TWO OCEANS HALF MARATHON APRIL 2009

TWO OCEANS HALF MARATHON 2009

Stefan (my son in Law) and I decided that this would be a good goal for his first official run that he would do. He had been doing a bit of training and felt that he would be fit in time. So in February, when we were in Cape Town for Cathy’s wedding, I entered us both. Now I was committed and could leave any hopes of completing another 56 alone. We did a short run together but then I left for home in PE and he had to get on with training on his own. I fitted whatever training I could into my life and also did a few races in PE. Stefan was up to running 15kay a couple of times a week.

Thursday 9th April 2009, Barbara, Ally & I left just before 05.00am from PE. We had arranged to meet Ian (my brother) and his wife Jenny in Heidelberg as they had landed in Cape Town and would borrow Stefan’s car and then I would drive it back to CT. As he left CT on the N1 he picked up a huge traffic jam due to road construction. He phoned in to say he would be late. We continued our drive, listening to the radio for road traffic updates. Today the toll at the Tsitsikamma had increased from R11.50 to R13.00. When this road first opened, probably about 25 years ago, the toll was R2.50. As we crossed the river at Knysna we encountered an overturned truck. It had been transporting animal feed and there were bags scattered across the road.

We stopped near to George for some toasted sandwiches and coffee and then again in Albertina for some biltong. The drive to Heidelberg was easy and we arrived about an hour before Ian and Jenny. Ian had bought a rondavel in Heidelberg that he would be using as an office. The Internet connection at Wildcliff was not suitable and this would mean that he could spend long periods at WC without being totally out of the business world.

We met Keith (WC manager) and Tory (Roger Gush is Jenny’s brother and he married Tory) at the cottage. Then went for a walk around the village stopping for tea at a café. After Ian had arrived we off loaded his suitcases and I drove Stefan’s car to CT. We had decided to drive across the Tradouw Pass. The first section out of Heidelberg is tarred and thereafter there is a section of about 8kays of good dirt road. Then we took a Right turn up to the pass. The Tradouw Pass is quite spectacular and well worth taking time off to explore. Unfortunately Barbara and I were in separate cars as we enjoy sightseeing together. We stopped off once to enjoy the view of the deep valley below and the river flowing over the rocks and falls.

The Tradouw Pass is about 14kays and the distance between Heidelberg and where the T junction that meets the R62 is in total about 25kays. I think that this would make an excellent road run. I later established that there is a run from Barrydale and along the R324 Tradouw Pass. I think that it is about 8kays of downhill and then 8kays back up and the other 5kays are slotted in somewhere along the route. See: http://www.runnersguide.co.za/Calendar/View2.aspx?ProvinceNo=15 See October for the link to this 21kay event. At the R62 we turned left and headed towards Montague. Montague is a lovely little village situated at the base of some huge mountain cliffs. As you exit the town on the CT side you drive through a short rock tunnel and then along the river side to Ashton.

As we approached Ashton a police vehicle passed us at speed. We found out why; on the CT side of Ashton we encountered an accident where there were a number of emergency vehicles. A vehicle had driven over the side of a weir and the grass had caught alight. We were lucky as we passed the scene of this accident quite quickly. Cars coming from the CT side of the R62 were backed up for about 3 to 5kays.

We drove through Robertson and Worster and then along the N1 to the Du Toits Kloof Tunnel. The toll fee is R21.00. And then on to Stellenberg where Nicci and Stefan live. Thursday afternoon Ally had an appointment with a hairdresser, in the Tyger Valley shopping complex, that Barbara had discovered the last time we were in CT. While Ally was having her hair done, Barbara did some shopping for colouring-in books for her school and I did some university work. The NMMU gives me papers to moderate. Sandy Walker is an accounting lecturer and I enjoy working through her papers for the MBA students and am able to make a contribution to the authenticity of the exams.

Friday morning: I took my computer box to Cape Town for Stefan to help me with installing Microsoft Office. I had lost all my stuff and programs when my Hard Drive crashed. Stefan showed me how to download a free program from the internet that does what is required from both Microsoft word and excel. I had Microsoft Works on my computer and it was really useless. I changed from Outlook to Mozzila Firefox for internet as Stefan advises me that this is a better way to look up on the Internet with less spam and less virus’.

Nicci had arranged for a boat trip to Seal Island from Hout bay. The charge is R38pp. I am not particularly strong on boats. I tend to feed the fishes on my last nights supper. With the run the following day, I decided to give this trip a miss. I dropped the family off in Hout Bay and drove through the Constantia Neck to the Good Hope Centre where I found a long queue for registration. I kind of walked past the queue and joined the front. Where I still had to wait for ages to be allowed into the Expo Area for registration.

