Southern Storm Day 6 Run 13km Goukamma reserve, Bike 35km – run 6,5km Dune Mole rat – bike 12km Run 4,5km Pied Kingfisher -FINISH
We slept well that night, the wind eventually died down and left only the sound of the waves breaking on the rocks right next to the campsite. The sun emerged there were the ocean met the sky and inspired the start for what was to be the last day of this amazing journey through the garden route. There was quite a lot on the agenda for this final day of the 6day event. This was going to be a make or break day and it was interesting the amount of shuffling would occur in the close midfield positions. So for the first day since the Otter trail run, I was feeling good enough to actually run... The first leg was about 13km through the incredible Goukamma reserve. We started with about 2km along the beach, the huge chopper flying over and disappearing in the sea spray mist ahead was such an amazing sight as we ran next to the waters edge. This morning I had the privilege of running alongside endurance sport legend Nic Bester for a while.. his smooth and strong pace as we cruised along very inspiring, of course when the sand got soft as we headed inland, he continued with his strong smooth pace while the rest of us fell back. Along the trails in the Goukamma reserve we headed up and down amazing dunes and one had to keep ones eyes open. Not only us tall folks for low trees, but everyone was cautioned about the presence of many puff adders in the area and that conditions were such that we could expect to encounter some. Luckily there were none spotted, although a certain stick lying in a precarious way had me jolt with a sudden boost of enthusiasm. Ran a bit with Graham Bird (tweet from McCains) and Deon du Preez (Sterling) We contoured along the top of one of the high dunes, amazing view over the misty ocean on the left (some folks even saw whales again) and on the right, more densely vegetated dunes. In fact, one monster of a dune that we all knew we would be summiting. It took me 1,5 hours to complete the 13km route and after everyone had finished the run we all hopped in the Overlanders, they truly showed their overlanding abilities going 4x4 on a rather rugged road with some real soft sand patches. Had the pleasure of meeting Paul Wolff, the guy the hosts the SA's Ironman event. Inspiring to hear what had begun as an idea over a few beers with a mate, now was a quite a business with a number of permanent jobs created. We got to the top, or so we thought, of some mountain and got our bikes ready for the last stages of the Southern Storm. Trevor handed me my bike. He did not have my particular dropout, so they made one for me. How unbelievable was that. He also fixed up a number of other things on the bike to the point where he had my bike in better shape than it was when I started the race. WOW man, You guys are UNREAL, that is the BEST Bike service and dedication I have ever gotton from a bike shop... and believe me, living in Centurion where there are more that six bike shops within a six km radius of our house, I have tried quite a few. So we were promised that there weren't many uphills... except for the first 2km from the start.. but man, after so many days of racing, the muscle fatigue weighs you down like lead. Every slope feels like a monster climb.. the wind made flats feel like uphills. The Mummy who had been holding back and pacing himself passes me on a climb and pulls away looking very fresh... We get to the 6km mole rat run.. although very flat and stunning through reeds next to the lakes, felt like it would just never end. Up a short climb there was a little bench for hikers.. I am sure I was not the only one to take a breather there. Doc catches up and passes me on the downhill. He had to hurry otherwise he was going to miss his plane. I kept going as much as I could, but was pretty moeg. Back on the bikes for the 12km to Ebb and Flow and once again into a hectic headwind, I was 400m behind Doc and them and could not rope them in. In the last transition we had some spectators asking if we were moeg and if we would do it again...Definitely yes for both questions... that last 4,5km Pied Kingfisher run was extremely tough for me, it was flat, started on railway lines which really messed with your tired mind then off into the grassy sections next to the lakes again. I just couldn't anymore and found myself walking a lot. Comon, the end is so close. I could see the valley in those green hills getting closer, that is where the end is. A fish eagle called and some Loeries in the trees. “Just try run for five more minutes.” I heard the voice in my head say... the tank was beyond empty.. I dug deep and shuffled in to the cheering finish absolutely knackered and deeply satisfied having survived the storm. It was awesome to see all our old and new friends finishing this event and have such a deep sense of awe and accomplishment for all the wonder we were so lucky to experience. Ian DonWauchope won the event in an overall time of 19h05m and his wife Sue won the ladies category in an overall time of 22h11m. I completed the event for a mid-field result in 25h48. At prize giving, many thanks were given to all the Sponsers and Landowners and the Magnetic South Team that put together such a fantastic, soul inspiring event. I have to say, even looking back now, that it was truly an honour to be able to participate in the event and to go and play in the most amazing and beautiful part of the country. To everyone, organisers, sponsors and racers. Thank You it was a truly a memorable and unique experience. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DarkAndDirty" group. 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