SURFERS MARATHON 2011 and JASON MURRAY WATER POLO TOURNAMENT FEBRUARY 2011

13 FEBRUARY 2011

SURFERS MARATHON 2011
SELBORNE HIGH SCHOOL JASON MURRAY WATER POLO TOURNAMENT


Friday 11.02.2011: Barbara and I dropped Ally off at Collegiate where she would ride with Patrick and Terry Billson to East London. Not many of the Parents of our team would be going through so I was glad that I had taken two days leave to be support to our team. We left after the Billsons had and decided to stop over at Nanaga Stall for a coffee. There the whole team was. We gave Ally her camera and phone that she had left at home. They left as we arrived.

We bought ourselves a filter coffee and some eats and left in the direction of Cradock. I had decided to take a route that I have never taken before. We drove through Patterson and then over the Olifants Pass. We were taking a slow relaxed pace. Then we turned right to Alicedale. This is a good road. This is my first time to drive this route. It is good to have some time on our hands so we are able to a small exploration on our way to EL. We are always in such a rush that we fail to stop or take detours to see the country side around us.

There were some roadworks but the route is pretty and takes the motorist through a valley or poort. Alicedale itself is a sad little village with vacant shops and buildings and various people hanging around with nothing to do. However there is a Luxury Golf course Estate there called Bushmans Sands. It runs paralell to the Bushmans River and looks very smart with some homes built on the Estate.

The complete opposites on the two sides of the road is what hit me the most. On the one side is this luxury golfing estate with green fairways, caddy carts, well dressed people and smart buildings. While on the other side of the road there are the run down buildings, drab brown concrete and dusty looking buildings. The disused shops and homes that are now housing dusty roofs that have long since collapsed.

Dusty men sitting on the steps waiting for payday when they will receive their government grant and will again be able to purchase enough samp and basic foods to survive for another 30 days and the rest will be spent on alcohol and merry making for a few days. The village just looks so sad. When I discussed this later with Andre Muller he said that he had heard that the Bushmans Sands Project was supposed to uplift the community. Perhaps it has brought some employment to a dozen or so people but it still appears that nothing in their lives has changed. The whole scene was just pathetic.

We exitted on the East Side of the village and immediately hit some serious road works. We had to crawl along for a few kays before getting back onto the tar road. This detour took us back onto the Grahamstown N2 where the Pumba Game Park is located. Along this detour we drove past game parks, Shamwari and some really beautiful looking farms. It was green and there were some buck and Warthog grazing on the grassy patches.

Back on the N2 we drove to King Williams Town where I filled up with petrol. I had not filled before leaving and this is why I did not drive the Peddie Route. I was worried that I may have run dry before reaching EL. We drove straight to HiFi corp where we bought ourselves a TomTom to replace the GPS unit that I had stolen when the Merc was stolen a year ago. From there we went to Selborne after two failed attempts: Joan Harrison Pool and Selborne Junior school.

We found our team already in the water. Just as well we got there early. The Cape Town school; Redham, had flown to EL and their flight had been delayed. So our team started their match early. Today we played Two matches. One in the morning and one later that afternoon. We won both matches comfortably and held onto our record of not losing a match. We watched some of the other teams play and were impressed with both Stirling and Clarendon high. The quality of play was at a high standard and we knew that we would have some tough games ahead.

I later discover that this tournament is called the Jason Murray U14 Water Polo tournament. This is named after Jason Murray who was the U14 Water Polo Captain in April 2002 and who died in a motor accident.

General: From the newspaper the Dispatch: "In the worst tragedy to hit the school in living memory, 4 Selbornians (Joshua Vickers, Mitchum Scott, Matthew Paxton, and Jason Murray) and a teacher (Rob Taylor) are killed when the school bus is hit by a car overtaking on a blind rise. The class of 1991 extends its sympathies to the families of those concerned, as well as to the school."

The front page of the Brochure reads:
"A warm welcome to all Participants of this, our 8th tournament in memory of Jason Murray who died in the tragic Selborne bus accident in April 2002, Jason was the captain of our 2002 U14A team and was everybody's friend. For those of us who knew him, this tournament is our way of keeping his memory alive in the sport that he loved so much. His death was a severe blow to us".

We checked in at Chimneys Guest house had a bit of a break, registered for the Surfers Marathon the next day and then went back to Selborne where we watched some more WP. Redham had now arrived and were beaten in both their games of the day.

Before heading home we have a drink at Chandlers Guest house where the Collegiate team is being housed. Malcolm and Berenise Rose, Terry and Patrick Billson and ourselves are the faithful parents watching our children. This evening Barbara and I bought a "Platter for Two" at the Ocean basket. We had this delicous meal in our bedroom at Chimneys before passing out for a good nights rest.

The scores up to the start of the finals:
Collegiate had beaten Cambridge 8;1; had beaten DSG 7;3 and had lost to Stirling 2;5.

Meanwhile Stirling had won the three qualifying matches. In the other group Clarendon had won three out of three matches with Redham in second place with 2 points tie with the other two: Kingswood and Pearson. But their score average was slightly ahead and so they qualified for the semi-finals.
The play off would be Stirling vs Redham and Collegiate vs Clarendon.
We lost to Clarendon while Redham beat Stirling.

Saturday morning 12.02.2011 we left for Selborne after a healthy breakfast. We watched our team and the various other teams play. Barbara got talking to Quinton who she met on the stands and organised a lift for me to the start of the Surfers. At around 12.00pm during Ally's semi final I had to leave. They were playing Clarendon who were at that stage 3-0 up. Redham had beaten Stirling in a thriller match and would now play Clarendon for the winning spot while we would have a second chance at Stirling who had beaten us 5-2 earlier.

