtably the fastest of the bunch. The question is can he hang on and take it on the beach finish? And has he recovered from Knysna?

Conditions:

I will post the prize to you anywhere in SA free of charge. Position 1 will receive 3 points, position 2 will get 2, pos 3 will get 1. If two are drawn on points then we consider winning time. My decision is final. The winner will be contacted on Monday 26th.

Lessons learnt about Compression Socks

2010-07-08T02:15:00.000-07:00

I cannot open a single running, multi sport or triathlon magazine without seeing some “review” spewing the virtues of compression gear. With all this hype I would expect that I would only see lycra from head to toe on the trails. However there are only a few who are sporting the new attire.

So after some conversations with my friend Adrian I investigated compression socks further. I contacted Wim de Klerck from CSock to ask him for advice and info and finally I purchased a pair for myself and a pair for Mel. Seb Coe and Haile beware, here we come!

Or so I thought!

Here is some other interesting info I have found on my journey with compression:

• There is a whole bunch of hype and very little info available on the subject. All the “reviews” we read are basically copy off the manufacturers promotional splurb. There is some interesting info on the web which I found here from Joe Friel and here.

• I chose socks over just a sleeve because I am told that you need most of the compression around the ankle.

• Compression socks are bloody hard to get on. I have on more than one occasion had to suppress laughter as both my thumbs got stuck in the socks painful vice grip.

• Only after I purchased a pair did I realise this but I have not been able to find a sock manufacturer that caters for anybody that is out of the norm. This is mad! As if all people who wear a size 9 shoe also wear a size 32 jeans and a standard inseam! I know I am tall (at 196 cm) but I certainly am not freak!

• CSock can make me a custom pair of R 800,00 but that is just too dear in my book!

You need the most compression for running, less for walking and the least for recovery.

So here are my Positives and Negatives so far:

+ When wearing the compression socks from recovery my legs definitely felt better the next day than expected.

+ It was not only my claves that felt better but my quads too! They work!

+ Compression gear and lycra is sexy only in that it leaves nothing to the imagination. This may be good is some cases ;) However I can not shake the gymp imagery associated with it.

- I wore my compression socks for one run and once under jeans for recovery and they slipped down very quickly! I contacted MedSport and CSock and discussed this with them at length. It seems like unless you fall into one size for all parameters then compression socks will have serious limitations. (unless you have a size M foot, size M calf circumference, size M length lower leg you will either have a too short or too loose sock!!

- I can see the benefits for a running only race. If I was doing Triathlon I would not want to hassle with putting these on while the clock ticks away. If this is the case for you then why train with something that you will not race with? You will feel naked on race day.

- My (unshaven legs) feel seriously itchy when I take the socks off.

So all in all it has been an interesting journey so far. I am by no means satisfied but I am glad that I have embarked on it.

If you are intrigued I would suggest that you go to somebody who knows something about compression.

So what are your comments and experiences?

Western States 100 2010

2010-06-29T00:58:00.000-07:00

This last weekend was the 39th running of the oldest 100 miler in the US. The Western States started as a horse race after Wendell T. Robie rode the distance from Squaw Valley to Auburn in California in 1955. In 1974 Gordy Ainsleigh ran the course after his horse fell sick just before the race. The undoubted king of Western States is Scott Jurek who has won the race 7 times. This year the men’s field was hot with Anton Krupicka, Spanish wunderkind Killian Jornet, and eventual winner Geoff Roes. Check out the interviews for Anton, Killian and Geoff here on iRunFar. It is really interesting listening to the three perspectives of a really hot race (temperature and pace). Geoff hung back and then pushed hard later on in the race. Amazingly he was running 4:40 min km in the last 30 kms.

Interestingly Salomon machine Killian did not carry water for most of the way despite temperatures to 40*C and Anton carried bottles. Montrail's Geoff managed to consume 40 cal/h which obviously gave him the necessary boost he needed.

So the rematch is coming at UTMB with Killian, Geoff and Scott dancing the big dance!

Nikwax and the art of jacket maintenance

2010-06-14T01:42:00.000-07:00

The first winter rains are starting to fall here in the Cape and mornings are chilly. Out come windproof and waterproof breathable jackets to protect us from these elements. However unless these jackets are relatively new they do not keep the damp out as well as they should. The first sign of trouble is when the outer material wets out as in the image on the left.

Irrespective of whether you have a waterproof breathable jacket (Gore Tex, Conduit or the like) or just a water repellent jacket (CAPESTORM Helium, First Ascent Apple) outer shells are designed to move moisture in the form of vapour out and keep the elements out at the same time. Waterproof Jackets are for when conditions get really wet and/or you are not exerting yourself too hard. The rest are for high exertion activities (like trail running, cycling) when breathability is the main issue.

What is breathability? It is the rate at which a fabric vents MOISTURE from your body. The following would be good examples of high breathability garments: Moisture Management T shirt, Fleece, First Ascent Apple Jacket, CAPESTORM Helium.

Breathability drops the more waterproof your garment is. Waterproof Jackets can never be as breathable as the above (due to an added membrane bonded to the inside of the jacket) but they are 100% waterproof. But that is not what I want to talk about today. If you own a waterproof then read on anyway because the process is very similar for you.

The problem for breathability comes in when the outer fabric “wets out”. This is immediately noticeable when rain droplets no longer look like droplets of oil on a non stick frying pan or blobs of mercury but the fabric itself actually becomes wet. Now you are trying to push your perspiration through a solid sheet of water. Does not work so well!

These WINDPROOF and water repellent jackets will remain windproof unless the fabric is compromised (torn or cut) in some way.

However the WATER REPELLENT part is a result of the DWR (Durable Water Repellent) Treatment. This wears off due to normal use (abrasion, oils and dirt from skin and washing in normal detergent). However all is not lost!

Like sending your car for a service so too your outdoor gear needs the occasional service.

NikWax has a large range of DWR liquids to enable you to get the best performance from your jacket. In fact the range of products is quite overwhelming so I will concentrate on just two. These are Techwash and TX Direct. TX Direct comes in a wash in bottle or a spray on dispenser. I prefer the spray on because I can use it on my Mountain Hardwear Conduit Waterproof Breathable jacket too. (But more on that at some other time.)

The process is easy: First of all you have to “prep” the fabric with Techwash so that it can “hold onto” the DWR. You need to wash any residual oil and dirt from the garment. Once this is completed then you can apply the TX Direct. The nice thing is that you don’t have to wait for the garment to dry before you apply the TX Direct. It is water based so you can apply it wet. Oh and I like the smell of Nikwax products.

So go out and treat your running jackets before the next rainy run. You will be glad you did.

Are You Ready? It is here!

2010-06-11T00:53:00.000-07:00

Last night I looked down over the city bowl, Vuvuzelas were blaring everywhere. I was half way up Mowbray Ridge. I had started from the parking lot next to the Mosterts Mill and headed over the bridge and uphill. Choosing the most direct single track up towards the blockhouse. I continued up the the ridge in a cool breeze until I hit the highest traverse right (In fact I had never done this path before then). The sun was setting as I rounded the corner. Out came my trusty Icon and I stopped for a moment and felt really proud. Yes Cape Town is ready!

Later that evening the lights and the vibe in the city centre were amazing! We are Ready!

OFTC 2010

2010-06-07T08:08:00.000-07:00

The gun went off and we sprinted down the beach. This year being the "up" run. Dion Quickly worked out that continuing along the beach was the way to go and not turn left like the rest of the leading group. I followed the old mountain goat trusting his instinct. I made about 7 place that way and then lost them all on the road section within the next km! Oh well I was here to do a tempo run and this was not my A Grade race.

