The Two Oceans Trail Run 22km

 

As a rube from the countryside, coming into the big city, the two oceans trail run to me was a slightly intimidating event. Having 800 entrants, it was the biggest trail run, I'd certainly participated in. And the hullabaloo started nearly the moment I arrived in the mother city, when I jumped the vipers pit (or perhaps the Labyrinth) of the Cape Town Convention Centre and queued for my race pack; the arena had been transfigured into a temple for running related kibble (items which in retrospect are indistinguishable from the contents of one's waste basket). Now don't get me wrong, as a runner who, to use that deeply irrational cliché, 'gives it his hundred and ten percent', I certainly salivate over high performance equipment and nutritional supplements (GU) and was persuaded to purchase some items which would protect me from Mr. Sun -namely the blurry cap and the snazzy blurry glasses seen in the blurry picture above- but I found it quite disturbing that the simplicity and almost universal accessibility of running was hijacked by hundreds of little widgets and doodahs, such as Magic Shoelaces, amulets and little running pouches which attach to your shoes - are not pockets good enough?! Wending my way out of this web, I left for my aunts house, getting ready for a rude start and looking forward to what should (and would prove to be) a good race.

 

The Race!

The start was a windy one, making it slightly chilly. As we had arrived punctually I had the luxury of exploring the historic buildings of UCT during my warm-up, as we waited for the five batches of 10km runners to leave the chutes. After that, grinning foolishly in the start shoot, I waited, along with approximately 800 other runners in the start shoot, as Trevor Ball  tried his very best to instill a little fear into our hearts - for the fun of it. It was not entirely unjustified however, as a brutally fast start leads us upwards towards Devils Peak. With a good understanding of a trail runner's not entirely correct psyche and a proficiency in crowd dynamics, the several first gruelling kilometers were on double track terrain, which naturally led to a lot of foolish and nonstrategic dicing upon my part, despite being insulated from the world by a pair of polarised lens. 

Eventually the path narrowed and then the fun began. As usual in these things, upon nearing the summit and usually the half way point, one usually talks about the view, which is always inevitably magnificent and profound, offering a truth or another. Instead I'll talk about Mr. Green, so called because of the shirt he was wearing. I'd been sticking with him for much of the way and so I took it as a personal affront when as I fatigued, he only sped up. Eventually he and two others disappeared around the one of the many turns of the twisting trail, even as I tried my best not to flag. That was when I entered what I'll nickname 'Prickle Path', a two kilometre stretch of fynbos, which left me scratched and bleeding and also slightly confused, when I momentarily left the trail. This momentary lapse, led the leading lady at the time, KATYA SOGGOT to overtake me on the challenging and hazardous descent to the famed Cape Town cannons. 

With energy at a bit of an ebb after the cannons, up a hill known unofficially as a Bastard to even the local capetonians (who should in all other circumstances take delight in breaking a man) , I was again overtaken, this time by the infamous and once local to George, LANDIE VISSER.

At the four k to go mark, I found renewed vigour and to my delight was able to overtake a number of runners, through the fun little section towards the blockhouse and UCT, including the now second place Katya and my new arch-rival, Mr. Green. It was a relief to collapse at the finishing mat with a 19th Men's open and 2nd Junior man's placing. It was indeed a blustery day.

Thank you Pennypinchers for the trip.

The Cairnbrogie Trail Run 2012

The Start

( I love it when  everyone stands back from the start showing so respect to the course to come)

Good Friday, the first day of the Easter long weekend and also the day of the Cairnbrogie Easter Trail Run. Now in its second year the Pennypinchers Adventure Racing Team had spent the last 2 months preparing the exciting routes on the Cairnbrogie dairy Farm outside Plettenberg Bay.  With 4 different routes on offer there was something for the whole family, young to old, fit to not so fit. With Magnetic South and thier new ESC (Every Seciond Counts) timing system we were able to run all three races at the same time.

Runners from all three runs cross the line (Every Second Counts captures the positions)

There were two short routes for the kids with the 4km Fun Trail Run only having prizes which were sponsored by Spur for boys and girls under the age of 12. This resulted in a fast race where the local Plett Surf Nippers dominated with the Roode, and Dugmore clan cleaning up again. Part of the kid’s package was also a 1,5km Adventure Trail where the younger kids and also the Wheel chair kids from Die Sterreweg went on a self guided walk /run/sprint through the forest and back past a number of newly born calves and to cup cakes and a Spur Goodie Bag.

Plett Surf Nippers Rule the Trail to!!!

The 7km Trail run was tackled by a whole host of runners and local runner Marius Schlecther in his first off road venture came in first. The route incorporated some of the specially made single track on the Cairnbrogie Farm.