In the end, while I was running the race: Clarendon first, Redham Second; Stirling third and Collegiate was fourth placed out of 8 teams in the tournament. Pearson from PE were also represented but did not make the top four in the finals. Ally seems to have friends wherever she goes. She greeted the St Andrews boys as well as the Grey boys and then sat with the Pearson boys and girls. All teams were given a T-shirt with the words: "Dont just sit there, Jump in" on the back of the shirt.

Quinton and I left for Oxford Striders field where we were due to catch a bus to the start at Quelera River Mouth just north of EL. However the busses just left as we arrived. So I decided to hitch hike and soon we were offered a lift by Keith and his wife Wendy. They took us all the way to the start. Keith tells us that he had run this event about 20years ago but had become dehydrated and had to bail ending up on a drip in hospital. Today he would be walking and had brought a water bottle and a stick. There was a huge traffic jam returning from the start including three busses standing still in bumper to bumper traffic.

Quinton has done around 15 Surfers while I have no idea how many I have run. When Dawn and Richard lived in East London, before emigrating to Canada, I would make a weekend of the Surfers. I have probably run more than five but less then ten of the Surfers.

Keith finds parking, turns the car around for his wife and the three of us walk to the start. Fortunately Quinton pointed out that the ankle straps for the timing chips were too tight. I changed from being around my ankle to tying the chip with shoelaces.

We may have been in time with waiting for the busses, but I was glad to be at the start even if we were there about an hour early. What I do is to move right to the start where I then sit down and wait for the last minute. While sitting at the start line I look around me. In fact I am looking at legs and feet. Running shoes: Aisics, New Balance, Nikes are some of the popular brands that I see. But I also see some "No Name" brands. It is not only the regular runner who does surfers. So there are sometimes the strangest of shoe types. But I also see that some of the runners are taking the trail running thing seriously and have bought Merrels and Salamon trail runners for this event. In my opinion you should have a reasonable pair of running shoes but certainly not a new pair as they are going to become full of sea sand and sea water and we all know that no matter how hard you try you can never rid a pair of shoes of the sea.

The gun is fired. I stand in the front and jog off. This means that I dont have the disadvantage of being squashed at the back of the mad rush of runners. There is a lady handing out the wrist bands; Blue for walkers and Red for runners. The walkers would start at 14.40 while we started ten minutes earlier.

As I started I realised that this was not going to be a good run for me. I was feeling empty with no strength. I was passed by runners in their hundreds. I thought that I would Pass some of them later when I started to settle into the rythm of the run. We run for a few hundred meters along the dirt road and then head down to the beach. There are two ways to get to the beach. One takes the runners to an immediate left turn and the other one takes the runners a little higher. In both cases there is a jam as the runner has to make their way though the bushes.

Onto the beach. Today the tide was very low. Last year we had run in a high tide and that had made the run much more difficult. I was glad that I did not have the same disadvantage this year as I was still not feeling strong. We run along some slippery rocks, rough beach sand and pebbled beaches. The first about 8kays is really tough and this took me about an hour. I was not able to run the whole way and was often reduced to walking even where I should have been able to at least put up a show of jogging.

I am not sure if it was the sun or just my general fitness but I was either feeling weak or out of breath. Perhaps it is the pathway; from slippery rocks to soft sand and pebbles does not allow the jogger to establish any kind of rythm. Maybe it is running in the afternoon while all my training is in the early morning. I may have stomach problems, too little sugars or too much tummy. But I know that I feel uncomforatable.

The flatter rocks are not easy to navigate as slipping with sandy soles of your takkies could cause some serious injury. But running on the soft sand is tough on both legs and breathing. Then there are the Pebble beaches where the rocks are just too big to run with ease. One tends to stare at your own feet with occasional glances ahead. You should not take your eyes off where your next foot will fall or else suffer a fall of your own.

As we approached the Gonubie River the Walkers passed us. It was interesting to see this first group of walkers. The rules as far as I know them are that you have to keep one foot on the ground all the time. However these men were leaping across the rocks. That would constitute a run in any mans language.

Finally we reached the Gonubie River. This was a welcomed relief for me. The river was not flowing strongly and I probably could have walked through holding the rope but opted for a swim. So refreshing. The refreshment tables are much better than they were in earlier years. We would have to run from the start to Gonubie without a water break but now there is a refreshment station on the beach. As we came out of the River I was heavy laden with water in my shoes and walked along the beach to the tar road. Here we had a second water break. There is a nice little hill to greet the runner in Gonubie. This is an addition to the route brought in a year or two ago to alleviate the pressure on the boarwalk leading to Gonubie.

I stopped and asked a spectator to phone Barbara to tell her that I had moved the car. I was so worried that she would panic and call the police when she arrived at the place where we had parked that morning and found no car. Earlier I had moved the car into the Selborne school grounds. I walked and jogged though Gonubie. Saw Abe Cilliers at the Gonubie Hotel where I seem to see him every year. We greeted each other with a wave. Basically this was the only person who I saw on the run who I knew. I am sure that there were other people running who I know but either I was too slow this year or I was just unaware of them. At the start I had met up with Mike who I know from running and I know that Chris Zeitsman and his son would be running as well.

In PE we have water restrictions which have been in force for over a year. We do not use hoses nor water sprinklers on our lawns. This is not the case in EL where the spectators are most generous with spraying the runners with cold water. We had started off this afternoon in heat after waiting at the start under the sun. There was a gentle West Breeze which was just enough to cool us down. But by the time I arrived in Gonubie the weather was changing. It had become overcast and the westerly was quite cool. Heat was not a problem in the second half of the event for me.

