KNYSNA HALF MARATHON 12 JULY 2008 RON PASK & PETER GIDDY.

Knysna half marathon 2008.

After our failure to take part in the 2 oceans marathon earlier this year, my daughter, Nicci and I decided to enter the Knysna half. I put in our entries on the day that entries opened as I am aware of how quickly this event fills up.
While I did not do any really specific training for the event, I did try to include a few runs of over 10kays on Saturday mornings. Nicci had told me that due to injury and other factors she would not be able to run with me. Barbara suggested that I ask my old running partner Ron to join me. I have not run with Ron for a number of years and did not know if he was training but phoned him anyway and he immediately agreed to accompany me.

We met on Friday afternoon at his friend Peter, Almarie and Grace. We then picked up his stuff in Summerstrand and after a quick stop at home to say goodbye to Barbara we headed off to Knysna. There are currently two sets of construction on this road. The first at Gamtoos we bypassed and then the one at Storms River held us up for quite a while. We had both taken Friday afternoon off but with cell phones we remained busy for most of the drive. We were really in a relaxed mode and had an easy drive through Plett and on to Knysna.

Once at Loerie Park we registered and were once again impressed by the level of organisation which improves every year. Registration was slick and made even more enjoyable by the cold effect of a Mitchell’s Draft. We met up with Billy, Diane and son Brad. Allan Taylor told us how he manages to remain fit by joining the younger group in training. Tracey and Leah Brink joined us for a short while. Tracey had the 42kay in mind for the next morning.

We were staying with my mother in Plett. She had prepared us a butternut soup and potato bake for supper with apple fritters for desert. I had brought five bags of Seville Oranges from my friends, Charles and Bianca Wooley who farm Citrus in Kirkwood. Ena likes to make marmalade. Seville oranges have a particularly sour taste if eaten and the fruit has the required texture for marmalade. Every year my mother, who celebrated her 92nd birthday in June, tells me that this will be her last year that she will be able to make Marmalade.

Saturday morning after a coffee and rusk; at about 06.30am Ron & I headed back to Knysna. We found ourselves a convenient parking and shouldering our tog bags followed the line of people who were waiting for a taxi ride to the start of the event. By now the 42kay event would have started. I met up with Arlene Wulfsohn and her group of friends. We had timed it to perfection and were almost the last in line. Justice was out taxi driver. It was his 5th trip and he would be paid R100 per trip. IN the taxi we chatted to Quinton and his son Mark. Quinton is an ex Jhb person who left the city after a shooting incident and now runs a golf course in Knysna while his wife runs a clothing shop (Pringles) in Plett. This would be Marks first 21kay. His dad is a seasoned runner and triathlete.

Once at the start, Ron and I strolled down to the tog bag truck where we off loaded our warm clothing. Pat and Gerald Scheepers were huddling together for warmth. They had been there for some time and looking forward to getting going. Rob Ermes and his pal were on Mountain Bikes and would be cycling the 42kay route. A lovely lady called Lillian poured us a coffee after which we headed to the mass start of this event. I was amazed to see the number of people who were happily throwing away clothing and blankets. The last time I had witnessed this kind of behaviour was at 05.30am in Pietermaritzburg where people had been waiting for the start of a down run at Comrades. But there were never blankets before. I am sure that a number of local people benefited from this generosity.

There was the equivalent of our ET giving instructions and making meaningless remarks with the backing of very loud music. Finally he counted down to 08.00am and off we went. The truth is that we continued to stand still. Ron and I were in the very back row of the waiting athletes and it took us well over 8 minutes to cross the start line. The road is narrow and there are masses of people there. The 21kay starts on a gradual uphill for about 2kays and then we turned right into the forest. At this stage your pace is very much dictated by the level of fitness of those ahead of you.

We settled down to a steady jog. As we passed Gerald he joined us for a short while then excused himself and waited for Pat. Lesley and Rodney seemed like a solid couple but shortly after the start, Lesley decided that Rodney does not train enough and she raced ahead of her husband. It was around this time that we remembered that the Rhodes Marathon would be taking place at the same time. It would be freezing up in the mountains and we had heard reports of snow. I found out from Ron that he and his group were meeting on a regular basis in the mornings for a six to eight kay run on the promenade. More importantly they were meeting on a weekend morning at Sardinia Bay for a run up to Longbarn, Boundary Road and down to Schoenies. Ron is looking a lot leaner and fitter than he has in a long time.