When I finally reached the counter I was able to collect Stefan’s numbers but found that I had to go to the Blue Number Club for mine. I was surprised that I received special privileges even though this was my first 21Kay. At the Blue Number Club I registered and then met up with Bruce, Robin (& wife) and Graham N. Graham wanted to know where I had passed him on the Kouga Kus 21kay. I knew that I had never passed him. But the results apparently showed me in front of him. Bruce informed me that the results were wrong and that my time and Tim’s time had become mixed up. My time should have been 1.53 and not 1.44. Ooops! As the kids nowadays say: “My Bad!”

I drove back to Hout Bay to collect the family from their boat ride which I hear was great fun and then we all met up with Cathy and Saul for lunch at the Mariners Warf. After lunch we drove to Tyger Valley where there is a Tobogganing set up. I rode with Cathy and Saul. They stopped off at their new home. They have been staying in a funny house in Woodstock for the past number of years. This house has now been sold and they have decided to rent a more modern house just above the Groote Schuur Hospital. Their home is a two bedroom and two bathroom flat with a security gate and Cathy is going to feel a lot safer here. At the Woodstock house she constantly had a feeling of being under threat of some kind of attack.

The tobogganing place is called Cool Runnings. There is an aluminum track or sloot where the toboggans are pulled up on a pulley and then when you reach the summit, you release the brake and hurtle down a series of twists and turns. This is something like the water slides or the snow equivalent but without the snow or the water. We had the children, Christian, Aaron and Zara on the seats in front of us and they really enjoyed the sensation of speed and danger. Each of us did this about 4 or five times, becoming increasingly bolder at each occasion.

That evening Stefan and I prepared ourselves with the race numbers and Champion Chips and set our alarms for 3.30am. I have accumulated four Champion Chips due to being slack with preparation and having to buy a Chip at the start of the event. Easter Saturday morning; We left at just after 4.00am and found an excellent parking area at UCT at about 4.45am. As we sat in the car we saw a young woman walk past. She was clearly going home after the party. She had one boot and one sandal on her feet. She looked bedraggled and we presumed that she was probably a drug addict and a prostitute. This upset me. Here we were amoung a huge group of some of the most positive people you can think of and this woman was at the bottom of the rung when it comes to self. For a long time afterwards I thought about this person and how she no longer has choices; her life is dictated to her by her condition.

We sat chatting until just after 05.30 and then took an easy stroll to the start in Main Road. The 21kay started at 6.00am. We were in an unseeded area with the masses of runners. There were runners of all sizes. There is no qualifying event and there were some people who looked completely out of shape. There were something like 13 000 runners at the start and we were nearly at the back. Moving through the pack was extremely difficult and we were compelled to walk on a number of occasions.

There were two U turn areas and we simply could not move any faster than we were going. The road is not wide enough to accommodate the free flow of such huge numbers of runners. The uphill of Southern Cross Drive starts at about 9kays. We had seen the runners carrying sub 2.30h flags on one of these U turns and they were way ahead of us.

We enquired of our time at about 10kays to find out that we had been on the road for 1H15minutes. This averaged us out at 7.5minutes a Kay and there was now no way that we would finish under 2 hours which had been our original thoughts. But we continued up Southern Cross Drive and managed to run the whole hill. By now we were passing people all the time.

It was still difficult to pass runners but not as impossible as it had been earlier. Passing people simply takes up additional time and energy. We struggled to set a rhythm. Southern Cross Drive is a hill of about 4kays. Groups of people seem to stop and walk in mid stride. The hill is a bit deceptive as there are a number of twists and turns. At one point there was a lot of noise; Whistles and Vuvuzellas where I thought we were at the top. But for future; you are only nearing the top of this hill when you can see the stop sign. Finally at the top we met up with the Two Oceans route. From here it is 8kays to go.

We were in good spirits and ran at a good pace. This is an area where I am used to feeling quite shattered but today was I having fun as we were now able to run a steady pace without too many interruptions. Throughout the run we had to dodge people but now the crowd had thinned out considerably. We ran the whole way to the finish including where many people around us were walking up hills. Our finishing time on the clock overhead was just about 2H21minutes.

We had run the second 11kays in about 1h06min. An average of 6minutes a Kay. Much faster than our first 10kays. This is not a race where a good time can be recorded. That is, unless you are prepared to stand at the start for at least an hour, to be in the front of your seeding. Stefan is a professional photographer and had to be at a wedding in Hermanus so we collected our medals and cooldrink and walked to the car.

Back home I was reminded that one of the very best parts of running is being able to wash away all the dirt of the day’s activity. I must have used up nearly half a bar of soap and felt great after a shower and cup of tea. Did I miss running the 56kay? Yes and no. Along the route of the 21kay I did not see a single Achillean. We saw a couple of Walmer, Crusaders, PE club and Bluewaterbay runners. I missed the camaraderie that Achilleans have. I missed the sense of satisfaction of completing a 56kay. But realistically I know that I was where I should be. Stefan & I had a great run together. He is now committed for the next event that we can do together.