Michelle Lombardi was hot on my heels and we ran together for most of the way. William joined us for a bit but he sprinted off (the Comrades has obviously not smashed his legs too bad a week ago). The pressure was on from Buff / CAPESTORM team mate Candice who was only a few hundred meters behind Michelle, and closing! Both girls passed me before the top of Blackburn and at that point I thought I had blown it. Oh well it would be long stretch now. Somehow the Mule Bar I was munching kicked in and I found legs to push down the zig zags at an ok pace passing both Candice and Michelle and actually putting some time in them. (Not that it bothers me in the least to be chicked ;))

I hit the road and Hanno pulled up and tried to surge. Oh well I thought. This would not be quite so easy. As we hit the sand and the most silly of detours I responded finding the harder sand and going for broke. (I completely agree with the detour around the horendous Disa River. But please don't detoure us and then make us run through the mess anyway. Come on next time please build a bridge or the like!!)

Check the result here.

So I just missed going sub 2h but carrying a bit of extra weight I am please with my effort. Obviously running with a pack makes you stronger than I thought ;)
pic courtesy of Trevor Ball

Comrades 2010

2010-05-10T05:23:00.000-07:00

As every year gets under way the hype around the big C increases. After Two Oceans it reaches ridiculous proportions. There are very few running conversations which do not touch on who is, or who is not doing the big one.

There seems to be a fair amount of press internationally on it: The US is sending over some strong boys and girls as reported in RW.
Michael Wardian will accompany ultra greats Nikki Kimbal and Kami Semick. Josh Cox will be there too.
Could this be the cold war in ultra running? the Ruskies vs the Yankies!

Running legend Bart Yasso will be there too.

I will certainly switch on the telly after my morning jog to catch the final km of action on the 30th.
Good luck to all

African X Day 2 and final wrap up

2010-05-10T05:13:00.000-07:00

This profile (from the race website) looked hilly enough but actually the course turned out to be far flatter and faster than I imagined.
900m of climbing over the 42,2 km was going to be flat and furious.
the gun went off on day 2 and 15km of flat terrain followed. James set a fast pace and I hoped that I could hang on and that the big hill would come soon and I would be more in my zone. I recon that the fast pace of the day before and the really flat fast pace just got to me. This is the fastest running that I have done this year. So a big wake up call. Some serious work needs to happen!!

The big hill came too late for me to have enough legs to do anything about it. Once we reached the top all I could do was listen to Jayde quoting TS Elliot and dig deep.
In the end we finished in 22nd for the day.
I guess I should have insisted on a slower pace from the start and not be pushed into something out of my comfort zone. I should know better but then you get caught in the moment and hope that things will be ok...
Lesson learnt!

oh and then Day 3 got cancelled.
The only bad decision that the organisers made was to make thier decision too early. We could have run by 9h00 and it would have been a fun day out. Now it is all over very suddenly pretty much like a breakup.

So off to get energy back into my legs later.

Africa X Trail Run Day 1

2010-05-07T08:37:00.000-07:00

After delays due to the heavy rains we were finally off at just after 12h00. The road was flat and the pace hot. I decided to just see what happens and try to not get too excited. James pushed quite hard up the only hill and we had to just keep up the pace To the line. 16th position: not too bad I thought. Now for a marathon tomorrow. Let's see how the legs recover!

In Search of my Central Governor:

2010-04-29T06:50:00.000-07:00

I was told it existed by the likes of Prof Tim Noakes and Ross Tucker who recon that something in our brain is the true limiter to our athletic performance and not the size of our calf muscles!

So with this in mind I signed up for some research at the Sports Science Institute of SA. In fact the test took a little longer than anticipated due to one of the machines breaking (ok, ok not my fault at all- I promise). My last week's training ended with a rather heavy session on Sunday so I was not very optimistic sitting in my car in the car park Monday evening. I figured mind over matter would have to do in posting a half decent effort as I strode into reception.

A quick weigh in (73 kg) like a boxer going into a title fight and then suddenly I stood on the treadmill. Under 20 mins is all that it would take to see where this Mr Central Governor was hiding. Theresa switched the dinosaur on and I kicked my legs into motion. A short walk, then the angle and pace increased. Ok keep the cadence up, nice and relaxed, another 3 mins passed and the incline went up again and so did the pace. Still easy, no time to get distracted though! Legs comfortable, breathing ok despite the rubber mask. The tube making a regular clunk as it swung around and hit the safety railing. No swerving now! Concentrate on staying on the belt. Stay relaxed, breathe easy. Stage four and Theresa all of a sudden became more animated cheering me on. I almost felt like I was doing quite well but nothing was happening yet. Mr CG was nowhere to be seen.

Bang! Seconds later there he was. Out of the blue. Nobody else could see him but he smacked me so hard that I had to dig to keep it going and not just bail there and then. All of a sudden I was falling a little bit back on the treadmill. Dam it pick up the pace to not fall off the back of this thing. Momentarily I thought I had regained control but it was only an illusion. He hit me again. It was so hard to keep going. I could hardly think it was happening so quick. Theresa (as the only spectator to my suffering) was very encouraging and certainly made me feel like I was beating Usain down the last few meters with her cheers.

I am not sure what happened but in a millisecond I doubted and questioned and then the invisible thread was gone and I could not hang on anymore. Grabbing the safety rail, sitting down and having the mask taken off my face I sat there gasping.

As soon as it was all over I wondered if I could not have hung on for a second longer. I guess that is the beauty of this test. I felt stuffed for the rest of that evening. In fact I woke up on Freedom Day and dragged my duvet in front of the TV to have a cup of tea and regroup. I felt exhausted and my body was sore. Just going onto the www the voyeur in me had to look up my values (VO2 Max: 59, Max HR: 182):

So some geek recons a 1:19 half marathon and a sub 3 marathon should be theoretically doable. Hmm...

One thing is for sure: if I ever want to do battle with Mr Central Governor again I know where to find him.

Seriously though I can recommend this test to anyone and I am proud to be part of some research that may help us train better in the future – even if it means spending less time doing hills but more time on a couch (a shrinks one that is).

CAPESTORM Helium gear feature:

2010-04-25T08:56:00.000-07:00

Hailed by trail runners, adventure racers and general outdoor enthusiasts as one of their favourite pieces of clothing. CAPESTORM have just last month updated this fantastic little jacket. So why go out and buy one? Before I go on and on about how fantastic this little jacket is I should explain exactly what it is and is not. The Helium is a lightweight WINDPROOF (and water repellent) jacket. It is designed to be worn when it is windy or moderately damp. It will not keep you dry in rain and it is not intended to keep you warm.

What does it do? CAPESTORM’s proprietary Vo2 Max Breathable fabric is windproof and yet highly breathable (it will let your perspiration out). Easy way to test the windproofness is to hold it up to your mouth and see if you can blow through it. Thought so! Do the same to a normal T shirt to see the difference. The fabric sheds water very well. Due to its DWR (durable water repellence) This treatment to the fabric will wear off after a while (as a result of normal abrasion, natural oils in your skin and perspiration and washing in normal detergent). As such you will need to retreat the jacket with a DWR like Nikwax. But more of that coming soon.

What have CAPESTORM changed from the previous design?

1) The colours! The lime is by far the best colour and almost makes sweaty, dirty runner types look attractive when coming home from battle.

2) The zip stow pocket. It is now no longer positioned at the centre back. Just in the right spot to chafe and irritate you when wearing a pack.

3) The sleeves are slightly longer on the new model- Yay for long armed guys like Gordon and me and great for others who want to shield their hands from the early morning chill.

4) The fabric is new. As a result I cannot really comment on the longevity of it but it seems to breathe equally well so that is good.

So why buy it?

1) It almost looks sexy! The previous version somehow looked like a glorified plastic bag.

