Kurland Summer trail Run 12th Jan 2011

Kurland Summer Trail Run hosted by Pennypinchers Adventure Racing Team 12th Jan 2011

At gathering around a fire ( a braai) in early December while the Team was discussing the plans for 2011 I suggested it might be fun to organise a trail run and I have got just the spot to do it if we can get the permissions from the land owners. Peter and Zander Behr were only to happy if not a bit bemused to allow us to do a run across two of the most beautiful pieces of land in the Crags.

With the mix of the current team we were able to pull off an amazing event.Jeff and his son Brandon were seen shirts off sweating clearing the route. Netski sorted out the kiddies race and Chris arrived back from holiday the day before the event and put his expert skills of route marking and sweeping into place on the day. Race day arrived and we all pulled in our wives and partners to help with marshaling and entries. The day turned out to be a huge family affair with Jeff's Welsh in laws adding an international flavour to our team.

Chris,Netski and lettuce take in the flood of late entries.

The inaugural Kurland Summer Trail run which was organized by the Pennypinchers Adventure Racing Team was held on the grounds of the Kurland Hotel and the neighboring Kleinberg Estate on a hot Wednesday afternoon. The race was organized with two with two aims in mind firstly to have a trail run in the Plettenberg Bay area over the holiday period and secondly to raise awareness and some funds for two local charities, The Kids of Kurland and Mind the Gap charities which do a huge amount of good work in the local Kurland Village.
There were three different events on hand a 1,5km Adventure trail for kids, a 4km trail run for novices and the not so fit and the then the main event a 12 km trail run. The routes were clearly marked for all three races with the kids following a meilie meal trail through the forest and across paddocks back to the start where they all received a certificate and a gift. The 4 km route followed the 12 km route up a gentle hill through the forest before turning down hill and back to the start past galloping polo ponies and the green manicured polo fields.

The 12 km runners head into the mountains

The 12 km route continued up hill to the 3,5k mark and then the forest opened up into a spectacular fynbos filled valley. A long gentle downhill bought the runner s to the water point on the course , a clear cold mountain stream where many lay in the water to cool off and the racing snakes scooped a couple of mouth full’s of water and sped off only to be greeted by a steep firebreak that got every one walking. The views from the top of the firebreak stretched as far as Robberg and the sea and were well worth the effort. From here the course speeded up with and undulating section of roads and jeep tracks to the finish.

Guy Dempster downs a bottle of Independent Milk at the finish of his 4km Run

A total of 120 athletes took part in the races and the winners in each category were rewarded with prizes from many local sponsors including Ocean Blue, Plett Puzzle Park, Advanced Massage Therapy, Knysna Cycle works, 34 Degrees South, Spur Plett ,Independent Milk and Pennypinchers.Photos from Glen Murray addeda great touch to the event.

Winner of the men’s 12 km race was local running club athlete Chris De Villiers described the route as tough but awesome. His winning time of 60min and 55 secs was a couple of minutes ahead of Knysna junior Nic Cuthbert and Martin Fraser Mackenzie. The ladies race was won by Georges Chantal Nienaber with Kerry Roos and local Kerry Ravenscroft in second and third respectively.
Peter Behr of Kurland hotel was one of the Novice runners in the 12 km run and despite being absolutely “buggered’ he really enjoyed the run and was going to definitely train for the next one.

The Kurland Mielie Meal Kids race saw 24 children ranging from age 1 half to 14yrs old participate. The trail consisted of following mielie meal arrows which took the children thru forest jeep track, single track, fern forests, puddles and grassy meadows. The race/walk was about 1 half km starting and finishing at the same place as the 12 and 4 km race. The mom's and dad's who where not racing in the trail run come along or provided support at the finish line for the little ones. Jeff from the Pennypinchers AR Team had to run fast in front trying to keep ahead of the eager children while the rest of the mielie meal hunters stayed at the back with other Pennypinchers AR Team member Jeannette to explore the forest. Each child received a certificate congratulating them on completing the trail with prizes for each one of them. The children's entry fee went towards helping the unprivileged children in Kurland. It was a fun filled afternoon with lots of smiles and dirty feet to show. Thank you to all of the children who came along.

With the explosion of trail running in the rest of the country the Pennypinchers Adventure Racing Team has committed to organizing more amazing runs in the Garden Route especially in the Plett area. They are part of the mission to help make Plettenberg Bay the Nature Sports Capital of Africa. Look out for the Easter Trail Run to be hosted by the Team over the Easter weekend at another amazing venue in the Plett area.

Kurland Summer Trail Run

Everthing is in place for the Kurland Summer Trail Run to be held on January 12th. The route will be appreciated by all trail runners from beginner to experienced trail gurus. Entries can now also be found on trailrunning.co.za

Dont forget there is something for everyone, a 12 km,4km and even a fun kiddies event.