Later that afternoon we all went to play put put near to Tyger Valley. There is a complete golfers set up for people wanting driving, sand trap and putting practice. We had the three little ones with us and soon the game was total chaos. Children running around; Zara putting the ball within an inch of the hole and then declaring a hole in one, Helpful children stopping the ball when they felt it necessary and placing it either in a more advantageous position or else declaring the ball to be theirs.

Sunday morning; Ally had a terrible headache and only after a long sleep did she recover. Stefan had slept over in Hermanus. We were both feeling fine with little effect from the 21kay of the previous day. Nicci had booked us for lunch at the Fairview restaurant at a wine farm. They have wine and cheese tasting. Saul and Cathy were there as well. And we had a kind of little competition to see who could identify the various wines that we were tasting. It was a lot of fun. I took the little children to taste some of the cheeses. Zara was keen to taste and I passed her one of the Goats cheeses. She popped it into her mouth, chewed for a bit and then puked it out onto the floor. For me it was hilarious to see this whole thing. I had to suppress my laughter until I was out of sight of the Cheese people.

Later on I bought some of their cheeses to compensate for our bad behaviour. We sat down for our meal after 15.30 that afternoon. The meal was served outdoors in a courtyard. We had a variety of dishes; Springbok Stir fry; Chicken Pie; Rack of Lamb and Salmon. All very tasty but I would not recommend the Lamb for next time. Saul had the Trout. Looked tasty but for a starter as this was hardly a man sized meal.

Back home we all passed out after the wine tasting and the long day. Monday morning Barbara, Ally and I were up early and packed for the drive home. Our route took us back to Barrydale and over the Tradouws Pass. We met Ian in Heidelberg where he left the Bushpig. We had a brief visit to WC and left after Jenny had given us some thing to eat. The rest of the drive home was supported by the Cricket match being played at St Georges park. The SA team batted first and scored 317 runs in 50 overs. The Australians opened well and looked set to make this a real game. However after the openers were out that was it for the Australians. This meant that we won the series and remained number one in the world rankings of the 50 overs match format.



INFORMATION ON THE TRADOUW PASS
The Khoisan originally discovered this ancient route. The unusual word “tradau” means “the way of the women” and is believed to be derived from the Khoi words tra, signifying “women” and dau, denoting “way through”. Magnificent galleries of rock paintings in the numerous caves are all that are left from the Khoisan era. The Tradouw Pass is but one of thirteen passes that master road engineer Sir Thomas Bain built in the Southern Cape during the 1800’s and to fully appreciate the character of the Tradouw Pass you have to delve into its vibrant days of yesteryear.
The suggestion of a pass was first raised in 1858. The farmers wanted Port Beaufort (Witsand) at the mouth of the Breede River made more accessible for their produce. In 1867 the Colonial Secretary, Robert Southey, proposed in Parliament that the pass be built, using convict labour, “as soon as such was available”. (The Pass was first named after him, but the name did not achieve popularity and after a few years it reverted to the traditional “Tradouw Pass”.)
Thomas Bain was instructed to do the planning and estimating. The Bain family moved into a lovely old farmhouse, Lismore that belonged to the Barry family. Today the house still stands at the foot of the 14km 315m high Tradouw Pass and still belongs to the Barrys.
In 1869 a work force of many convicts was transferred from the completed Robinson Pass between Oudtshoorn and Mossel Bay. In the end of that year, four kilometers of difficult road, entailing a good deal of blasting, had been completed. The next year the number of convicts was drastically reduced and work slowed down accordingly. In 1873 Bain was transferred to plan and build the railway through Tulbagh Kloof. The qualified foreman, Mr Stephens, was left in charge.
The Pass was declared open on 27th October 1873 by the Governor’s wife, Lady Barkley. Soon after its completion the farming community built a church at the northern end of the Pass and the town that grew around it was named in honour of the Barry family. Barrydale developed into a productive fruit farming area.
In 1974, after years of planning, the Pass was rebuilt, widened in places, hairpin bends removed and completely tarred. 4000 aloes and 2500 indigenous trees and shrubs were planted. In 1980 the Tradouw Pass was re-opened. Look out for places with names like Drupkelder, Piekniekbos and Suurplaat where you can stop and try and spot the ruins of Anglo Boer War blockhouses.
The Tradouw Pass is renowned for its wild flowers in spring, clusters of blazing red aloes in late autumn, breathtaking waterfalls in winter and magnificent swimming pools in summer. As you drive along, enjoy this beautiful Pass and admire Sir Thomas Bain’s genius for carving a pass through such rugged terrain without the help of modern technology.