2) It works! (if you keep treating it with a DWR) Every major brand has their own version of the Helium which should be testament to how well these puppies work. If you do not own one of these then get one.

3) It folds up into the palm of your hand.

4) I like the bright lime (sorry Chartreuse) colour.

What do I not like?

1) The first thing that I have done with all my Heliums in the past is cut the drawstring at the waist. I hate the little dangly elastic hanging down by my hip ready to catch on my thumb as I am sprinting down the home straight or a stray piece of fynbos on a lonely single track. Draw the elastic to sit just snug on your hips and tie two knots and cut the toggle and excess elastic cord off. There must be a better solution to this from the designers!

2) You have to re apply the DWR on these type of garments fairly regularly so that they work properly. Becomes a pain in the bum.

The litmus:

All things considered I think this is one of those iconic items that every runner or lightweight outdoor enthusiast should own. This is my third Helium Jacket. Would I recommend the upgrade to somebody who has an older model? Hmm

Previous models had the stow pocket in the middle of the back. The only real advantage of the new model is the positioning of the stow pocket. If this does not bug you and you never intend to wear a pack then you may be able to pick up an old model at the discount store in Wynberg for a good price.

(Almost) The World’s best Socks:

2010-04-21T08:04:00.000-07:00

There is something about socks that provides immense comfort. There is nothing better than putting on a nice warm, wooly pair and schlumpfing on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate and watching some DVD’s on a rainy weekend. But that is not what this blog is about!

We are hardcore Trail Runners ;) but the principle is the same. Just the same way as the barefoot running boom makes us feel so good and reflexology sessions leave us in touch with our whole body. The bottom line is there are more nerve endings in your foot than anywhere else on your body. So why not pamper your toetsies while you are wearing your favourite pair f trail shoes? Good socks also prevent blisters and hotspots.

Two years ago I was lucky enough to be introduced to locally manufactured Bridgedale socks. ATSI manufactures these fantastic socks right here in our mother city! It took me about two years to wear out my Speed Demons and I am afraid no other brand available locally comes even close to the comfort and more importantly the durability of Bridgedale. So on the search I went to find a retailer who stocks these gems. I was very pleased to find that Mammoth Outdoor was able to order them for me. So I bought 6 pairs! I recon that should last me a couple of years of bush bashing! And then I spotted them in Sportsmans Warehouse in Tygervalley. They are not cheap but in the long term they will probably come to about the same you will spend on other socks. Oh and by the way they are available in other colours too!

The Initiative

2010-04-12T23:35:00.000-07:00

Check out this link of Samuel H. Gardner who is planning a back to back trek of the four longest trails in the US and all this in a single calender year!

The four trails are the North Country Trail, Appalachian Trail, Continental Divide Trail and Pacific Crest Trail.
http://www.theinitiativesite.com/

So what is the purpose?

"The reason for “The Initiative“ is to prove a simple but important point: Life is what we make it. We all have choices. We can choose to change or not. We can be content with who we are or we have the option to work towards the person we want to be. No matter the outcome of our decisions, we must not sit idle, we must be actively enjoying life or be actively making a change. These life-choices apply to each and everyone of us despite different life-challenges and set backs of varying degrees. The greater the hardship overcome; the greater the joy, fulfillment and self-respect.

I am doing this for me. I am doing this for the people who wish they could but physically cannot. I am doing this for the people who are alone and unsupported. I am doing this for those who dream. I am doing this for those who have forgotten their dreams. I am doing this for those who have sacrificed dreams to support others. I am doing this to share with the ones who cannot be there. I am doing this for the story. I am doing this for the adventure. I am doing this to show what is possible.
-Samuel H. Gardner"

Hope you have an inspired day!

In search of a Hill:

2010-04-12T06:14:00.000-07:00

Apologies for this self-indulgent post. My mind is so pre-occupied with the Ultra du Mont Blanc that I think of it constantly. I am trying to find ways to prepare as best I can for this big unknown.

I have been immersed in a spreadsheet over the last little while comparing altitude gain/distance covered for various runs. All my training ideas this year have been guided by UTMB. Let me explain. 166km with 9400 m of altitude gain and drop= 57m/km of gain.

I did this little sum a few months ago and it still boggles me on a weekly basis.

Let’s look at local road races we consider hilly (ascent values unconfirmed):

distance ascent ratio

Red Hill Classic 36 km 590 m: 16 m/km

Two Ocean's 56 km 1000 m: 18 m/km

Kloof Nek Classic 21 km 560 m: 27 m/km

Ok some ultra trail examples:

Addo 160 km 3950 m: 25 m/km

Puffer 75 km 2375 m: 32 m/km

And now some shorter races:

Otter 42 km 2200 m: 52 m/km

Three Peaks 50 km 2700 m; 54 m/km

Garies Trail run 20 km 1200 m: 60 m/km

HBTC 35 km 2175 m: 62 m/km

So guess what I will be doing over the next few months. I need to get good at the ups and downs. Especially running the down hills and being able to run after hammering my legs on a steep down. For me this will be the crux. Running The Mast yesterday felt good and will become staple. Oh that is a decent 780m/21.5= 36.

UTMB prep 1

2010-04-07T11:08:00.001-07:00

This is the first (of several I am sure) journals about my prep for the Ultra trail du Mont Blanc in August. Phase one of my training was supposed to lead up to Two Oceans. Everything went really well except that I was ill for the whole of last week. As a result I did not run TO. In fact I just got frustrated. I still have not quite figured out what was wrong. Even the doc could not tell me really...

Anyway now phase two of my training starts. I will start doing more trail and many more hills. But more of that in the next couple of days. Tomorrow I start running again and then build it up.

This certainly is an interesting journey.

Otter Trail Run prep:

2010-03-30T03:30:00.000-07:00

I had an interesting conversation the other day about the Otter Trail Run so I thought it worthwhile to post some ideas and advice I would give those planning to take part in this premier event.

The Otter is one of the most memorable events that I did in 2009. I believe it is harder than HBTC (35 km), Rhodes Trail Run (52 km) and much harder than Baviaanskloof Trail Run (35km for 2009 route). These are the closest to the distance of the Otter. OK so now that I have scared most of you let’s get down to what is involved: There is over 2000m of ascent (and descent). This is broken down into short, very sharp ascents and fast, steep down hills. This quick switch between up and down takes a lot of fitness.

As the organisers website states you will probably take 70 to 100% LONGER than your normal marathon finishing time assuming that you are trail running fit. This seems pretty accurate from the very random sample I took of runners. So if you are in 3h marathon shape then you are looking at a finish time of around 6h.

Ok so how do you achieve this fitness in order to complete the Otter in under the 9h cut-off?

Remember this cut-off is tight and I would suggest you take your preparation seriously.

1) You need to learn how to run single track. 99% of the Otter is single track.

2) You need to learn to do steep climbs and descents: 2000m/40km means that for every km you climb (and loose) 50m so over 10km you need to climb and loose 500m in your training. Anything else is flat!

3) You will need to practice running with a pack. Personally I had quite a big debate around bottles vs bladder for the Otter. Bladder won and it will do again every time for this event.

4) You will have to swim for at least one river crossing. In other words your shoes will get wet. Use a good anti chafe product and the best socks you can find. BTW do not let the swim freak you. There are plenty of safety personnel who will look after you.

I found the Otter to be really hot and humid. You are running under a canopy of trees all the time. The race organisers require you to wear your race bib for the duration of the event. I chose not to wear a t-shirt under this as I was worried that I would overheat. I would do the same next time too.

I carried essential emergency items in two small Sea to Summit Ultra Sil Drysacks. A 1L and a 4L were sufficient- I think. I did not care if food etc got wet. On the subject of food: I was almost caught short on my standard rations. I found this run took quite a lot calories and I was very glad for all the goodies at the halfway refuel point. Cater accordingly!

