ADDO TRAIL RUN 12 MARCH 2011
This would be the second time that I take part in this event. Last year there was the Scheepers Family and Adrienne Wilson to keep me company. This year I entered but when I spoke to the runners from our group for a number of reasons they would not be taking part. And those who would take part were simply too fast for me.
One morning while doing our Friday Cycle, I spoke to Mike Dean and asked him if he would like to do this event. I described it as best as I could but no one can describe a mountain run -- you have to be there to understand. Mike entered the same day. Then I realised that Andrew Barton would be there as well. I had never run an event with Andrew and I know that he has the ability to go off with the faster group. So I was never 100% sure if he would stay with Mike and myself.
Tommy Satchwell spoke to me about doing the trail run. I told him a bit of what it is all about and he too entered. I know that Tommy is a lot stronger than I am and knew that he would not stay with our little group.
Sjani Human had been injured for some time but now was back on the road. I had not spoken to her about this event but she saw an old email of mine which I had sent to all the MPRG and was able to do a late entry. Her husband, Ray, agreed to come with us and to drive from the start at Kirkwood to the finish at Zuurberg.
A few days before the day of the event I received a phone call from PK De Villiers. He is a friend of Martin and Elmarie JV Rensburg. He would meet me on Saturday morning and drive out with us. His family would meet him at the finish.
In the days leading up to the event Nadia van Arndt continued to send out a variety of emails reminding us of all kinds of stuff. She is excellent in that regard as it tends to keep the interest and anticipation strong. Nadia and Estienne are the organisers of the event and they really do an excellent job of this.
Saturday morning finally arrived. I had my backpack all kitted up. 3lit water bladder; running top; tissues and little else. I took my waterproof sling bag which I had used last year. It is very convenient as it is on my front and easily accessible. I had my phone in the waterproof section and my cap slung over.
PK arrived early and we set off to meet up with Ray and Sjani. We left PE at just after 04.00am and had an easy drive past Uitenhage to Kirkwood. The drive took us just over an Hour and we were some of the first to arrive at the start. We registered and had a cup of coffee. Cliff Mac Kenzie and his two sons; Aiden and Bradley were there. They were going to be running with Robin Fourie. Dean Kivido who used to be a student of mine at University when I did some part time teaching and who I often see at events such as this one. Dean pas part of the support team last year and his photo shoot can be seen on the website. Chris Gedye (ex Achillean was also taking part this morning. Trevor Hawkins will be doing his third 50kay this morning.
There was a strong contingent of ladies from MPRG: Elmarie j v Rensburg, Claire Breedske; Michelle Elfick and Angie Fraser (Rob Elfick and Tim Fraser would meet us at the end while Martin and Darryl were not able to be there). Benita Barton was the only one of our group who had entered the 85kay event.
The morning started with a whole lot of Photographs and Interviews and a short briefing by Estienne. One of the runners said a Runners Prayer; And we were off. It was 6.00am and we had a long day ahead. Last year the event was in May and we had started the downhill in the dark. This morning it was light when we made our way down the dirt track to the main road into Kirkwood.
We saw PK, Tommy and friend Foggy and our 4 MPRG girls going off ahead of us. We jogged on at a steady pace. We did not want to start off too fast as we knew it would be a long day. Passing through the village there were a number of local inhabitants who greeted us. Cliff drove past with a wish for good fortune. Just before we reached the dirt road Cliff Mc Kenzie stopped on the side of the road and waved us past. And then we jogged into the part itself. It was a stunnig morning. Slightly overcast and cool. The first part takes us over some smaller hills and is really an easy run. We allow the 85kay participants to go off for their extra 15kay loop.
Trevor had pulled ahead. He was always in sight but just that little bit ahead of us. There is a strong pull up a sharp hill and then we arrive at the first of the refreshement stations. We load up. I eat as much as I am able as I know that I need as much energy as I can get.
