Ok, far to many thanks for this report, so I;ll have to complain - how the hell are the rest of us supposed to hold down jobs and run companies when other people are doing events like this? Please, less of these reports ;-)
On Oct 21, 11:22 am, Hardy <[email protected]> wrote: > 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. 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