I hope that I have not freaked anybody out too much. I recon it is better to be realistic about what is involved rather than hope for miracles on the day.

Above all enjoy the training and the run on the day! It is truly an unforgettable experience!

Hope this helps. Let me know either way.

Leave your comments below.

Hardcore!

2010-03-05T06:36:00.000-08:00

How do you spell hardcore? I hope this post inspires us all to get out this weekend- come rain, come shine or even a bit of South Easter ;)

The Iditarod is not only a sled race for mad dog owners. You can also do it on foot, or bike. The first bikers have just finished today. Oh and there are two distances: 350 and 1100 miles. Check it out and be inspired! Pretty cool picture of one of the bikes used on the left. I wonder if Lance is going to ride one of these next weekend?

This epic adventure makes my plans of doing the West Coast Marathon seem quite relaxed. hmm...

Black Diamond Sprint Headlamp early review

2010-03-04T05:43:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer: I personally believe the more light the better when running at night. It may be a boy thing to compare beam size but I don’t want to be left stumbling around in the dark – ever! More is almost always better in this case! I would also advise to buy the most powerful headlamp that you can afford.

So it was with a fair bit of sceptisism that I tested the Black Diamond “Urban Inspired” Sprinter. From a design perspective the Sprinter looks fantastic and rather futuristic compared to most headlamps or as Mel likes to call them: “doos liggies”. The Sprinter fells balanced on your head with the battery pack on the back. It also does not feel too heavy.

Features which set the Sprinter apart include flashing red backlight (which can be switched off if somebody is running behind you) and the main beam has a really nice seamless dimmer switch which I have not seen before. Basically hold the switch down and it quickly gets brighter, flashes briefly when at its max then dims to its dimmest setting (another quick flash). The biggest unique feature is that the battery is a rechargeable mobile phone style battery. It is more eco friendly in that you don’t have loads of disposable batteries. The problem is that with longer runs at night you are not able to exchange batteries and keep going. The other minus for me was that the beam has a diffuser lens in front of it but more of that below. The beam on the Sprinter is bright enough for most things. Certainly good enough for aspirant Comrades warriors needing to see and be seen for long training runs during the wee hours. Also perfectly adequate for many trail adventures where navigation or seriously technical terrain is not an issue. In fact my test model seems to claim its space quite nicely on the recharge console on my desk at work- right next to the Blackberry, I pod and Laptop! This is exactly the niche market I see the Sprinter doing really well in.

As far as the physical testing goes it is sometimes best to take an item to be tested way out of its comfort zone to find its real limitations and plus points. So off we were on a late night run up Devil’s Peak in pretty bad weather. Comfort, ease of use, light weight, nods from other runners all get a +. The big problem was that under the really bad conditions of our run. The diffuser did not give me enough shadows to make me feel steady enough on my feet. In more normal conditions at an average paced run it would probably have done ok.

In short:

+ Design and integration of elements like connector from battery to LED into the head strap.

+ The seamless dimmer is awesome.

+ I like the fact that the rechargeable battery is more environmentally friendly.

- Rechargeable battery. Cannot deal with all night runs. I have not tested the exact duration of the lamp to its limit but it was absolutely fine for a couple of hours.

- Diffuser on the beam does not give adequate shadow in adverse conditions.

Who should buy this: The runner (and cyclist) who wants to be visible on the road and do moderate trail runs lasting a couple of hours.

This City Works for you!

2010-02-24T01:51:00.000-08:00

Most local Cape Tonians have been driving past the construction on Hospital Bend for months now. I stumble upon this link and detailed plans for what the traffic lanes are going to look like for both Inbound Traffic and Outbound Traffic. It looks absolutely amazing and I am sure that this will make morning and evening rush hour much less stressfull. Check it out!

Happy Weekend Y'All

2010-02-19T06:01:00.000-08:00

As some of you may know I got my entry accepted for the UTMB for August this year. Pretty big in my books: 166km and 9400m of ascent and descent. Cut off is 46h. Single Stage. This is billed as one of the big international events around and certainly one of the hardest in Europe. We will have to see how I survive this little adventure.

I have been making lists and more lists of stuff to do, Spreadsheets with cut off times and splits to get my head around what is involved to complete this. It is all quite overwhelming and exciting at the same time.

Up to now I have just been doing base training. Trying to build a good milage foundation at a low HR and to build aerobic endurance and not do anything too hectic. As a result I have not been racing anything hard which has been quite fun- just running along at conversational pace.

By my reckoning I will need to focus on loads of running and waling at low intensity. And with a pretty heavy pack also!

Oh and Google Translate has become my friend!

So off to the Peninsula Marathon (Training Run of course!!) for this Sunday. I will do my best to bring a parachute for the predicted South Easter!

Have a great, inspired running weekend Y’All.

Fashion faux pas that make men 'undateable'

2010-02-14T23:44:00.000-08:00

Ok so here is something off the trail running topic but funny enough to share on this happy Monday. Yeah yeah it is post Valintines etc but here goes anyway. Ellen Rakieten and Anne Coyle are launching their book with the following title "Undateable: 311 Things Guys Do That Guarantee They Won't Be Dating or Having Sex" . Anyway here is the link to the LA times article on the book. Just a good laugh!

"Coyle, who is divorced, explains the reasoning behind "undateable" behavior with a story from her own recent dating life. "My friends set me up with this guy who came very highly recommended. We had fun together, we had the same political views. Everything was perfect, except he had this gross soul patch beneath his lower lip. I just couldn't do it. ... My friends said, 'Well, maybe he can shave it off,' and my response was, 'Yes, but he can't shave off the part of his brain that thought growing it was a good idea.' That's the real problem.""

""It's usually indicative of a much larger problem. … You rarely find a scintillating, fascinating, brilliant sexy person wearing Crocs.""

More on Adventure

2010-02-14T06:35:00.000-08:00

After my tounge in cheek last post I thought it best to post some links to SA adventurers out there. Obviously Riaan Manser and here is inspirational in what he does. Just goes out there for a long walk (bike ride or paddle in his case) and tells us about it when it's in the bag. David Grier with Braam Malherbe ran the GReat Wall of China. His book Courage and Rice is fantastic. It is inspirational in its pictures and the challenges they endured to complete this epic trip.

On another note Peter van Kets is rowing solo accross the Atlantic in the WoodvaleAtlantic Rowing Race. An interesting Blog by Lia Ditton gives us mere mortals some insight into what it takes.

And here we sit on our butts and drink another beer.
What inspires you?

Real Adventure

2010-02-04T22:56:00.000-08:00

There are very few adventures and adventurers that make an impression.
Ernest Shackelton stands out. Then there is the Australian Jon Muir who walked 2500 km across Australia- unsuported! I was lucky enough to see his movie Alone Across Australia - a story about a man who takes his dog for a walk... If you ever get a chance to see it or even better own the movie do so. It is truly inspirational! Check out this interview about another trek he did. This one only 1600 km or so! Then there is this blog of local South African Kyle who is walking around South Africa.

What do they have in common? They quietly went about their adventure, doing it for themselves. Not like the modern Faceblogging, I'm so hard core, look at me posers with massive sponsorship deals and wannabe attitudes.

Clearly this has been bugging me for a while and I have not come up with a coherent rant on what true adventure is. In my mind it needs to be something that inspires and not just clogs our inbox with drivvel.

I would love to hear your ideas!

Oh and then there is this dude called Mike Horn who has done some stuff.... ;)

Barefooting

2010-01-22T06:39:00.000-08:00

I came across this interesting 2 part blog by Joe Friel (part 1, part 2) the other day. This is one of the better perspectives I have read on barefoot running.