The sun emerged from the shade of the trees and we became quite warm. We met up with Steve Gerber who told us that Roz was ahead. No chance of catching her. It was a stunning morning for a run. We could not help but notice that the local “squatters” had prime real estate with views over the lagoon and Knysna Heads. Their neighbours are the wealthy owners of smart looking homes on a Golf Estate where the roads are paved and there is a huge entrance gate with smart looking security guards. We passed Gaynor and Roy but I think that Gaynor did not like this idea and she charged past us on the downhill shortly afterwards.

It was about here that the marathon runners began to overtake us. First it was Mike Magson and then Allan Taylor. Men of real ability and talent. Ron and I jogged along. Walking when necessary and also when not necessary. We observed some innovative ways of running down the steep hill to the lagoon: Backwards, sidewards and walking all seemed to be acceptable. We passed Kay and her little group. Cathy greeted us from the side. She had an injury and wanted to recover enough to be able too run in Croatia later in the year when she would be visiting the country.

We found all kinds of agreeable people to chat to, enjoying the outing, the sun, the forest and magnificent views. I can really recommend a half marathon to those who do not train as much as they used to. The section of the run which follows the N2 is not pleasant for the runners nor the Motorists. It is always up to the runner to take care that he is not going to be knocked over by a vehicle. But runners become quite arrogant and don’t take the same care that they would expect from pedestrians if they were the driver. Celeste came loping past.

With about 4 kays to go we move onto less busy roads. Peter Giddy! I hear from Paulette as she and Bruce drive past. Mmm, thinks I: the tent, the trailer, fold out chairs and beverages will be at the finish. I don’t run with a watch. So it was with surprise that I see a Sub 2.30 flag being carried by a lady runner. I had thought that I would be happy to get in before Lunch time. I gathered some renewed energy and jogged the rest of the way to the finish. Nicci Roote was there to greet us. Quite sorry that she had not taken part herself.

Ron and I found our tog bags and wandered around looking for a shower. Finally we found a clubhouse where a large group of people were watching the Springboks play the All Blacks. There were showers with hot water. After a wash we wandered back looking for the Achilles tent. Here we met up with Diane, Billy & Brad; Heidi & Adrian, Jenny, Theresa & Cathy. Kim, Glen, Garreth, Rodney & Lesley, Youart Tose, Roger Vogel, all finished the 21kay. We set out the chairs and looked for some more of that Draft Beer. One of those and a hot dog roll was all we needed to really feel our strength return. We enjoyed this snack with some Capetonians that we met. Pat & Gerald joined us.

There was a good contingent of Crusaders there. Benita Barton & Earl Scott had run the full marathon. The Tri Nations Test match between SA and NZ was becoming a real nail biter. We were up 17 to 15 after JP Pietersen had scored a try. NZ’s Dan Carter, SA’s Percy Montgomery and Butch James scored alternate Drop Goals, Conversions and Penalties. It seemed like the match would go the way of the All Blacks when the NZ 8th man scored. However not to be outdone, Ricky Januarie dodged his way through their defence, snapped a kick over the New Zealander’s heads, caught the ball and scored. Francois Steyn added two points to put us at 30 to 28 ahead. Strong defence by the Springboks held up relentless attacks by the All Blacks. This would be the first time that we beat the formidable All Blacks in Dunedin.

Back at the Achilles tent the marathon runners started to come in. Bob finished his 19th, MOF Botha did his 10th, Geoff, Peter, Kenny, Mike, Rodney Booth, Reg, Monde, Graham, Daryl North, John Parry, had all managed to complete one of the toughest 42kay marathons that we know of. The cut off time is 5 hours which is reasonably tough considering the terrain of this event. Brian James completed the distance albeit outside of the 5 hours. That afternoon we drove home stopping at the Storms River shop for a hamburger. Here I met Joey Dawson who is a young American man helping out at a Xhosa School in Seaview. He had run the 42kay and is looking for a club or group to train with. I promised to introduce him to the Achilles afternoon runs. Arriving at home I was a little stiff but was very pleased that I had not attempted the 42kay. It was good to wear the Achilles Vest in an event again.