The Blue Ribbon event of the day was 13 km run. The garden Routes best trail runners were on the line. Local Victor Gugushe, Knysna based Melakhaya Msitzi and Mark Collins were all eyeing each other on the start line. It was the unknown face of Stuart Marais that in under an hour (52 minutes) arrived at the finish line followed by Msitzi and then Collins. The ladies was won by Port Elizabeth based Triathlete Kirsty Wier in a time of 1hr 18 min. Marias who hails from Stellenbosch is a top Xterra athlete and flew in under the radar and really put on a great performance. His comments on the route were “this is a proper trail run “

Stuart Marais (1st) Andrew Hill (Cairnbrogie Farm), Melkahya Msitzi 2nd,Mark Collins 3rd

Apart from the running there were two groups of local dancers on display with the House of Hope girls giving a display of the Zamba dance with a very modern vibe and then the Reel Dancers from the Griekwa Church put on a display of the more traditional dancing from their community. The ladies from the Griekwa church had a great stall selling rooster koek and pancakes and had a great fund raising day.

With the long run being fully subscribed (100 only)and the two shorter runs having about 70 runners in each and the Kids Adventure Trail entertaining about 80-100 kids the day was a huge success made possible by the Pennypinchers AR Team, Cairnbrogie Farm, Chris von Christierson and a whole host of volunteers and local business sponsors.Pictures from Glen Murray

The album from Glen Murray is at https://picasaweb.google.com/114421207657151811852/CairnbrogieEasterTrailRun?authkey=Gv1sRgCIzrmeP1h-K57gE#

Results at http://www.trailrunning.co.za/news.php?newsId=951
For other photos of the day go to showmeplett website and go to the galleries.

Double Moon 250km Adventure Race

With the Teams main focus for the first part of 2012 being the Expedition Africa 500km Adventure Race in the Eastern Cape In May it was an obvious decision to enter the 250km Double Moon Race organized by the same people as the 500km event .(Stephan and Heidi Muller of Kinetic Gear). With 9 weeks before the longer event we would be able to see exactly where we needed to adapt our training and preparation as well as race together as Team.

The race venue was the Vanderkloof Dam which is on the border of the Orange Free State and the Northern Cape about 140 km North of Colesburg. After a long trip we arrived at the Vanderkloof Oord and while Jeff and Garth dropped our bikes a further 35km North Netski and I unpacked the gear boxes and Netski made two loaves worth of sandwiches. Garth and Jeff arrived back just in time for the race briefing which was pleasantly short and with only one instruction that were not allowed to climb over any game fences and that the start would be at seven the next morning which would then allow the paddle leg on the Orange River to coincide with a water release from the dam. As usual time ran away from us and with the maps done we got to bed at about 11:45. With everything organized the night before we were able to lie in in our tents until 6:00am. A quick bowl of Future Life and a sandwich before we handed in our boxes, paddles and paddle bags saw all the Teams toeing the start line just before seven o clock for the start.

Leg 1 (10km run orienteering)

This is a 10km orienteering leg with 10 check points around the village of Vanderkloof. We were given a Google Map of the area with the points already marked on it 10 minutes before the start. After the field split up with what appeared to be a big group following Red Ants and then us, Exhale and Castle Lite heading off in our own directions. Five minutes later we all arrived at the Main Gate to the Oord (resort) together and immediately realized we were at the wrong gate. We split up again and it took about 20 minutes to find the right gate. By this stage we were at the back of the field!!! With that first error out of the way we got the feel of the area and quickly got the rest of the points and headed down to the Orange River which was pumping through the 4 Hydro electric turbines below the dam.

Leg 2 28km Paddle) 

With Netski forcing the pace at the transition we got on the water and headed down stream towards transition 2. On the way down the river there were a couple of small rapids and then we over took the water release and the river became shallow and slow moving. Here choosing the correct lines became important and we started catching the teams in front of us as we wound our way from one side of the river to the next. Castle Light caught up to us here and half an hour of bantering on the river got us to the transition together in second place behind Red Ants. The transition was stocked by the organizers with cold water and one of the local farmers wives had set up shop with sandwiches and cold drinks. Cokes and Fantas for us and soon we were crossing the river and filling our shoes up with the mud and gravel from the river bed.

Leg 3 (30km hike)

After a quick stop at a farm workers house where we washed our feet and socks we came out of the 3m tall maize and spotted Bleskop the top of which would be the first checkpoint on this hot leg. The three teams behind us had pushed hard to catch up and had all done so by the time we got to the checkpoint at the trig beacon on top of the hill. From here we all headed of the hill in our own direction even though we were all headed to the same next check point. Each navigator has his/her own interpretation of how to get there. My route for the next 30km was chosen to get a balance between the shortest route and one where we could refill our water bottles because the temperature was now well into the 40 degrees range. Our first refuel came from a farm shed only 40m of the route and then we followed an irrigation canal for the next few kms and eventually the temptation to get in was to great and we all jumped in and floated down stream to cool off making sure we helped each other out before we got to a bridge or pump. Team Exhale was constantly in and out of view to our left but the other two teams including Castle Light had fallen back. We passed Ostriches, Wildebeest, Springbok and Sheep a plenty on this leg. The second last check point of the leg was a farm workers cottage just out of sight and away from the other buildings and with not another person in sight  we may have missed it if the lonely inhabitant had not come to the crest of the rise to see what all the noise was about. From here with the sun really beating down we climbed another hill for the last check point and made a bee line for the first shop in Luck Hoff where the next transition was. Cold drinks in hand we headed into the transition promising ourselves 20min before we set off on the 150km cycling leg. The Community Hall in Luck Hoff found Stephan and Heidi with a transition area set up as if it were or their own team cold water, Juice, coffee all on hand to make sure that everyone could refuel in comfort before heading out.