Barefoot running or minimalist running (Vibram Five Fingers etc) seems to be all the rage lately. I am not sure if this is the cure for all but as Joe says the aim should be for us all to run in the least supportive shoe that we can. Not necessarily that we all run with no support at all.

Barefoot drills are really fun and I am incorporating them into my weekly training. Just avoid the dubbletjies!

Would love to hear your ideas and who of you run barefoot, why, when etc.

Jonkershoek Marathon recce

2009-12-29T09:14:00.000-08:00

So with the long days and holiday freedom we ventured out on two seperate occasions to rece the route.
1)Yellow (Botmaskop to Piekke): pretty straightforward. We had to escape down Langriviernek due to us getting lost on top in the mist.
2) Red: (Bergriviernek to Stellenboschberg) lots of walking on loose slopes. My right leg defininitely feels longer than the left.
The bit to connect the top of Langriviernek and Bergriviernek is def the crux. Technically it is tricky and quite complicated. That will be next on the agenda so that we can refresh our minds.
I must admit that putting it all together in 9h or so is quite bogeling at this stage. We will get stronger and we will see.

Pic on left is Roger on the red route, looking back towards Bergriviernek.

Oh and if you are still confused the Jonkershoek Marathon is a horseshoe traverse around the Jonkershoek valley. You start on Botmaskop and finish on Stellenboschberg basically following the skyline and most of the highest peaks in the valley. The total distance is probably 30 to 35km from peak to peak. However total distance covered on foot will be more like the standard 42.2 so don't feel short changed by this one! Oh and a PB is highly unlikely on this one ;)

Thanks to Roger and Andrew who have been fantastic companions!

Hope you are all having a fantastic break!

"New" CAPESTORM A3 shorts review

2009-12-19T05:10:00.000-08:00

The first time I wore A3 shorts (the blue and Orange ones) I wondered what Andy Baxter was on about! Aid Climbing in these babies- no way! (see below) I must admit that I started climbing in the 80’s and did at one point own a pair of tights so the A3 colourway was not the issue. I stuck out like a sore thumb amoung my climbing pals who were all dressed in cotton khaki shorts. Anyway my A3's stayed in the back of my cupboard for a very long time! But that was before I started trail running.

Now I own 8 pairs of A3’s in various vintages and colour combinations. My favourite being the all black version (yes us runners are conservative if you have not noticed). So when I got a call that a pair of updated A3’s were waiting for me to test out I was psyched! It did not take long for me to choose the monotone blue ones (to go with my Acsis VOB vest you know).

The Fit:

The size is the same as the previous style. Waist and leg length are exactly the same! I had to measure this because the new ones do feel roomier somehow. They still ride relatively high (around the narrowest part of your waist). I like to wear my running shorts slightly lower. (As a result I get no support from the inner. For runs lasting longer than an hour I will wear Falke briefs- yes they do look dorky but I have not found anything that supports nearly the same.)

The inner comes up higher on the inside. I assume CAPESTORM did this to avoid chafing although I must admit I have not heard of anybody who had that problem.

Materials and reflectivity:

CAPESTORM still uses their trusted VO2Max Breathable material. Lightweight, breathable, dries quickly.
Instead of having the four little sewn in reflective tabs on the front the boys and girls at the lab have printed reflective logos etc on the front and back(!) of the shorts. Nice improvement!

Features:

This is where the New A3’s are radically different!

Two zip pockets- enough space to keep gels, Helium jackets and empty water sachets. My one concern here is that the pullers on these zips will disappear making opening the pockets a real pain.

Key Pocket in the back- What was wrong with the little key pocket on the inside of previous models? Having said that I like this new pocket for road runs and shorter events where I am not wearing a bum bag or hydration pack. I am afraid I just don’t trust that little zip and zipper not chafing me in that scenario. For those events I will fall back on one of my older pairs. Good thing they last forever!

Summary:

+ two front zip pockets
+ reflective material on front and back
+-rear key pocket (I really like this feature but am not sure it is chafe proof)
-zip pullers on front pockets

So would I buy the new A3's over the old one's? If I was buying a new pair of active wear shorts, yes certainly but I would try to find another solution for longer runs where I am wearing a pack or bum bag.
Oh A3 has nothing to do with Aid climbing it stands for Active/Aeobic/Aquatic!

Gear Choices for the Skyrun 2009:

2009-12-18T06:12:00.000-08:00

Essential Gear used:

Merino Wool Buff: Rapidly becoming my favourite cold weather headwear option. I only ended up wearing this when the pace slowed down or when we stopped at Breslins. Will def be in the pack for emergencies.

Julbo Instinct Zebra: I have used these for a really long time and they do not scratch or break. The most hardcore sunnies I have ever owned.

Montrail Running Cap: I love this cap however it did not provide adequate cover (especially for the back of my neck). I will look at other options for this summer and for events which go on into the mid day sun.

CAPESTORM Running T and A3 shorts: These are faithful companions. We had to wear a race bib over the top of this with our race no’s and sponsors logo on them. This made it quite hot. At the Otter I decided to not wear my normal T shirt underneath in order to keep as cool as possible. Due to being exposed to more UV for the whole day I erred on the side of caution here.

Mountain Hardwear Fluid 18: Sample Pack about to be launched in early 2010. It is a bit heavier than other packs but I find it super comfortable due to the frame sheet in it. Has plenty of compartments and pockets to store all the essentials.

Mountain Hardwear Epic Jacket: Lightweight (413g) and no frills. I wore this once on top of the Bridal path when dark. I thought that it would not be breathable enough to deal with fast walking but it worked perfectly.

Helly Hansen Base layer. There is no other base layer which wicks as well as this. It is also surprisingly cool in hot weather. A favourite. (If conditions were cooler I would take a second base layer. This is ligther, warmer and more versatile than a thin fleece. Conditions were very warm so I decided not to take this.)

Sunscrean and UV lipbalm: Absolute must. I got burnt despite reapplying frequently.

Bodyglide Sun Formula: anti chafe for feet, thighs, underarms. Works great. I only got blisters on my feet where I did not apply before the event.

Garmin Fortrex 401: Only user replaceable battery operated running unit. On long events like this you will need it most when it is dark, you are tired and you have been running for 15+ hours. No other unit would work here. (The battery life on all these units is rather optimistic especially if you are using the navigation functionality.)

Black Diamond Headlamp: Buy the best you can afford. The brighter the beam the more time you save in tricky situations.

Unusual:

Gardening Gloves: A tip from fellow runners. I found mine to be super sweaty so I ended up taking them off continuously between fence crossings. I would definitely take these again. Possibly consider cycling gloves. Either way you want to cover your hands against the nasty rusty barbs.

Gear not used but essential:

First Aid Kit:

• 4 Myprodol (My thoughts are that you can pop a couple of those and either suck it up and walk out of there, or you need a copper anyway.)

• Loo paper (loose and in a zip lock bag)

• A pair of Surgical Gloves. Just in case of real blood.

• Space blanket

• Selection of Plasters

• Whistle

• Super glue. In case you really get cut badly. That is the theory anyway. Not sure if I would be brave enough to glue my leg together. It only weighs about 2 g.

Compass: Would def pack a med sized compass if conditions were threatening. I have a GPS with built in compass so this would just be a backup.

GPS with last year’s route programme in or at very least coordinates for check points. In future this will help to choose a reasonable route. And yes there are improvements to be made on the route I took. There will be improvements in the future...

For Transition:

Spare socks: The only time I really got my socks (and shoes) completely wet was a few hundred meters before Balloch. I did not want to change shoes here but changing socks only was good enough to keep my feet relatively comfortable. Having said this I did get some blisters on my heels (the wet definitely contributed to this). I also did not wear the ideal socks for the second half.