Spectators are everywhere. Along the beach and in Gonubie it is a festive atmosphere. Braai's and Beers. One spectator tells me (when I am walking) to run; I reply that they should not sit but walk: "We prefer drinking" she tells me. I think that we all prefer an easy life but doing events like this makes the reward all that sweeter.

In Gonubie we come across a Kay sign that reads 8kays. One of the things that has always made Surfers a tough event is not knowing where you are. I do not run or ever wear a watch so time is not a concern to me. Nor is distance. I have this philosophy: "keep moving forward and eventually you will get there." I realise that I still have a long way to go as the distance of this event is just under 18kays.

I jog on where I can but find myself in survival mode and do too much walking. I am not having a good day. Just before we exit Gonubie I see a 6kay marker board and realise that they are marking the Kays to go and not the Kays done. This picks up my spirits a bit and I make my way down to the beach again. The distance through Gonubie is around 5kays and I have walked too much. On the tar I should be able to jog the whole way. I simply do not know what it is about this event that I am so tired and out of breath. Perhaps it is the running in the afternoon which I never do in training?

Back on the beach; The terrain is much easier going now. We dont have to skid our way along rocks and sand and are able to find firmed footing. But it is still five kays of beach running (walking) before we finally reach the Nahoon River. What I find really amusing is the number of abandoned running shoes. Some strange looking shoes but even new looking Nikes. I have seen a number of barefooted runners. I am sure that they have battled over the rocks and more so through Gonubie on the tar road.

People become so tired and just want to get this event over that they are prepared to leave thousands of rands worth of shoes abandoned on the beach. At one of these runs I picked up some shoes but today I had no energy for anything more that getting the distance completed. For myself I run as light as possible with a vest and an old pair of running shoes. Today I wore my cap the whole way as I am careful to not burn my (bald) head. I see that some people run with backpacks including the strappy bag thing that was handed to us at the registration. I am not sure what you would keep in a bag but I want as little as possible on my person.

At the Nahoon River: Most people wade across but I am so happy to be able to swim that I plunge in and have a leisurely float on my back across. I had remembered the final 300meters as soft sand so was quite pleased to find the sand relatively firm with only the final stretch being soft. I hear the announcer saying what "show offs" we are; all of us. He is right, most of us have done some serious walking but none of us walk now. We jog or sprint across the finish line -- as if that makes any difference. I see that I have done just under 2hours and 25 minutes. This is not a good time for me. But only about five minutes slower than last year. I have finished. No beers or relaxing. Barbara and Ally will be waiting for me at Selborne.

I grab the free t-shirt and a bottle of water and immediately start the long walk to the car park where I walk up the hill and start hitch hiking. I am soon picked up by two men who were spectators. I am wet and full of sand on my shoes and probably very smelly but they are most obliging. They kindly drop me off at Selborne where Barbara has been waiting for me for around an hour. I feel terrible. Nauseous and exhausted. We drive back to Chimneys where we drop off the Chair that Chris had lent us. He is not back yet.

We then drive to the Milk shake shop where Barbara buys us each a Friesland Milk Shake. Barbara does the first stretch of driving as I am still trying to recover. I am shiverring, nauseous and tired. I doze off a couple of times. Ally falls fast asleep in the back seat. Finally after about an hour I feel that I have recovered sufficiently to drive. We stop at Port Alfred for some more to drink and I buy some insipid hot chocolate and a cold drink. Having more liquid seems to make me feel even better and we have a relatively easy drive home in the dark arriving home at around 9pm.

The Surfers is not an easy event and is not for Sissies. Today there were around 2900 people taking part including one paddler on stand up surf board which he paddles. It must have been tough for him as he probably took around the 2.30 hours that it took me. The ocean had been relatively flat for the Surfers (Paddlers). Later that afternoon, while driving home I receive and SMS; "Congrats Peter on finishing the Discovery Surfers Challenge 2011 in a provisional time of 2;24;55".

Peter Giddy
13.02.2011

FEBRUARY 2011

FEBRUARY 2011

MENU
WATER POLO AT COLLEGIATE
BUSINESS TRIP TO JOHANNESBURG
BEACH FRONT RUNNING
NIPPERS EAST CAPE CHAMPS AT KINGS BEACH
ALICEDALE DRIVE TO EAST LONDON
WATER POLO AT SELBORNE EAST LONDON
SURFERS MARATHON IN EAST LONDON
REDHOUSE RIVER MILE AND TRIATHLON

Wednesday 3rd February 2011
This morning I did the Golf Course Run and felt good about the running. Ally had an athletics meeting. It was a Collegiate interhouse meeting where Ally ran the 1500, 800, 400 and 100meters. She had fun doing these events and was well placed throughout. I was a little surprised that there were only a handful of parents watching.

This evening was our first time to watch Ally playing Water Polo. She was selected for the first team U14 much to her and our delight. This means more cost and more travel but also more fun.

The usual crowd from Clarendon and Nippers were there plus a whole new group of friends for Ally. From the start Collegiate seemed to dominate the Alexander Road High team. Both teams are probably pretty new to this sport but Collegiate seemed to have the edge when it came to swim skill. They won the game around 12;1.