Contact James on 082 9257885 or email jlettuce@xnets.co.za

The Knysna Ghost Adventure Race December 16

Pennypinchers Adventure Racing Team member Jeannette spent her public holiday running around Knysna in the rain with about 30 other crazy people. The weather was actually perfect for the Knysna Ghost which was a small adventure race covering a distance of 50km with 5 transitions which kept the seconds on there toes. It all started with a 5km run at Crabs Creek along the phantom pass rd to a local farm along the Knysna River where we climbed in for a paddle back to Crabs Creek. Onto the mnt bike traversing across the mnt to Buffalo Hills River Deck to clip our second check point, along the road to our next transition at Buffalo Backpackers where the run started. Awesome single track thru the coastal vegetation which then took us the beach all the way to Brenton on Sea where we got back onto our bikes across the railway line just past the St James headland and back into our canoe's to paddle across to Crabs Creek. We had to collect six check points along the way. It was a real good fun event, well organized Thanks to Pax and Louise and all the helper. But big thanks to my super second Colin who made it to every spot in time and collected all his checks points as well which the seconds had to collect as well making it interesting for them to.
Results Jeannette Walder 1st lady and 3rd overall in the solo.


From the local press

LOCALS CLEAN-UP at inaugural Knysna GHOST!!

Two of the Garden Route’s top athletes – Marcel Roos and Jeanette Walder stunned the crowds at the first ever Knysna GHOST Adventure Route held in Knysna last Thursday 16th Dec.

Despite the shocking cold wet and windy weather conditions, hard core athletes turned out in their droves. Solo and team participants set out at pace from the start at Crabs Creek for a 5km dirt road run. At transition 1, the solo competitors rushed for their boats, whilst the team participants switched racing vests for the second leg of the race, a 7km paddle down the Salt River. Transition 2 saw the mountain bikes racing off through some magnificent pine forests, negotiating some tricky sandy terrain, to end up at The River Deck and Buffalo Bay, where a 7km trail and beach run was next on the cards. At Nauticus, Brenton on Sea, competitors again reached for their bikes to negotiate the railway line over the lagoon and back to the Point to grab their boats for the final leg home and back to the finish at Crabs Creek. Race marshals had barely finished eating their delicious breakfasts, when the winning competitors came into sight over the very choppy lagoon!

Local “Younguns” - and team of 3 Bradley Nelson, Grant Ayton and Rory Sandberg won overall with a winning time of 3h13minutes. Hot on their heels, and only 3 minutes behind them, was local “Toppies” team, Jan and Rhoda Zonnestien, and MTB champ, Paul Mickelwood. The first Solo man was local hero and tri-athlete Marcel Roos who completed the 50km route in 3 h 23 mins. He was followed by Danie Leonard from Blanco who came in 9 minutes later. In third place overall, and comfortably winning the ladies solo category was renowned adventure racer, Jeanette Walder who completed the course in 3hrs 39 minutes. Kate Southey took second place in the ladies solo category. The winner of the teen category was Team Merrell consisting of Wouter Bezuidenhout, Benjamin Gilomee and Michaela Beers. In second place in the teen team category, was Oak Hill team Amy Williams, Jonty Andrews and Anola Walk.

Said race organiser Pax Mosterd of Garden Route Events and sponsor Ultimate Cycling, “I am overwhelmed by the performance of the pro athletes on this course who have set some mean times to beat next year. It was equally awesome to see the less competitive entrants having such a blast. See you again next year”.

Kurland Summer Trail Run by Lettuce

Summer Trail Run
12 JANUARY 2011, 4:30PM

The Pennypinchers Adventure Racing Team has decided to put on a trail run over the Xmas holidays to make sure that people don’t eat too much Christmas pudding and those that do will have an opportunity to work it off before the end of the holidays.A portion of your entry fee will be going towards two local charities here in the Crags Mind the Gap and Kids of Kurland.

Living in The Crags I had a pretty good idea of a route and with permission from Peter and Zander Behr the team headed into the hills above the Kurland Estate to scout a route that would suit our needs. The area is so beautiful and cut out for trail running that we had to restrain our selves from running all day and just work on a route that would be suitable for everyone.

The route that we have chosen is roughly 12 km long with 375m of climbing. The run starts with a gradual climb into the back of the Kleinberg. This climb is rewarded with a view over the Crags towards Robberg and an easy 3 km down hill to a cold mountain stream where the runners can sip the pristine waters as refreshment. After the stream the runners will leave the jeep track and head over the Kleinberg on a fire break choosing their own route down the other side. From here the route speeds up for those that still have some energy and follows some winding roads past natural forest, honeybush tea plantation and horse paddocks. The Pavilion comes into sight but there is still some work to do as the runners follow some single track back to the finish line.

