Southern Storm 2009 www.southernstorm.co.za It was three days before the inaugural Southern Storm Duathlon event held in the Garden Route area. There was an electric silence before the storm. I was sad not to be going to participate, but you can't do all the events you want to... or so I thought... That was until Alec told me that he was still injured and has not found anyone to take over his entry. He was looking for anyone to do the event in his place. I did say it was three days before the event.. but with an offer like that and no running training for months... (been paddling instead :-) .. I would be crazy to do it and but even more crazy not to.. Knowing how much I love the Garden route, Thursia told me to go for it, make it happen.. so after chatting with Lauren (Lobbs) and Jacques (Mummy) to get some of the logistic plans... I found myself in the plane.. checking out the stunning vistas as we were coming into land at George airport. I met a few MTB'rs like Bennie Bester from Singletrack Cycle shop and some other MTB'rs all on their way to participate in the Karoo2Coast Mtb event. Interesting I noted was they didn't use bike boxes, they simply aligned the handle bars with the bike and slightly deflated their tyres and handed their R30k+ bikes to the packing crew... and all bikes appeared to still be in working order on the otherside... apparently the reasoning is that if they see it is a bike then they take care not to damage it... interesting approach.... although apparently not all airlines support this method.
Magnetic South are world class event organisers!!! How else would a person be able to plug in to the 6-day event on the fly with out any hassles. They arranged for a shuttle from the airport and in the bus I hooked up with Louis van der Wald who would become my tent buddy for the event. Tania, Ingo, David Labuschagne and his partner were all chatting about how amazing the area is. Coming from a GP winter.. you really appreciate all the greenery and you try not to let your jaw drop when looking at the mountains... and talk about rubber necking when the road passes next to the ocean.. WOW this is Adventure heaven. We also met the Wettons from JHB, they heard about this event after trying some Donkey pass trail run that they rated as an extreme experiece... hmm I never got to ask for a comparison after the storm, but they all finished strongly. Day 1 Check In and 4km TimeTrial We pulled into the Natures Valley “De Vasselot” campsite and were greeted by the calls of fish eagles in the distance. There was quite a buzz, but the registration process was efficiently co-ordinated. Register, collect goody bag. Get assigned to one of the four NOMAD Overlanders, get photo taken and go pick your tent (home for the next few nights). The NOMAD overlander crew setup the tents and got meals going. This was a new experience for them to cater for athletes but it really worked very well. The campsites were in between the tranquil trees and birds called from all around at the buzz.. they could sense the adrenalin as the Storm had arrived. The 4km timetrial started on the main beach at natures valley. You could start at anytime especially because of the interesting timing system. Dibbers.. a small electronic token was used to log your time at different (dibbing) check points (CP) along the routes. There would be a few of these CP's on the route to ensure that the intended route was used to complete each leg. So after a chat with organiser John Collins at the start, we dibbed and started off on the four kilometer timetrial route... first there was about 200m along the beach and then we were routed into the dune forest on a trail that just seem to climb and climb and climb... my lungs... not used to all the fresh air, started weezing and I walked quite a bit... Lobbs and I ran together and it was fun recalling the old team Kreature.co.za days. We eventually reached the top and descended into the Salt River Valley.. stunning..the tide was coming in so we got our shoes wet before we scuttled up the next bank.. spotted mummy and he was cooking. The last kilometer, heading back along the hectic rocky shoreline got interesting, waves breaking and marshals giving you the go ahead so you should not get soaking dunked while scurrying across the rocks. The route was awesome and was a great sample of what the next days otter trail marathon would be like. I finished the time trial in just over 27minutes which placed me about 100th of 200 for the seeding. So Mummy and I and another chap Alec from PE went for a beer at the local shop. That night we rested well to the serenade of owls and night creatures. Day 2 The African Otter Trail Run. The four Overlanders pulled into Storms river mouth just 30 or so minutes before the start of the first ever marathon on the most iconic and legendary coastline trail of the country. Knowing the privilege of what we were about to embark on.. you could just sense the awe and anticipation in the crowd. We took some pics and then in batches of four runners were started in 20 second intervals.. and just like that we began.. a short 200m bit of road before we got onto the trail and your mind gets blown by the absolute beauty. Huge waves pounding the rocks to your left would become your companion for the day and single track through lush green trees just part of the magical diet, feeding your soul. I