Thurday morning I had my normal Walmer / Target Kloof run. It is faily warm in the mornings and I arrive home saturdated. I was able to spend a short while at work before heading off to Johannesburg. I took the gautrain to Sandton where Suzanne picked me up. We fetched Edmund from School at St Peters. Then back to their home. Nills was there. He is writing suplementary exams for his second year at Rhodes. We then drove to St Stithians where Julia was playing in a Water Polo match. Julia is now at Pretoria University where she is in her first year for Human Movement sciences. She has already secured a part time job as a Water Polo coach for a local school.

Julia has at this stage opted to remain with Wahoo which is the St Peters team and they played another team with a substitute Goal Keeper. They won quite nicely at around 7;3 I think. Suzanne and I had bought Julia a bit of food and drink for her drive home. We left back for Keith's house where we had our supper and were pretty soon in bed. Friday morning Keith and I left early for Wahoo where we swam. Keith is quite a bit stronger than I am and swims 2kays in the same time as I did 1.75kays. He then dropped me off at work where I had meetings for the day.

That evening I flew in from JHB and then Barbara and I played bridge with Charles and Ingrid. Ally went with friends to watch the Kings play rugby against the Free State cheetas. We lost the Rugby. Ally slept over at her friend.


EAST CAPE NIPPERS RESULTS
5 FEBRUARY 2011

The day started off early for me. I had my run and swim in the morning before dropping off the trailer at Kings Beach. We swam at Hobie beach where the surf is normally quite calm but this morning there were huge waves and I was concerned that the size of the surf may put some of our Nippers off the water events later today. I had a long wait there as the gate was not yet open. I walked onto the beach to find that the high tide had created a swimming pool out of the beach. It would be impossible to ride the trailer onto the beach as we have done before. I then went with Julia to take delivery of her new renault Megane that she has purchased. After a few glitches she was able to drive the car away. It is an automatic and seems to ride pretty well.

I then went to Greenacres where I purchased the air flights for our overseas trip to Israel later this year. Again what should have been quick and simple turned out to take longer than I had anticipated. That done I withdrew some cash, bought a clipboard and headed down to Kings Beach. There were a couple of chaps there already and by 10.30 we had the tent up and had unpacked some of the trailer.

Grant Breetske had a short Managers Meeting before the start of the event. It was already really hot and humid. Some said around 30Degrees Centigrade. I had a couple of swims during the morning to try to stay cool.

Flags:
Eliminated: Deluan; Daniel; Maurice
In to Finals: Matthew McGillivray; Tristan Jonas and Taine Finn.
Eliminated: Jamie; Jenna; Natalie; Ally.
Into Finals: Anke

Iron Nipper
Daniel Jones 3rd
Matthew McGillivray 4th.

1. Lara
2. Christie
3. Jamie
6 Ally
8 Jenna
10 Ali

Malibu Relay
First Team
Daniel Jones
Tristan Jonas
Matthew McGillivray

Fifth Team
Ally
Lara
Jamie

Sixth Team
Maurice
Bradley O
Christie

Beach Sprints
Eliminated
Maurice
Matthew McGillivray
Bradley Nelson

Finals
First Tristan Jonas
Third Taine Finn
Sixth Bradley Odendaal

Girls
Eliminated.
Jenna

Finals
First Anke
Third Ally

Body Board
Matthew McGillivray second
Daniel Jones Fourth
Maurice Millard 11th
Bradley Odendaal 13th
Girls
First Lara Odendaal
Second Jamie Engelke
Fifth Christie Vaughn
Seventh; Natalie Billson
Eigth; Ally Giddy
Ninth; Jenna vd Watt

Run-swim- Run
First Daniel Jone

1. Christie Vaughn
2. Jamie Engelke
3. Lara Odendaaal
4. Ally Giddy
7. Jenna vd Watt

Sunday morning: It had rained the whole evening. I had a good nights rest and was at the beach reasonable early. After a short managers Meeting we started the program with the Flags Finals. Ally had been eliminated the prevous day.

Then it was the individual sprints where Ally made it to the finals and then had a really good run coming in third place in the U14 girls. Anke Spies had a really good run and was placed first. Very Deserving as she trains for this.

We then moved accross to the Iron Nipper event. This is one of the physically toughest events that these U14 youngsters have to compete in. They work really hard with a Swim then the Body Board and finally a Malibu board event all rolled into one. In the boys we had Daniel Jones and Christian Fraser.
In the Girls event we have some of the best competitors in the Eastern Cape with Christie, Jamie, Lara, Ally and Jenna all doing exceptionally well.

Monday Morning Run down to town and up at the back of Collegiate. I am at work in Jeffreys Bay. Cell Group Church Meeting this evening.
Tuesday: lazy morning run and end up walking through the golf course with Barbara. Work at Cleary Park Josh. Nippers Level test at Hobie beach. The sea water is bitingly cold.
Wednesday; Have a good run around first Ave Newton Park and Golf Course. Regional Meeting in PE with Rowena and Nicky's teams. Ally has Water Polo this evening. Barbara and I are really loving the water polo evenings. It is going to be sad for me when I have to be out of town and Ally has a WP match on a Wednesday evening. This evening the team played at Collegiate. Our team appears to be doing well and has not yet lost a match. The coach; Chris must be delighted so far. Our team plays in half a pool to enable the games to continue at a faster pace. I cannot remember who we played this evening but our team kept up their form of not losing a match.

This week I have had a relatively good training week. Running most mornings. Friday morning Michael Dean and I did our normal Friday Morning Cycle route. I simply enjoy these mornings. We dont put speed pressure on ourselves and yet we have a good workout ending with Target Kloof to ensure that we work up a sweat.