If that sounds to tough there is a 4km fun run that will given novices a small taste of running through the forest and around the well groomed Kurland grounds. Our preprimary school teacher Jeannette will be putting together a mini trail run for the kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old with the moms or dads able to go along for some fun.

The restaurant and bar will be open at the Pavilion with some light meals and ice cold refreshments for runners and spectators.

The late afternoon start (Registration from 3:00pm start at 4:30pm) should provide for a cool run with a great opportunity for sundowners at the spectacular Pavilion.

Send me an email to recieve an entry jlettuce@xnets.co.za

The 12km Kurland Summer Trail Run is restricted to 100 runners only so please print a copy of the entry form and indemnity and fax it with proof of payment to 0866192563.

SALOMON SKYRUN 2010 by Lettuce and Netski

SALOMON SKYRUN IN ASSOCIATION WITH THULE

What could be more appetizing for the Pennypinchers AR Team in the middle of November to round off the year than a road trip into the “Wartrail “ district and the challenge of a 100 km trail run at altitude with loads of technical sections and the most amazing views and vibe.

With the faithful Combi packed with a couple of tents and some running kit Jeff, Jeannette,Chris and James headed for the hills (mountains) with Jeanette’s better half Colin along as “super “second. Lady Grey plays host o the start of the race and the Wartrail Country club hosts the finish. For those that don’t know where Lady Grey is, it lies in a valley near Lesotho on the Eastern Cape / Free State border.

4:00 am 105km to go

Adrian Saffy the event organizer had this to say about his event.

“What an experience this years Salomon Sky run turned out to be organizing as well as for the athletes.WE made South Africa's toughest non stop mountain run even tougher by adding on an extra 10kms, including a serious technical ascent to be tackled at night, after 90 grueling kilometers.We were astounded by this years entries into Sky run. Before we knew it we had over 170 runners (almost three times our usual field). Only 40 of the entries received had any Sky Running experience, the rest were Sky Running virgins. We were in for one hell of a ride but gratefully we had the backing of our sponsors, marshals and landowners and were ready to take on the challenge.The weekend saw streams of athletes roll into Lady Grey with second hand information about what this event holds in store for them. Sitting in the Lady Grey Mountain View Country Inn and listening to some of these Sky run 1st timers planning and strategizing reminded me of my first time and brought back those memories of the fear and anticipation of taking on an unknown adventure. Those feelings we thrive and live for.The Salomon Sky run is not a race it is a journey and there is no guarantee that no matter how much you train and prepare, that you will finish the full route. With so many novices taking part this year our stress levels were higher than usual. What would the weekend hold?”Adrian

We had decided before the start that the four of us would stick together for this race although the Sky Run is very much an individual race. This would give Chris and Jeff time to race with Jeannette before next years African Expedition Race in May. This may sound like an easy thing to do but it does in fact make it more difficult as we would find out as time progressed on the mountain. Jeanette had this to say about her second Sky run (what she forgot to say is that in her previous report on the Sky run 2009 she said that one does need to train specifically for the run). This is what she had to say and it would appear that all the aches and pains have gone because this report is all about food!!!

“So there I'm walking down the Pick n Pay isle wondering aimlessly what I am going to feel like eating on this 100km Sky Run. I thought I'll attack it like one of the adventure races. With that in my mind the yoghurt coated peanuts ended up 1st in my basket brining back fond memories of the Bull 2008 and any fond memories of any adventure race means something!!! Jelly babies have been replaced by the far better yummy Gu Chomps so no need for those buggers, salt and vinegar chips always a good idea and since summer is just around the corner the Chocó bars have been replaced by the healthier version of health oat bars. The sarmis where going to be a salami, mayo, and cheese gherkin version how delicious does that sound. Well all I can say the 1st 60km only saw me able to face and digest my GU’s thankfully they made it into the backpack. Yoghurt peanuts nope and chips never made it into the backpack. So my 1st 60km consisted of 2 GU’s and 4 chomps. The yummy sarmi which was made by our super duper second was hardly eaten because I felt too guilty to bring it back. So sitting at our 1st and only transition I was a bit stuck of what to pack food wise. Well all my cappuccino flavored GU’s made it into my side pocket since we will be going thru the night, a packet of Gu Chomps and 2 sarmi’s. The health oat bars never even saw the light of the day. I ate everything in sight and ran out of food!!! Okay the last 40km did take a bit longer then we thought we played around the wrong mountain for 4 hrs during the night and decided a little snooze in the old pump house was in order so hence the running out of food. So the moral of the story is one never knows what is going to happen, what you feel like eating and that is the beauty of these races and that's why we keep on coming back. “Jeannette


Here is how the day went from under my cap.