The trail takes us into some deep forest areas where we cross streams all the time. Some of our group step gingerly accross the rocks and grass. I know from last year that there is absolutely no way that you can keep your shoes clean so I Sploosh through the streams and mud. We work our way trying to do a little jogging and lots of walking. The nature of the trail makes any sustained jogging quite difficult. I keep thinking of the runners who will do this event is half the time that we will take. They will jog and run up and down hills that we struggle to even maintain a decent walk.
We reach the second watering table. Again we stock up with as much as possible. Some of the runners hardly stop. I try to find a seat and take time to re-energise while eating potatos, sweets, jubjubs and chips. There is a group in a LandRover who have a flat tyre. Probably going a little too fast for these tough tracks and the tyres may have been too strongly inflated.
Shortly after the second Refreshment station we start the BIG climb. Cardiac! I am slighlt in front and slog it out to the top of the track. I turn a few times to look back at the vista. The valleys below looks just magnificent. Sjani is not far behind then comes Andrew with Mike. Trevor has taken it very slow at this stage. We meet up with Shaun Aupiais who is a mountain biker who decided to give this one a go. The furthest that he has run before is 21kay.
Once up the Cardiac Hill we can see the stretch of winding up hill ahead of us. On and on we walk with just an occasional jog inbetween. We reach the 3rd checkpoint which is not a refreshment table and carry on up. Finally we reach the top of the escarpment and here we regroup. A Croatian Lady comes up the hill just behind us. She is the first of the Ladies in the 85kay who are passing us. A number of Men have already passed us. Then comes Benita. She has now done around 40kays while we are at the half way mark for our run at around 25kays. She has a brief stop and then heads off. We stop for a food refil. It has started to become quite chilly up here. The mist is thick and we are drenched. Some of the group had changed socks. But really this is a futile excersize as the grass is so wet that your shoes and feet are soaking wet. I put on my cap, not for the sun but to keep the water off my face.
I phone Adrienne and Gerald. They can both relate to where we are and how we are feeling. One of the things that is completely different from last year is the mist that makes it impossible to see the views and sense of vastness of the Addo Park in this section. I have been using my Phone as a watch and it has taken us almost exactly 90minutes between refreshment stations. The two stations that are on top of the escarpment are tough sections. While there are not the hills and streams of the other sections, the distance seems forever. I suppose that it is the mist but also the sameness seems to take for ever. Finally we reach the next station. David and Rufka from the Dresden are there. Mike has some tea. I eat as much as I can.
And off we go again. I receive an SMS from Claudine van Zyl to say that Calvin and Jordan Zeelie are on the Fish River paddling. A surge of water has come down the river and the organisers have had to take some of the paddler out of the race. It is Jordan's first river event and Jacqui is quite worried. She is unable to contact Hannes. I tell the others about the SMS and it turns out that Sjani's daughter, Daniella is friends with Calvin. Later I recieve this SMS: "Thanks for the Prayers; God protected Jordan. He was heading straight for a huge tree when another paddler yelled :"Jump Out" which he did. He ended being swept down the river for 4kays but could have been sucked under had he hit the tree in his canoe. Believe our prayers of protection were for him. He recovered his damaged canoe and was last paddler home."
Back on the trail; Sjani was walking at a strong pace. The three men were battling to keep up with her. Trevor who had been behind us all along and only seeing him when we regrouped at the stations was now strong and moved on ahead. He announced that he had walked since Cardiac Hill. We started the descent. Muddy and wet tracks made the going very slippery. We had heard that Robin Fourie had retired. I am not sure if it was a fall or just not feeling well. The cold and wet could quite easily have affected some of the runners. We thought of Gerald who hates the cold. I was not at all affected by the cold and wet. As soon as we moved on I was quite warm enough.
Going down the hill to the farm lands I had a sugar drop and felt shaky and could not keep up with Mike and Andrew. A lady passed us and took a wrong turn. Mike took great delight is showing her through the gate. Once at the farm it is a short jog to the last refreshemnt station. There was a good group of people who had camped there. They put on a good spread and cheered the runners as they came in. Now it seems that many of the 85kay participants passed us. I was surprised by the number of ladies running on their own in these rough conditions.