Friday 11.02.2011: Barbara and I dropped Ally off at Collegiate where she would ride with Patrick and Terry Billson to East London. Not many of the Parents of our team would be going through so I was glad that I had taken two days leave to be support to our team. We left after the Billsons had and decided to stop over at Nanaga Stall for a coffee. There the whole team was. We gave Ally her camera and phone that she had left at home. They left as we arrived. We bought ourselves a filter coffee and some eats and left in the direction of Cradock. I had decided to take a route that I have never taken before. We drove through Patterson and then over the Olifants Pass. We were taking a slow relaxed pace. Then we turned right to Alicedale. This is a good road. There were some roadworks but the route is pretty and takes the motorist through a valley.

Alicedale itself is a sad little village with vacant shops and buildings and various people hanging around with nothing to do. However there is a Luxury Golfcourse Estate there called Bushmans Sands. It runs paralell to the Bushmans River and looks very smart with some homes built on the Estate. We exitted on the East Side of the village and immediately hit some serious road works. We had to crawl along for a few kays before getting back onto the tar road. This detour took us back onto the Grahamstown N2 where the Pumba Game Park is located. Along this detour we drove past game parks, Shamwari and some really beautiful looking farms. It was green and there were some buck and Warthog grazing on the grassy patches.

Back on the N2 we drove to King Williams Town where I filled up with petrol. I had not filled before leaving and this is why I did not drive the Peddie Route. I was worried that I may have run dry before reaching EL. We drove straight to HiFi corp where we bought ourselves a TomTom to replace the GPS unit that I had stolen when the Merc was stolen a year ago. From there we went to Selborne after two failed attempts: Joan Harrison Pool and Selborne Junior school. We found our team already in the water. Just as well we got there early. The Cape Town school; Redham, had flown to EL and their flight had been delayed. So our team started their match early. Today we played Two matches. One in the morning and one later that afternoon. We won both matches comfortably and held onto our record of not losing a match. We watched some of the other teams play and were impressed with both Stirling and Clarendon high. The quality of play was at a high standard and we knew that we would have some tough games ahead.

We checked in at Chimneys Guest house had a bit of a break, registered for the Surfers Marathon the next day and then went back to Selborne where we watched some more WP. Redham had now arrived and were beaten in both their games of the day.

This evening Barbara and I bought a "Platter for Two" at the Ocean basket. We had this delicous meal in our bedroom at Chimneys before passing out for a good nights rest.

Saturday morning 12.02.2011 we left for Selborne after a healthy breakfast. We watched our team and the various other teams play. Barbara got talking to Quinton who she met on the stands and organised a lift for me to the start of the Surfers. At around 12.00pm during Ally's semi final I had to leave. They were playing Clarendon who were at that stage 3-0 up. Redham had beaten Stirling in a thriller match and would now play Clarendon for the winning spot while we would have a second chance at Stirling who had beaten us 5-2 earlier.

In the end, while I was running the race: Clarendon first, Redham Second; Stirling third and Collegiate was fourth placed out of 8 teams in the tournament. Pearson from PE were also represented but did not make the top four in the finals. Ally seems to have friends wherever she goes. She greeted the St Andrews boys as well as the Grey boys and then sat with the Pearson boys and girls.

Quinton and I left for Oxford Striders field where we were due to catch a bus to the start at Quelera River Mouth just north of EL. However the busses just left as we arrived. So I decided to hitch hike and soon we were offered a lift by Keith and his wife Wendy. They took us all the way to the start. Keith tells us that he had run this event about 20years ago but had become dehydrated and had to bail ending up on a drip in hospital. Today he would be walking and had brought a water bottle and a stick. There was a huge traffic jam returning from the start including three busses standing still in bumper to bumper traffic.

Quinton has done around 15 Surfers while I have no idea how many I have run. When Dawn and Richard lived in East London, before emigrating to Canada, I would make a weekend of the Surfers. I have probably run more than five but less then ten of the Surfers.

Keith finds parking, turns the car around for his wife and the three of us walk to the start. We may have been in time with waiting for the busses, but I was glad to be at the start even if we were there about an hour early. What I do is to move right to the start where I then sit down and wait for the last minute. I then stand and jog off. This means that I dont have the disadvantage of being squashed at the back of the mad rush of runners. There is a lady handing out the wrist bands; Blue for walkers and Red for runners. The walkers would start at 14.40 while we started ten minutes earlier. The chip strap that the organisers give us is too tight so I remove it from my ankle and tie it in the shoelace instead.

As I started I realised that this was not going to be a good run for me. I was feeling empty with no strength. I was passed by runners in their hundreds. I thought that I would Pass some of them later when I started to settle into the rythm of the run. We run for a few hundred meters along the dirt road and then head down to the beach. There are two ways to get to the beach. One takes the runners to an immediate left turn and the other one takes the runners a little higher. In both cases there is a jam as the runner has to make their way though the bushes.

Onto the beach. Today the tide was very low. Last year we had run in a high tide and that had made the run much more difficult. I was glad that I did not have the same disadvantage this year as I was still not feeling strong. We run along some slippery rocks, rough beach sand and pebbled beaches. The first about 8kays is really tough and this took me about an hour. I was not able to run the whole way and was often reduced to walking even where I should have been able to at least put up a show of jogging. I am not sure if it was the sun or just my general fitness but I was either feeling weak or out of breath.

The flatter rocks are not easy to navigate as slipping with sandy soles of your takkies could cause some serious injury. But running on the soft sand is tough on both legs and breathing. Then there are the Pebble beaches where the rocks are just too big to run with ease. One tends to stare at your own feet with occasional glances ahead. You should not take your eyes off where your next foot will fall or else suffer a fall of your own.