CAPESTORM Motion tights: some warmth for the legs. Not used.

Black garbage bin bag : Just in case we need to sit down in bad conditions. This in combination with my waterproof and space blanket will give more shelter from wind and worse. Weighs nothing. Also helps waterproof warm layers in case of inclement weather.

As a result I did not get a chance to test and become familiar with my Garmin. I am playing with it now and will work it out for myself before next year’s event. I am psyched to use this great gadget going forward.

Nutrition and Hydration:

Pre Race Nutrition: Peanut Butter Sarmie. I had to force this down way early in the morning. It just sat in my stomach for a few hours.

Race Nutrition and Hydration: First 4 hours I used some Hammer Perpetuem. I could only stomach the taste for that long. In fact even that was a push. Then came the Mule Bars. I carried much more than I needed here (12 hours worth on both legs- I would do the same in future). Altitude definitely played a part in suppressing appetite. I planned on 1 every hour (split into two halves every 30 min). I love the variety of tastes and hence do not get bored and actually look forward to the next bite.

Cashew nuts mixed with jelly babies and speckled eggs. Really great trail mix. Salty and sweet together just cleans the palate. I snacked on a ziplock of this coming down towards Balloch as my appetite returned with the lower altitude.

Camelbak 3l bladder: I filled this to 2,5L at each refill and dropped two Zym Lime tabs into it. I also carried 600ml water/Zym Catapult mixture in a water bottle. I still feel this really kicks. As a result I sipped the Catapult while drinking from my bladder in order not to get too much of a spike and drop afterward. I had a spare bottle once I had finished my Perpetuem just in case filling up at streams was going to be an issue. In future I would seriously consider carrying a straw if conditions were looking dry. 2L bladder size is the minimum volume that I would go with here. I ended up drinking about 10l of this mixture throughout the event. This was about right.

Skyrun another report- The Gripmaster.com

2009-12-15T00:56:00.000-08:00

Gripmaster Trails posted this cool report on the Skyrun. Ok it is in German but that is what Google Translate is for! Pretty cool site.
Enjoy

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall- book review

2009-12-03T01:03:00.000-08:00

I have just read Born to Run for the second time and can only recommend it. Christopher McDougall weaves running legends like Scott Jurek, Tarahumara running super heroes (who run ultra marathons on a daily basis and even hunt deer by running them down until they collapse- the deer that is) and life philosophy into a fantastic story about the thing we do.

This gem of a book will at very least challenge what you have always believed to be the consumerist truth about who we are. We are born to run. And to run free. Free of all the clutter, free of all the commercialism, free from rules, free from pronation control, free from playlists, free from treadmills, just free.

Meet Caballo Blanco and a band of like minded ultra runners who take us on a trail run of a life time with the first Copper Canyon Ultra.

There are several quotable quotes throughout which should liven up even the most tiresome end of year party smalltalk:
“Ann insisted, running was romantic; and no, of course her friends didn’t get it because they’d never broken through. For them, running was a miserable two miles motivated solely by size 6 jeans: get on the scale, get depressed, get your headphones on and get it over with. But you can’t muscle through a five hour run that way; you have to relax into it, like easing your body into a hot bath, until it no longer resists the shock and begins to enjoy it.”

I can recommend Born to Run to all who run regularly (for inspiration), for all who have dabbled in running (to show there is hope that you too deserve to run pain free) and for those that have thought of trying running for whatever reason (for you are born to run).

No really!

Skyrun 2009: Trail Running Dream - Running in the Sky

2009-12-01T05:50:00.000-08:00

Early morning start in the remote mountain village of Lady Grey. John Michael Tawse who started the Skyrun many years ago sets us of by blowing the starters horn. Dashing off by headlamp up the first slope single track into the outback. This promises to be a long day of adventure in the high hills. Darkness punctured by a moving train of headlights snakes its way up and around a nearby kopie to the Microwave tower visible from town CP1.

My heartrate is too high to maintain this pace for the rest of the race but I hang on for now. Navigation is the crux of the Skyrun and I am running with two friends Roger Steel and Andre Erasmus who know the route better than most. Soon we find ourselves at an altitude of 2400m. There is little air up here and the added challenge of crossing several rickety border fences adds up. Andre sets a furious pace running everything possible (putting time in the bag he says). We pass the Olympus (CP2) and push on. I only have very vague plans of making it to Snowdon (CP3) in 5h and then to Balloch in 10h and see from there. Reports from the front tell us that Ian Don-Wauchope and Bruce Arnett are running together and building a massive lead.

There are so many rock ridges and kopies which flick past us like the scenery out of a Blue Train window. We head down a long slope towards a kraal and CP3 4h45. All is good and we seem to be on track. We are running in an informal group of 6 or so. This is quite unusual for the races that I have done up until now. Adrian Saffy was correct at the race briefing in saying that all need to do their apprenticeship in this event. It is unlikely that you will get completely lost if one just keeps your head. The trick is that there are so many little sneaks which all add up to make things more efficient and much quicker. Hence runners naturally stick together to assist each other. Besides these hills are big and very remote. If things go pear here then you are a long way from shelter. This is not a road race where you count down the kays towards the end. You go out to test yourself in the remote hills with a group of like minded adventurers. This is more about working together than trying to burn others off. This event is about giving to others through sharing rather than taking away from fellow competitors. I can’t really claim to know anything about Ubuntu but I suspect that the Skyrun epitomises that spirit more than most.

We fill up Camelbaks at a beautiful stream. 2,5l liquid in 5h is not too bad. I drop some Zyms in the bladder and munch on some bars. We all encourage each other to eat regularly. In fact it becomes a standing joke every half hour. The rustle of a wrapper becomes a reminder to all!

Roger finds some more sneaks and finally we start to descend towards Balloch. As soon as we descend appetite catches up and we eat for we all see what is ahead: Ascent no 2 for the day: Balloch Wall 700m of vertical gain (Basically a grassy Platteklip Gorge sans path). We are down to a group of three by the time we go for our stash at the Balloch.

It takes us two rests up the wall to get up and over. Not bad. The descent is even steeper and we look up into the Edgehill valley and to climb no 3: up to the Bridal path. Andre pushes the pace again and we run the flats and downs (of which there are not many) and walk the ups.

Bladder refill at the end of the road. This will be the last of the water to the end so saddle up and ride em hard! We have a short snack by the river and start to ascend.

I fall off the back but kindly Andre and Roger wait for me to catch my breath. I feel better when we pass Nic De Beer as we crest onto the top. We greet him as he sits down. No response, just a blank stare. I urge the others to push on into last light. Now is not the time to admire the view. Half an hour later it is dark and we put on warm layers and headlamps. Breslins (CP 8) is a weak little light in the distance. It turns out that to be a beacon of friendliness and comfort in the dark. We sit down in deck chairs, drink tea, eat biscuits and rusks. It is hard to tear ourselves away but on we battle.

Conversation becomes less and less as we each sink into our own world dealing as best we each can with the task ahead. I look at my GPS for a sign of hope. Ben McDhui seems miles away and we only have 85m of ascent up to the highest peak in the Cape. False rises and hidden valleys test us in the cold.

Finally we reach the summit, touch the beacon and turn around.

25 min later I sit in the pub. I feel yanked out of my bubble of the past day. Our time is irrelevant, positions even less so. Content to have experienced this together.

I will put together my gear choices in the next couple of days. This may help you if you want to do Skyrun in future.

Landmarks 21.1

2009-11-17T10:34:00.001-08:00

"Every morning in Africa a Gazelle wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. In Africa it doesn't matter whether you're a lion or a gazelle- when the sun comes up you better be running." Roger Bannister paraphrased from Born to Run by Christopher McDougall.