Trevor pressed on and we would not see him again until the finish. Sjani remained ahead. I tried to keep up but was not strong enough. The last station had told us that there were 3kays of flat before the hill. Well those three kays of flat seemed to go on forever. Again we crossed streams the whole time. And again it was pointless in trying to stay dry. Our feet were saturated.
This is a very long section. In addition the clay, mud and uphill made walking very slow as we tried to not slide. Our shoes had no traction and were caked with mud. I tried to walk on the side of the path but this was only mildly successful. We were foot sore and weary. Up and up we plodded. Shaun passed us as we reached the final ascent. He and Sjani finished together. Finally Mike, Andrew and I crested the top of the Zuurberg Hill and were able to see the Inn ahead of us. I felt my calf starting to cramp and so decided to jog.
To my total surprise I see Gerald and Pat ahead. They have come to greet their friends who were completing the event. We now learned that Benita had become ill and had stopped at 50kay. Sad for her as she was hoping to do well in the 85kay but still a very good day's excersize. Gerald has just had an operation and is off running for 6weeks. Pat jogged in with us trying to take pictures of us finishing.
Reaching the end was huge. I know that we had not exactly done a stunning time. This final section had taken us around 2 hours while all the others had been around 90 minutes beteeen stations. We finished in 10.30hours while last year had been a 10 hour event. It was great to be greeted with a cold water and commemorative key ring. There was our faithful Evie and Darrel Raubenheimer who give so freely of their time to assist at all kinds of events from Triathlon to extreme marathons like this one. Angie Fraser, Claire Breedzke, Michelle Elfick (the three of them finished in 8.36) and their families gave us a huge welcome. I heard that Elmarie had done an amazing time of 7H14minutes.
I was totally exhausted. My feet were wet and sore. I had picked up a slither of glass when walking on the beach one morning and this was now really irritating me. I sat down and waited for Ray and Sjani and then finally was set off home. Tommy Satchwell and friend Foggy had done the event in about 2hours less than us and I heard that fellow Achillean Bradley MacKenzie had won the 50kay in 4.29 hours with his brother an hour behind him. Chris Gedye and Roger Vogel came in at around 6.39. Tommy Satchwell and Foggy (Gareth Calder) finished in 8.24.
The three of us: Andrew, Mike and I had done 10.07 while Sjani and Shaun had finished 3 minutes ahead of us and Trevor Hawkins was 7 minutes in front of our little group. I was surprised to hear that there were 6 people behind us. I had thought that we were last. As we drove down the pass to the main road we passed the 85kay runners. Some looking surprisingly well while others were shattered. They did not have far to go but still it would be a long way for them who were so tired.
That evening, in the shower, I realised how much mud I had accumulated. The water was brown. I did not have an easy sleep as my hips and joints were sore. Ally had been at a supper with her friends. Earlier on she had spent the day busy with EP Water Polo Trials. She told me that she had not felt good and had not played up to standard. Later the same morning she had two hours of Hockey Practice for those going to play in East London later this month. Julia had taken Jessica to Movies and a supper. This was a huge treat for Jessica who had gone in a new outfit and who really appreciates being treated.
This had been a long day for us. But worthwhile and while I cannot say I enjoyed the whole trip, overall this was a stunning event and worth doing. I am not sure if I will do it again. Lets see what happens next year. Often one tends to forget the tough and the mind only allows memory of the good times. Another highlight of the day was listening to Cricket: Earlier on we had heard that South Africa were floundering against a strong Indian team in the World Cup ODI series. However I sat in the kitchen later that evening listening to the final few overs and had the pleasure of the commentatorts telling us how Robin Petersen had hit Fours and Sixes to win the game for our team.
Peter Giddy
13.03.2011
Here are the finishing photos:
See Tommy Satchwell looking all fresh after finishing 2 hours before us.
See Peter looking completely stuffed. The black on the face is the mud pack that he thought would make him look younger.
See Pat in the foreground taking photo's
Also at the finish were the Elfick Family from Grand Dad to Grand children.
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