As we approached the Gonubie River the Walkers passed us. It was interesting to see this first group of walkers. The rules as far as I know them are that you have to keep one foot on the ground all the time. However these men were leaping across the rocks. That would constitute a run in any mans language.

Finally we reached the Gonubie River. This was a welcomed relief for me. The river was not flowing strongly and I probably could have walked through holding the rope but opted for a swim. So refreshing. The water tables are much better than they were in earlier years. We would have to run from the start to Gonubie without a water break but now there is a refreshment station on the beach. As we came out of the River I was heavy laden with water in my shoes and walked along the beach to the tar road. Here we had a second water break. There is a nice little hill to greet the runner in Gonubie. This is an addition to the route brought in a year or two ago to alleviate the pressure on the boarwalk leading to Gonubie.

I stopped and asked a spectator to phone Barbara to tell her that I had moved the car. I was so worried that she would panic and call the police when she arrived at the place where we had parked that morning and found no car. Earlier I had moved the car into the Selborne school grounds. I walked and jogged though Gonubie. Saw Abe Cilliers at the Gonubie Hotel where I seem to see him every year. We greeted each other with a wave. Basically this was the only person who I saw on the run who I knew. I am sure that there were other people running who I know but either I was too slow this year or I was just unaware of them. At the start I had met up with Mike who I know from running and I know that Chris Zeitsman and his son would be running as well.

In PE we have water restrictions which have been in force for over a year. We do not use hoses nor water sprinklers. This is not the case in EL where the spectators are most generous with spraying the runners with cold water. We had started off this afternoon in heat after waiting at the start under the sun. There was a gentle West Breeze which was just enough to cool us down. But by the time I arrived in Gonubie the weather was changing. It had become overcast and the westerly was quite cool. Heat was not a problem in the second half of the event for me.

Spectators are everywhere. Along the beach and in Gonubie it is a festive atmosphere. Braai's and Beers. One spectator tells me (when I am walking) to run; I reply that they should not sit but walk: "We prefer drinking" she tells me. I think that we all prefer an easy life but doing events like this makes the reward all that sweeter.

In Gonubie we come across a Kay sign that reads 8kays. I realise that I still have a long way to go as the distance of this event is just under 18kays. I jog on where I can but find myself in survival mode and do too much walking. I am not having a good day. Just before we exit Gonubie I see a 6kay marker board and realise that they are marking the Kays to go and not the Kays done. This picks up my spirits a bit and I make my way down to the beach again. The distance through Gonubie is around 5kays and I have walked too much. On the tar I should be able to jog the whole way. I simply do not know what it is about this event that I am so tired and out of breath. Perhaps it is the running in the afternoon which I never do in training?

Back on the beach; The terrain is much easier going now. We dont have to skid our way along rocks and sand and are able to find firmed footing. But it is still five kays of beach running (walking) before we finally reach the Nahoon River. What I find really amusing is the number of abandoned running shoes. Some strange looking shoes but even new looking Nikes. I have seen a number of barefooted runners. I am sure that they have battled over the rocks and more so through Gonubie on the tar road. People become so tired and just want to get this event over that they are prepared to leave thousands of rands worth of shoes abandoned on the beach. For myself I run as light as possible with a vest and an old pair of running shoes. Today I wore my cap the whole way as I am careful to not burn my (bald) head.

At the Nahoon River: Most people wade across but I am so happy to be able to swim that I plunge in and have a leisurely float on my back across. I had remembered the final 300meters as soft sand so was quite pleased to find the sand relatively firm with only the final stretch being soft. I hear the announcer saying what "show offs" we are; all of us. He is right, most of us have done some serious walking but none of us walk now. We jog or sprint across the finish line -- as if that makes any difference. I see that I have done just under 2hours and 25 minutes. This is not a good time for me. But only about five minutes slower than last year. I have finished. No beers or relaxing. Barbara and Ally will be waiting for me at Selborne.

I grab the free t-shirt and a bottle of water and immediately start the long walk to the car park where I walk up the hill and start hitch hiking. I am soon picked up by two men who were spectators. I am wet and full of sand on my shoes and probably very smelly but they are most obliging. They kindly drop me off at Selborne where Barbara has been waiting for me for around an hour. I feel terrible. Nauseous and exhausted. We drive back to Chimneys where we drop off the Chair that Chris had lent us. He is not back yet.

We then drive to the Milk shake shop where Barbara buys us each a Friesland Milk Shake. Barbara does the first stretch of driving as I am still trying to recover. I am shiverring, nauseous and tired. I doze off a couple of times. Ally falls fast asleep in the back seat. Finally after about an hour I feel that I have recovered sufficiently to drive. We stop at Port Alfred for some more to drink and I buy some insipid hot chocolate and a cold drink. Having more liquid seems to make me feel even better and we have a relatively easy drive home in the dark arriving home at around 9pm.

The Surfers is not an easy event and is not for Sissies. Today there were around 2900 people taking part including one paddler on stand up surf board which he paddles. It must have been tough for him as he probably took around the 2.30 hours that it took me. The ocean had been relatively flat for the Surfers (Paddlers).

Sunday morning both Ally and I are still recovering from the weekend. I load up the trailer with all the boards from last weekend and take it down to Nippers at Summerstrand. We off load the trailer and make our excuses and head back home where we do little with our day. This evening Ally and I go to Church. It is an interesting sermon presented by Tim regarding the Mission of Christ. I made some notes.

