SURFERS MARATHON EAST LONDON FEBRUARY 2005.

SURFERS MARATHON
EAST LONDON
SATURDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2005.

The Surfers is about 18kays of mainly beach running. The event starts at 14.30 from a point along the East Coast resorts road. There are three events. The paddlers, the runners and the walkers. It is a tough event even for the walkers who start after the runners. Barbara & Dawn have walked this event before and will agree that it is not for the faint hearted. The event has been going for about 30 years and is well established in East London as a “must do” event. It is not organised by a running club and so does not fall under ASA. The participants do not wear club colours or licence numbers. The entry fee is a flat R35.00 for all participants and no temporary licence fee is payable.

Mark and Ewan from East London gave me a lift to the start and Richard drove the vehicle back to EL. The road is very busy and narrow and motorists have to allow extra time to get there. I take a bottle of water to the start of this event as the wait for the start can be quite long and dehydrating. I am not sure of the number of runners who tale part but is seems like at least 1000. The start is a narrow path with runners jostling for a good start position.
The starting gun gets the runners going, but anyone who is not right in front has to walk, as the path is far too narrow to accommodate all the participants. Soon after the start there is a choice of the high road or the low road. I personally take the high road but am not sure that it is the best option. Then the runners merge again and now begins the real fun with the route taking runners over some of the worst soft sand and rocks that can be imagined. I try to step in to the footsteps of other runners but this is not as easy as it sounds. Then I run right at the waters edge thinking that the sand will be firmer and this is also not always the case. There are also a lot of loose rocks and fallen trees to cross. The first section is the toughest with slow runners to contend with as well.
I think that the idea is really to watch carefully where you are going and to try to avoid slipping and causing an injury to yourself. This sounds fine in theory but not always possible to concentrate as the lady runners tend to wear as close to nothing as possible and even the quickest of glances can cause the runner to be distracted and lose his footing.
Today we were quite fortunate as there was a steady rain for the first part of the run. This event tends to be very humid and often quite dehydrating as the first watering point is in Gonubie. After about 45mins of running the route takes the runner to the Gonubie River, which has to be swum. Here is the dilemma: if you take your oldest shoes then you tend to slip and slide on the rocks but if you take newer shoes just know that they are going to be full of sand at the end. At the river it is best to jump in shoes and all. The lifesavers have a rope across to assist as the tide can quite easily sweep a runner away from the crossing. You do not need to be a swimmer as there is plenty of assistance at hand.
Having crossed this river there is a boardwalk that leads the runner to Gonubie. From here there is about 4 or 5 kays of tar running. Along this section is where all the supporters stand and drink beers and seconding is done. It seems that last year one runner’s wife was frantic at the finish when her beloved did not arrive at the finish. He was found at about 8 that night still drinking at the Gonubie Pub in his running clothes. It was in Gonubie that I saw Elaine Burger, an ex PE runner from Crusaders.
Somewhere along the Gonubie section is the half way mark of this race. There are no Kay markers and so for me who does not wear a watch this is mainly guesswork. The toughest section of the run is now behind. Once the runners gets back on to the beach there is still a lot of soft sand but not nearly as difficult as the first half and also there are no more boulder sections to cross. So here I was able to get into a rhythm and when Robin Fourie said hello to me I was at first able to keep up with him and then to get ahead of him. I was making the most of the fact that he had run 42 of the Bay Ultra in the morning. This was the first and last time that I would ever have Robin behind me.
The next river is the Quilera River, which was running just over ankle deep, and here we were treated to some water and power aid. From Beacon Bay it is not far to the finish at Nahoon. The only problem is that there is the Nahoon River to cross. This river is also one that has to be swum but as soon as the runner is across the finish is a mere 200 meters away. I was greeted by Ally, Barbara, Dawn and Mark’s Family who had been waiting at the river. Of course Ally had to show me what a good runner she was by beating me to the finish!
I was able to finish in 1h50, which I consider to be a respectable time for this event. After collecting a T-shirt and cold drink I saw Robin sitting in the Beer tent with his head hung in total exhaustion. I do not think that he will do the two events in one day again. I am not certain but I think that Robin & I were the only two Achilleans there for this year’s event. Brian James used to be a regular but as he now lives in Durban he did not take part this year.
For those who like to party, this event offers the necessary elements of: beer, common interest, beer, music, athletic bodies and beer. For my own part I was quite happy to get home to a shower, snack and couch where I promptly fell asleep.
This is a real adventure race, put this one on your calendar for 2006. A lot more fun than the Bay Ultra and we do too many long distance runs anyway.

Peter Giddy
19 February 2005.