When the gun went off on Sunday I just wanted to go out at a reasonable pace and keep my cadence high and stride optimal. I felt ok and ended up running at a fair pace up Rhodes Mem. Nothing too hectic. Then the cheering crowds and fellow club members on the way down. The sharp right turn along towards Newlands Forest. Then suddenly silence. I could not hear the footfall of the runner in front of me. I could not hear my breath or my heartbeat. Nothing. And yes I was still alive. I had hit the zone so hard it jolted me awake. I kicked into overdrive and just ran, flying more like it, hardly touching the ground. Just fantastic.

The fealing only lasted about 4km and it was still a few kms to the end. I had to work rather hard to maintain from here on out but I did not really care what happened.

Death Penalty

2009-11-13T11:30:00.000-08:00

The horror of the Maryland Sniper John Allen Mohammad hit the front pages in 2002 when I was doing a round the world climbing trip. Now seven years later he is executed in another horror show. I just can not believe that the Death Penalty is still alive and kicking and that sane people believe that retribution will make things better.

yahoo.com posted this article. pre his execution.
NYDailynews describes how a family member was happy to watch John die.

Quite boggeling and a very sad indication of what we accept as civilized society in our present time.
I am very sad far all involved.

A weekend of peaks

2009-11-09T21:45:00.000-08:00

Well done to all who ran and battled the cool temps on Three Peaks.
Nice running from Andrew Hagen, Jayde Buttler and Roger Steel who took the podium positions.

I hope Dom Wills recovers quickly from that very sore looking knee.

For me it was a great weekend of training. The final big weekend before running in the Sky. Landmarks this coming weekend and then a the taper for the big one of the year.

Really looking forward to it and feeling strong.

What is next?

2009-10-29T12:05:00.000-07:00

I have had a fantastic season this year doing a whole host of new events and doing a couple of good weeks of training. I have done the Namaqualand 20km, Baviaanskloof, Otter Trail and Amatola which have all been new. On top of that I ran the Hout Bay Triple Trouble and Montrail – CAPESTORM Winter Trail Series. I have kinda been busy.

I do need to focus on some good solid of weeks running in the hills for SkyRun end Nov. That will be fun I am sure but certainly quite a challenge. I am feeling pretty confident and strong now that my alignment issue seems to be coming right. I have struggled with this for well over a year and have seen various practitioners on this. Roger suggested the Lyno Method of Benita De Witt. I did the bunkies and really struggled. So I made an appointment with Andrew. He has prodded, massaged, stuck needles in me and delivered a whole bunch of pain however I am rather glad that I think it is paying off. I am not 100% but I feel better than ever before. The niggle in my right knee is not there ALL THE TIME. Check out the bunkies and see how you fair! Let me know. I found them rather hard to do. In fact quite hard to do PROPERLY.

Amputee Wins Heartland 100

2009-10-22T13:47:00.000-07:00

"Cassoday, Kansas, October 11. Amy Palmiero-Winters, a below-the-knee amputee, was the women's winner at the 10th Annual Heartland "Spirit of the Prairie" 100 Mile Endurance Run. Palmiero-Winters, a 37-year-old mother of two, posted the second fastest time in race history and became the first woman amputee to finish a 100-mile run. Running on a customized running prosthesis specifically designed by A Step Ahead Prosthetics in Hicksville, N.Y. to handle the demands of trail running, she finished 23 minutes ahead of runner-up Susan Lance of Whitesburg, Georgia.
Jess McNeely edged fellow Wichitan Scott Hill for the overall victory. The Heartland course is out and back on rolling dirt roads with a total of 6000 feet of elevation gain. Of the 61 starters, 41 finished within the 30-hour time limit."

See more at ultraRUNNING

Will be interesting to see what Lisa de Speville (sorry can't find the link to the Oscar post on her blog), Ross Tucker and the likes have to say about this one. they were quite open about Oscar Pistorious.

Amatola- some thoughts

2009-10-22T13:27:00.000-07:00

The race briefing only really made sense to those who knew the route already. I had no idea what friendly Dave was talking about. Then suddenly we were jogging along the banks of the dam, then into the forest.

Almost as suddenly I was alone. This was the way that I would spend most of the event, running/walking at my own pace. A group did catch me at the first climb. Good thing too as we negotiated a detour. The idea was to avoid some wild bees. In the end we all seemed to disturb them. I got stung on my leg. It was everybody for themselves as the bees got real pissed with the disturbance.

A short time later we reached the first hut. A woman who’s name I did not know was sitting one side, head down. “How’s it going?” “Fine” she replied. I had seen this before and moved on down the trail. It was not my place to change her mind.

On and on up onto the plateau, more forests. Then came the wrong turn for me. I knew it was wrong as I took it but followed the yellow footprints anyway not wanting to believe it until it was too late. To make up for my sins I got lost for ½ h really close to the hut. My map reading skills were obviously not as good as I had hoped.

An event can always be judged on whether they serve tea at the finish and if there are hot showers. Two thumbs up here.

Day two started just before first light and we jogged a short distance until everybody walked up the first of three major hills for the day.

More and more forests until we got to the second last hut. Then suddenly 3 poachers with about 15 dogs were around me. They were harmless “looking for their cattle”. I smiled and went my own way. “Sorry I don’t have sweets, and no peanuts”. Then up onto the tops again and a long traverse.

The problem with romantic places is that it is such bloody hard work to get there, you are normally alone (or worse still your companion is not your romantic interest), you smell, are tired and do not feel like sex. Anyway I sucked in the view, had a Pinacolada (bar that is) and headed down towards the meadows where the 35 km route joins ours. Soo pretty.

Then back into forest and a steep climb, more and more up out of the forest and over the Hog. Past rock routes I have only heard of. The obvious lines unclimbed!!! A long descent and then the obligatory final uphill towards the finish.

A brilliant event, highly recommended. Don’t come here for trophies, medals or water tables every 3 km. But come for everything else.

Welcome Mule Bar and Zym!

2009-09-30T09:42:00.000-07:00

I am super pleased to have Mule Bar and Zym on board as sponsors from a couple of days ago. Psyched to try out the new bars at the Tripple Trouble this weekend.

Gear Choices 1 (Hydration):

2009-09-30T09:25:00.000-07:00

Here I want to deal with a debate which comes up before every event or longer run I do. I am only referring to the Otter Trail Run here as a specific example which raised very interesting twists to the thinking.The big question which I discussed with a few runners (Deon “Go-Multi” Braun and Tatum Loftus) prior to running the Otter is: How do we deal with hydration on this run?

Large bladder or smaller bottles?

Bladder: Can load up to 2 or 3l at a time. The weight is a def negative. Either a pack or bum bag could be options.
Bottles: Suggested by the organisers as preferable. Major weight saving while running. The big negative is that we would need to fill up regularly. There was one water point advertised at half way and several others of questionable quality along the way. My personal preference here would be the Nathan Elite 2V Plus. Perfect storage space for the majority of runs with stages up to 2h between refuel points.

So do you run heavy (with enough water to get you to 20km and then refill) or do you run light (refill more frequently and deal with purification issues along the way)?
You can only really answer this question after you consider your water source from which you will refill en route.

I normally advocate running light. This is more natural, far more enjoyable and lets you run faster (thus needing less hydration). Normally I have no problem with drinking from streams but with several informal settlements upstream from our run I was not keen to drink untreated water on this occasion. Here is the crux: How do you treat water in a hurry and potentially fairly often?

Chemicals are the obvious choice. Chemicals are just not ideal in my opinion as they do not offer protection against Giardia and Cryptosporidia (the main pathogens which are likely to give problems). I did consider Aqua Salveo which provides protection against several pathogens but not Giardia and Cryptosporidium.
Filters or a Steripen seem heavy to carry during a race. However if you weigh them up against the extra water then you come about even if not a bit lighter. Then we have the time required of purifying water. Here we have to guess... less water with more frequent refills (lighter weight and having to stop every 1 to 1,5h to purify). I know that once racing I would be very disinclined to stop and deal with a purifier or filter of any kind. Besides I would not have anywhere to put it in my super light bum bag set up.