At 4: ooam Jean-Michael (the founder of the Sky Run) blew a sheep’s horn and the race started with a fast jog down the streets of Lady Grey. After about 4 mins the road ends and the hiking trail up to CP 1 starts. From here for the next 10 km is up hill and technical single track. One needs to keep moving here but not be a sheep and follow because there are some better choices of paths. On the climb up every one is short of breath and if you are looking for excuse one could say that the altitude is hurting you. I think it is just the cold are and one is going slightly too hard in the excitement of the race start. After CP 1 you start your relationship with the barbed wire fence that runs along the crest of the Witteberg Mountains all the way to Skidauw just before the 60 km stop at Balloch.

As the sun comes up the fence line runs due east and you are blinded by the sun but follow it towards CP 2 at Snowdon. Here the fence guides you and you don’t need to leave its side that often. After Cp 2 you under go a trial separation as you follow a quad bike track for a good few kilometers and one can actually run a bit here which is a welcome changes from the tufts of grass and slopes of the previous couple of hours. The fence is never far away and one touches base every now and again just to make sure that no one is straying to far from the beaten track (no real track). At CP 3 we stumble across young David De Haast who was cooking in 12th place but had over done and was waiting for a ride down with the amazing marshals from the Bloem 4X4 club. Just after CP 3 and about 30 km into the race the route crosses a stream for the first time and we re fill our bottles before returning to the ever faith full fence line. Not long after that I make the call to climb to a saddle, leaving the fence to contour around a peak. This was slower and a group caught us from behind. Not long after we re-joined the fence line Chris started to slow down. No problem to adventure racers Jeff and I took his pack, split the contents between us and gave him his juice and food back as we reached Avoca Peak and CP 4.

Chris leads the way early on

From Avoca to Skidaw the fence runs along the Dragons Back and one has to cross over and under the fence a good many times testing you sense of humor to the limit.

One of the other competitors on the Dragons Back

With the flags at Skidau in sight we made short work of this stretch and headed away from our fence and down a steep drop to the welcoming Balloch River. The last few kilometers flew past and we arrived in Balloch 10 minutes ahead of schedule at ten to four. We agreed on a half hour stop to re fuel and rest our feet after 60 kms of rough walking and running. Jeff presented his feet to me just before I tucked into one of Colin’s sarmis and all I saw was massive blisters. I got to work with Friars Balsam and tape and stuck them back together again. A good job done we loaded up and headed out full of confidence that we had 40kms to go and the Sky run was in the bag.

Balloch wall awaited a steep very steep grassy mountain side that rises up in front of you like a fortress. At the saddle at the top the Sky run took its first prisoner and Jeff lost all his food that he had eaten at Balloch and a whole lot more. Not a pretty site. Chris the added to the carnage at the top with a runny tummy. It was with a almost delirious Jeff hanging onto the bungy and a slightly thinner Chris that we arrived at Edgehill for CP 7. Jeff just wanted to sleep and I had to drag him off the marshal’s mattress and onto some horse blankets. An hour and half latter Jeff was still broken and unable to keep anything down. With heavy hearts we left him to get a lift back to the finish which was tempting close about 5 km away (we still had thirty some thing on the race route). With Jeff leaving I lost interest in trying to navigate with the map and asked Chris to pick up the GPS track and we would follow that for a bit. A fatal mistake to get out of your map. We slogged up the wrong mountain trying to find a route that the Basutos couldn’t find so how could we. Sanity prevailed at 1:30am and we headed for a pump house to try and have a nap. Chris put his head down and was out (I think they taught him that in the military in Zim) Netski and tossed and turned under space blankets willing the sun to come up. The minute I could see the horizon outside we headed out and the route unfolded in front of us plain as day. I kicked myself for the next three hours as we easily summated the Bridal Path and hit the well worn path towards CP 8 and the turn around of the second part of the race.

The sun came up and we shared a small sachet of Island Tribe between us to try and keep out Mr. Spikes and stripped down to our race vests as the temperature rose. Food and water were starting to become an issue and I called a stop for everyone to take stock of what food and water we had left. Once again we relied heavily on the Gus, Gu Chomps and GU Brew to eeck out what nutrition we had with us. It definitely has the most bang for its weight.
Once we all new where we stood we headed off towards the finish. As with all adventure type races there is always a sting in the tail and as much as you try to will the sting away Halstone Peak was visible for about an hour before we got to the last steep climb to the last CP of the race. The views from the top were spectacular as were the views from the exposed cliff that we dragged our selves up. From there it was all downhill to the finish. The down hill was crazy steep. You really wanted to just sit on your butt and slide all the way down but 28 hours of hiking normally results in a bit of chafe and so it is not the recommended method.

All Down Hill to the Finish

A quick dip the river 50 meters from the finish injected a final spurt of energy to get us to the finish line in 33 hours. What an EPIC!!!!!!!

105 km and the Sky Run in the Bag ( one of my hardest earnt T-shirts)