started off at an easy pace, not sure how to really pace the day.. especially since not having run much.. then we hit some technical rocky bits and that was just what I needed.. takes your mind off everything else and gets you to focus on the now... I love technical bits like these and as I danced, skipped and leaped from one rock to another I noticed that a lot of other folk were taking it a lot easier on the rocks. I say howzit to Doc (Eugene) who was wiggling between rocks with his hiking poles. He said the poles really helped him a lot especially on the steep hill climbs. Darting through the most amazing footpaths I was amazed to see the first hiking hut in 40mins and the trail seemed to just fly past with such beauty all around that your mind never really got to think about getting tired. There was only a few parts were I caught up to groups and passed people but for the rest, I was often alone on the trail. My mind in a zone of absolute appreciation, awe and enjoyment. I was listening carefully to my body on when to ease up or open up the pace. Some of the climbs were really steep and there was often no choice for me but to hike them out. I arrived at hiking hut 2 just behind Tatum of McCains fame. I knew this was odd as she is normally way ahead of folks like me.. but it apparently she was nursing a previous injury which would later cause her to withdraw from the event. There were some stunning river crossings and eventually I waded across the rocky Lottering river and got to the Munchie GU point and while sitting there munching on an awesome muffin, I saw MTB endurance legend Hanlie Booyens arrive and then just zoot on.. hmm .. then I knew I had probably gone too hard the first bit.. and would pay for it later.. it was still gonna be a long day.. and along that long 14km slog towards the infamous Bloukrans river crossing I had to pass through a tough mental storm... first my dodgey ankle started complaining... then my ITB tendons on both knees were feeling very tendor... so much for that only increase you running mileage by 10% a week.. For the next hour, things were pretty tough, however as we have all learned from adventure racing.. everyone goes through a tough stage on a race.. just hang in there and keep moving..(this is the part where you stop listening to your body) and eventually you pass through the storm and feel good again. And just in time to descend into the Bloukrans valley for the river crossing. I did not hesitate and dove into the water. The Swim was rejuvenating and there was this happy feeling that the worst was over and that it gets easier from here. I noticed Jan Heenop (Eden Challenge) on the run and thought its great to see other AR organisers participating in events. Saw some of the D4 production camera folks popping out of the most remote spots.. man I can't wait to see the film production. It is going so be so amazing. After the steep climb up from last hiking hut I stopped to munch some crisps and thought that now it would get easier as the trail flattens out a bit. Almost home.. but the fuel light had been on for some time and I battled more on the flats than on the rest of the trail. One of the chaps laughed and said all that and we will probably walk the last 5km.. he also got my mind off things by pointing out a whale very close by. You look down these amazing 100m cliffs dropping right into the ocean and there is this huge whale, so close that you can hear his blowing... jaw dropper .. wow moment. That was part of the thing about the trail, no matter how tired you get, there is always mind blowing beauty around you to keep your spirit soaring. After some shuffling and walking I get passed by loads of runners but atlast we drop down onto the stunning beach at natures valley.. I check my running time.. 6hrs46.. I can still make it under 7 hours.. a marshall directs us for another 2,5km down a jeep track on the east side of the huge lagoon and then the trail drops off into the water.. what now? I say as I wade waste deep.. run across the pontoon.. they say.. the pontoon is made of wooden pallets that barely float.. which I discovered as I stood on one and sank right down to my waste again... “You got to run fast to make it across!” they yelled... you wanna WHAAAT? .. so with the end insight and a cheering crowd I give it one last blast and make it to the island... then the second section of the pontoon was just too long for me so I took a swim next to it... crawled out the lagoon and dibbed in at 6:59:56... totally thrilled and trashed....that is got to be the best knackered feeling I have ever felt. After downing loads of GU juice I zoot off to the feed zone and tried my best to replace calories. After about 3 huge boeries later I was almost feeling human again... my soul has been branded with an absolute sense of contentment and awe. At Prizegiving we were told that Ian Don-Wachupe had won the Otter Trail Run in 4:59:02 and John Collins came in 5:01:38 Wow amazing talent. Even the legendary Nick Bester who came in 5:33:04 said, of all the marathons he has run including international events, that was the toughest. The ladies category was won by Sue Don-Wachuppe in a brilliant time of 5:58:07 --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DarkAndDirty" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/darkanddirty?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