I did come across a cool looking filter called Life Straw. Basically you drink through this straw which filters as you drink. Sounds good on paper but in reality you then have to drink at each stream and only drink from carried bottles between streams.

I intended using Otter as part of my build up run for the Amatola and Skyrun later this year so I thought it would be a good place to run with a pack. This ultimately swung it for me. I filled my bladder with 1,5l of water, threw 2 Zym in and set off. I refilled with the same at halfway. I must admit that the biggest drawback for me was that running with a bag felt significantly warmer than with a bum bag! However I drank way more than I thought I would (may be due to the warm temps or relatively high humidity) and I am not really so keen to deal with gut issues so all of those clinched the deal for me on this one.

What I did notice is that quite a few runners had both a bum bag/bottle set up and pack! What is going on here?

What are your ideas, thoughts, comments?

Pic copyright Jacques Marais Media

trail running clubs cape town

2009-09-25T06:34:00.000-07:00

Running in the forest alone is scary.
There are several options for running on trails with others in Cape Town. I am not sure what is happening upcountry but things must be moving along similar lines. Here is a short background to each so that you can narrow it down for yourself.

CRAG (Cape Runners Against Gravity) is the oldest and only dedicated trail running group in Cape Town. They do a group run every Wed night in Cape Town and have just recently started a chapter in the Somerset West area. It is a very inclusive group run in that they wait for everybody to catch up and then carry on. There is a walking group which caters for those recovering from injury. A weekly newsletter with information on weekly runs and other events is sent out to the mailing list. Runs start from a different venue each week. There are occasional weekend outings. Definitely for those just getting into trail while there are also some speedsters who attend. Mail to subscribe (crag-subscribe@yahoogroups.com).

Tim Bellairs from VOB running club organises the trail runs for them. He sends out a few mails a week. They run on Saturday mornings and have started a Wed night run. I have not run with them on Wed night yet but they will almost definitely be faster than CRAG. Check out VOB trail runners.

Patrick Cox from Celtics running club organises a Thursday run (mostly in summer). They have three different groups for different abilities and speeds. Visit Celtics on the web or mail Patrick to be added to his list.

I would say that the most challenging option is the fast group on Thursdays. I don’t know about the VOB Wednesday group but suspect that they are slightly slower. The CRAG group is very sociable.
All the above groups are very friendly and are happy to include everybody.

Douglas Rossouw of Fish Hoek coordinates their trail runs. Mainly Sunday mornings and some events. Mail douglasr@iafrica.com or phone 082 418 5945 for their gatherings in the deep south.

Hope this helps you all.
Please let me know of any other groups and I will put up links

Inaugural Otter Trail Run

2009-09-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

Relentless forward motion is all I could manage. One step at a time. Lift left leg, put down, lift right leg, put down..... My HR was at 184 and I was hardly moving forward! There was just nothing left. I smashed back some food from the amazing goody bag at half way and just continued to walk.
This race started as a dream several years ago when I hiked the Otter Trail over the normal 5 days. Our bags were light but we were still slow. Even slower than now. Back then I had just started trail running and contemplated the almost perfect 42km. I had not run a marathon but I knew I would sooner or later. Hmm...
The idea sat in the back of my head. I heard rumours about friends doing it in a day. Then I heard more about the Retto... Then suddenly I was offered a spot on the first official Otter Trail Run. I replied by email. Yes I am in!
A quick call to Dion Middlekoop who was also running and I had a lift organised.
6h up the East Coast we arrived at Race HQ to be greeted by Magnetic South’s friendly staff. We were just in time to do the prologue 3.8 km beach / trail run. This was all so that we could be seeded to set off in batches of 4 at 20 second intervals on the single track 42km time trail Otter Trail Run. The problem with this kind of format is that you have no idea how anybody else is doing. (think Lance Armstrong on the time trial day one of this year’s tour). You just got to put your head down, keep your cadence high and hope you don’t blow...
Both Dion and I started in group 4 less than a minute behind the leaders of Ian ......., John Collins, Nick Bester and Rohan Kennedy. Our friend William van Dugteren was just a little way ahead.
Suddenly we were off and Dion disappeared into the distance. “Keep the beers cold” I shouted. Sue.... set a fast pace. I caught up to William after a few minutes and we passed Ngubu hut at 4.8 km in 31min. William was pushing the hills and I did not want to run quite so hard but found that i was fast enough on the downs for him not to pull away. The air was cool enough despite being fairly humid and legs felt good. I was testing a sample of the new Mountain Hardwear Fluid 18 pack (to be released early next year) with bladder filled with 1,5l of Zym mixture. I had two spare Zyms in my pack for a refuel at halfway. I used Perpetuem in a Nathan bottle and a variety of bars as nutrition. All my clothes and extras were in Sea to Summit dry bags for the river crossings. I will give a better breakdown of my gear choices in the next couple of days.
Nutrition was going well and I was drinking a lot. I had decided to only wear the race bib and no T shirt underneath because I got far too hot on the prologue.
1h06 to Scott hut at another 7,9 km. All was going well despite the many hills. The hills are relentless. They are not very long but when you do go up you are virtually climbing a staircase. The down’s are very runnable. It is 95% single track. The rest is a mix of pebble beach, rocky beach and two interesting river crossings.
1h04 to Oakhurst and the half way feeding station. 2h53 or so: we were on track for a 5h45 or so. I was blown away by the food at the feeding station. (Good thing it was all there as I already had thoughts of rations. I could not believe that I was eating so much- how could I get this wrong? - I never have before) The muffin got smashed back in seconds. The rest went into my pack. At some point I lost touch of William who I thought was in front of me.
Somewhere along the way our shoes got soaked the first time when we crossed the Lottering River but this was only ankle deep. Then on to the mighty Bloukraans after 1h26. We were warned of the hectic swim and Mel gave me open water swimming instructions. I tried my best to brush off any nervousness. Jacque Marais was in the water snapping pics of the swimmers. I was lucky to be able to wade across with the water up to my chest!
Scramble out onto the rocks on the other side and carefully make my way across beaches and rock ledges onto the path. 4km and another 41 min onto Andre hut.
Only 7,6 km to go. If I really pushed it I could possibly go under 6h but then the survival instinct took over and I was blown. I could only manage the bare minimum. Walk all the ups and do my best to jog the flats or downs. Somewhere in this haze I caught Dion. He was more blown than me and could not hang on to my horribly slow pace. 1h19 later I was staring at the finish, running across pallets as they sank into the water across the stream. The cheering and shouting was fantastic but my legs had nothing left. I flopped into the water and swam to the shore. Not exactly a sprint finish but at least I had done it! The timing chip beeped for the last time that day at 6h09. Not exactly the best performance but the best I could manage on the day given that I had raced the week before at Baviaanskloof.

Food and drink was what I needed and loads of it. The service and vibe at the end were quite something else. We sat around and chatted for hours comparing war stories and generally hanging out. Much later was the prize giving and a massive dinner.
Then after breakfast the next morning we headed home while the Southern Stormers went onto day 2!!!
All in all this is one of the most professionally organised events I have done. Everything was well thought out and planned. My hat goes off to the Collins’s and their crew. Not only did they look after us at the start and finish but also had 50 super friendly staff on route. The accommodation was great and they even had an EIA done. My hat goes off to the Magnetic South team their sponsors and National Parks for making this event possible!
Now I just need to find a rich aunt who will sponsor my entry for next year.