Monday morning I am still not strong and miss the morning run. Monday evening I present the Common Focus Discussion (to our Cell Group) which follows on from the sermon presented by Tim the previous evening.

Tuesday and Wednesday mornings: I am back on the road and have a reasonable training run. Wednesday morning I collect my boss; Corrie at the airport and we tour some of the PE/Uitenhage shops. It is a successful visit and Corrie appears to be pleased with the results. This evening Ally has Water Polo at Collegiate. They are playing in a school league and play Pearson. Pearson are the winners with margin to spare. Michael has flown off to Cape Town where he stays with Nicky. He is helping them with Baby Sitting while they go off to U2 and to Wildcliff for the weekend. He and Stefan are talking about some kind of employment contract where he will stay in CT while Lene gives notice at the house where they now live in 7th Ave Walmer. They then plan to move to CT when Lene finds work there. This is all in the air right now.

Thurday 16.02.2011 Corrie, Nicky, Rowena and I drive through to EL for a meeting of the FSAM team. A successful meeting. We leave at around 14.30 after I have changed the globe in the Mercedes front headlight. We arrive home at around 18.00H. Friday morning I meet up with Mike Dean and the two of us do our morning cycle around the Moffet and up to Buffelsfontein road. It is one of my highlights each week to do this easy, no pressure cycle. We finish with the Target Kloof hill which adds a bit of a sweat to the morning ride. On the ride I find out that Michael has confirmed his entry to the Addo run and has done some extra training this week.

Saturday morning starts with our Morning Beach run. I run the Admiralty section with Andre Muller. Today we are running at an easy pace but steady all the way. Few stops and no walking. I am beginning to regain my confidence after last week's disasterous Surfers. The swim at the end of the run was chilly but good for me. This afternoon I go to Walmer park to register for the River Mile next week. Julia and Christina are at Wildcliff where they meet up with Nicky and Stefan. It is a celebration for Nicky's birthday. The previous evening they were at the U2 concert in Cape Town where a number of PE people including Charles have gone. Ally spends Saturday afternoon watching an athletics meet at the NMMU. Then I drop her off at her friend; Sarah Rose as she will be going together to the birthday party of Gary Kibble.

Sunday morning 20th Feb. Ally and I are supposed to be swimming the Ocean Series. Ally has a new wetsuite that Barbara ordered through Odette Belairs but the wetsuite does not fit that well and Ally and I are both feeling a little lazy so we give the swim a miss. Barbara and Lene take Jessica to the beach to run the One Kay beach run.

During the week we learn that Michael, who is in Cape Town with Nicky and Stefan, is now planning to stay in Cape town to run a part of the business. Nicky has started a Magazine for Weddings and it appears that it will be Michaels job to promote this magazine in the various outlets.
I go to JHB for the day on Thursday. And to King on Friday. Wednesday is Nicky's birthday. Ally has a Water Polo Match on Wednesday thereafter we have a Nippers Meeting on Wednesday and Cell Group on Monday evenings. Thursday is Jessica's Birthday. Friday Michael returns from Cape Town and goes off to the dentist. Friday evening Ally goes to a Party at Megan Oddy and Barbara & I take Jessica out for Supper at a little restuarant in Stanley Street. After she announced that she does not eat Sushi we moved on to a more suitable restaurant. We met the owner Charles who gave Jessica a Cheese Cake at the end of the meal as a Birthday Treat. Saturday morning I go for a run on the beach with Ben, Suzanne, Susan. Then Ally has a Water Polo match at Alexander Road School. They win this one and so break their series of losses that they have been having. We open the Rochester Credit in Moffet-on-Main. So our life is a busy one full of activities.

Saturday I purchase some Slime-Green R50 and take out the mountain bike. I apply the slime green to the front and back tyres and give the bike a bit of a clean up. I make sure that the breaks are set so that there is no friction and pump the tyres. I take out the helmet, gloves, water bottle, pump and have everything ready for the Triathlon at Sundays River the next morning. I set out my swim and running stuff and feel ready for the morning. We are in bed early.

Sunday Morning I am up early and load the bike, cooler box and some chairs into Barbara's Bakkie. Ally will be playing drums in the Church band this morning and Barbara will bring her to Sundays River a little later. Lene will also come with Jessica, Joshua and Daniel. I head down to Sundays River and off load my stuff. It takes two trips and then I forget my Goggles and have to rush back for them. I find Gerald and Pat with Ronel. Ronel is the person who inspired me to try this off road Triathlon as she did it last year. Rob Ermes, Nina Bodishe, Dave Emslie, Lyn Roche and Kerry Weeks (who ran with us at 6th Avenue many years ago) are also entered.

We rack up the bikes and walk to the start which is up stream just below where Jill and WIllie van der Marwitz used to have a house. We dive in and as usual have to wait for the start. The gun goes off and we head for the bridge. The water is shallow in places and it would have been possible to have walked some of the distance if you wanted to. We swim on, I look up and see that the front swimmers are already under the bridge while I have a long way to go. I settle into a steady (but slow) rythm. As I swim under the bridge I have this sense of doing something that I have never done before and feel good about it. Then we can see the area where Swimmers are already running up the bank while we have a fair distance to cover at this stage. We have to swim around a buoy and then up to the small white buoy before reaching the bank. As I exit the water I hear Gerald calling me to look at the camera.

We run into transition where I have this tiny little stool that I use for putting on my running shoes. I am not good at sitting on the grass. Helmet, Gloves and shoes on; Now I start on the cycle leg. Almost immediately I almost fall as we hit some really soft sand. Under the bridge, past the V. D Marwitz house and up a slope. Then the route takes us onto some road works where there is some kind of track. Then we cycle along the railway track where the thing I find fascinating is the number of empty wine caskets that we pass on the track. I pass some cyclists and many pass me. I realise that I have the front shock on the FIxed Setting so it is not working as a shock at all. I adjust this and start to get the feel of the gears. The track is full of thorns, soft sand and stones. We pass many cyclists who are repairing punctures. I am VERY pleased that I applied the Slime Green. I will never do an off road cycle event without the Slime Green. I could see thorns and deviltjies stuck to my tyre and I am sure that I would have been sitting on the side fixing punctures in the dusty heat of the morning if it had not been for the slime green. And even having fixed a puncture it is likely in this sort of event that you will get a second puncture. I am greeted by a policewoman who knows my name. Probably a customer at Morkels. We cycled a circular route and then over the bridge back to Colchester. I passed Rob Ermes who was aready on his run. Then down to the grassy area next to the river and along here to the transition area. I hear Viv Bullock shout my name. Gerald is there with his camera. I had heard some of the chaps moaning about no water on the run so I grab my water bottle and run out of transition. Stanford Slabbert is announcing and calls out my name. We run the same route as the cycle. Along the embankment, through the dusty scrub area and over the bridge to the village. I meet up with Laura from Jeffries who is doing her first Triathlon. We jog along the grass and back to the finish area. I am so pleased that I have done this event. My last, and only other off road tri, was a disaster with me getting two punctures and having to carry the bike back. Today was succesful and I finished all three legs.

I push the bike and my stuff to where I had left my chairs and cooler box and phone Barbara. She is on the bank right below me and I carry the stuff down to her. Jessica is swimming the Cross River swim and Ally is with her. Jessica does not appear very happy when she finishes. But she has done the swim. It seems that some spectators moaned at Ally thinking that she was competing.

Ally and I walk to the start of the Ladies Mile. It is a longish walk and a hot morning. I leave her at the start and start walking back. Patrick and Terry Billson are at the start watching their two girls Carmel and Lauren who will ultimately win todays event. Gerald is looking out for Ronel and Pat. I have to walk fast to keep up with the front group of swimmers. Ally is lying around 25th the whole way. I have all of her stuff and have to jog the last bit to where Barbara and Lene are sitting at the finish area. I drop the stuff and make my way back to the Mens Mile start. I dont see Ally finish but later hear that she became disoriented towards the end of the swim and lost a few places. I am not at all concerned as I feel a huge sense of pride seeing her swim this distance at all. Ally ended up 29th overall in a time of 2123 minutes. Friends of Ally who are also "in the mix": Natalie Billson, Shimone Gordon, Tarryn Els, Christie Vaughn, Jessica Liss who was leading but who was overtaken at the end when losing her way. Ronel Scheepers 26 minutes and Pat Scheepers 40 minutes. Viv Bullock 27 minutes; Therese Boulle 28 minutes; Lexie Vaughn at 10 years old does 34 minutes; 215 Ladies finished the mile.

I make my way to the start. Ant Skinner, Mally Richardson, Kerry Weeks, Peter Marriot, Markus & MC Burri are some of the swimmers I see today.

We pass through the check in area. I have arrived Just in Time: Perfect; I wait less than a minute and we jump in the water. The usual wait as the marshalls try to force swimmers back to the start line. Then the hooter goes and we start this mad flurry of swimming. Legs and arms are everywhere. Even though I try to separate myself from the mass there is this bundel of swimmers that I cannot seem to avoid.

I am able to settle into a reasonable pace. I decide to swim crawl for as much as I can. And apart from short breaks to orientate myself I am able to maintain the pace. The only problem with this swim is that I have no idea where we are. Each time I look up I see the beautiful blue sky with the green bush that adorns the sand dunes on the other side of the river. The only break in the vista is where the sand dune is bare. I only breath to the left so it is blue sky and green bush, blue sky and green bush.

There are some buoys to guide us but I had not counted them while walking to the start so have no sense of distance at all. Blowing Bubbles into the river, breathing to the left and trying to maintain the pace is all that I think about. Finally I see what I think is likely to be the finish area. I swim past the Stormforce banner on the right. Now I know that we are almost there. The white buoy signals the final staight and I swim in.

Again I hear Standford Slabbert announcing my age and name. I have finished in just under 35 minutes. This is 10 minutes before the cut off time. Roger Fraser greets me. I make my way down to where Barbara and Ally are and we pack up and head off home. We have decided that we will not stay for prize giving and the lucky draws.

The three Jones boys; Wayne, Jason and Daniel do very well. Chad Ho wins the mens event. MC Burri does 18 minutes with Markus just behind in 20 minutes.Christian Fraser swims a 20 minute mile. I have swum a 34 minute mile and end up 251/310 swimmers.Kerry Weeks was just ahead of me. Rory McDonough and Juan Nel were a couple of minutes before me. Rob Ermes swam a respectable 28 minutes and was 17th in the age group. Ant Skinner and Mally Richards were just ahead of him while Jason beat his dad by two minutes. He announced this to me as I finished.

In the Off Road Triathlon I found the following results (out of 98 competitors):
Rob Ermes 27th 1:25
Ronel Scheepers 61st 1.34
Peter Giddy 82nd 1.51
Imran Moosagie (Nippers Dad) 86th 1.57
Lynn Roche 49th 1:29
Charlie Hills 59th 1:33 Him and Rory Hilton the only other >60's competing.
David Enslin 42nd 1:28 Ex Achillean.