Red Ants were now an hour ahead and flying on the bike so we went flying after them!

Sunset on at the end of the hike (still over 30 degrees C)

Leg 4 (Mountain bike 150 km)

As we rode out of town it was dark and Garth and I got to show off our new AY UP lights. What a great buy they were lasting all night. Flying after the Red Ants hanging onto Jeff’s slipstream turned out to be a school boy error and after 25km we ground to a halt as Jeff relived his dinner and some. We had decided to take the straight line to the next check point and headed onto the farm roads. Leaving the fast district roads turned out to be the wrong choice but may have given Jeff more time to recover from his Jan Ulrich haul up the road. We got to the furthest check point of the leg and turned and started heading back to the Orange River. The road was flat and on the map we crossed contours every now and again. During this time Exhale passed us and we had no answer for their speed but because it was so flat we could see it was a burst to get past as they remained in sight for a long time. Just before dawn we passed them curled up sleeping on the side of the road. Jeff nearly rode into the ditch as he stared with envy at the four curled up bodies. He had been asking for a cat nap for 4 hours but the team was not obliging. Sun rise saw us riding again with Exhale who had jumped off the ground as we came past and joined us for the final 20km back to the Orange River. Having been racing for 24 hours and coming into a transition with a team with only 2 legs left adds pressure to the race so once again Netski whipped us through the transition and back across the orange River for the final time.

Leg 5 (16km Trek)

There was no time to clean shoes this time after the river crossing and the blisters would only worry us on the way home so we broke into a shuffle as soon as we crossed the river. Here some conservative navigating paid off using the canal and power lines as hand rails we got the first check point and seemed to have dropped Exhale in the process. The next check point found us underneath a water canal in a stream bed (an interesting place to be).We decided to follow the stream bed to stay out of the sun and also the thick vegetation for a while. This worked well until we came out on the flat scrubby area and could see the saddle which would take us to the last checkpoint of the leg. The last check point was a reservoir which we all hoped would be full of water but it was bone dry. Any way only 5km to the dam where our Fluid Kayaks would be waiting for us for a paddle and an abseil and then a short paddle to the finish.

Leg 6 (14 km paddle and abseil)

A quick drink and two Gus into my life Jacket pocket was all that was allowed at this transition and we were of onto the water again. After about 20 min we saw Red Ants heading back towards the finish and we could see no teams behind. Second place was ours so we splashed water and headed to the abseil in high spirits. The cool water of the dam was refreshing and we gulped it like cool drink. The abseil was in an awesome place with a clear view into the green waters below. Jeff said this was a real highlight for him as he slowly over comes his fear of heights. After a good cool off in the water it was back on the boats and we headed for home passing Exhale on the way. Back on dry, hot land again we were met by Heidi and put in the four finisher’s chairs with a cup of Bubbly and a chance to relax at last. Jeff nodded off in about 3 minutes and had to woken to take a couple of pictures.

The rest of the day was spent rehydrating and eating and sleeping in the shade of the trees as the rest of the teams came in. A braai at the campsite that evening was a great time to share war stories and meet other teams. The last team crossed the line at 4:30am on Sunday morning and despite them waking me up it was really fantastic to hear the sense of joy and achievement in the voices of people who not only had a Double Moon race but also a Double Sun race as well.

Netski's tips from racing all day in 40 degree heat “ drinking lots of water and using all the different flavors GU gels to make sure you get enough fluids and carbs because eating is very difficult in the heat.

Jeff’s hot weather tips “go at your own pace and protect yourself against sunburn (cap with flap and long sleeves)

Garths hot tip- “cover your legs in sun cream before a paddle leg as they are fully exposed to the sun (especially if you farm pineapples and wear longs to work every day and Blue Steel is the best anti chaffe by FAR

Lettuce’s warm weather tips” use the GU electrolyte Fizzy tabs in all your drinks to keep cramps at bay and rather take a longer route to keep your water bottles full”

Thanks to Kinetic Gear for a great race and we look forward to Expedition Africa in 8 weeks time

Final results

1)      Team Red Ants

2)      Pennypinchers AR Team

3)      Team Exhale

The 2012 Unlimited Dusi Canoe Marathon

It was 1991 when I finished my  last Dusi Canoe marathon so when an old school friend of mine phoned me in December 2011 asked me to stand in for his normal partner I decided that I couldn’t say no. I booked flights and carried on with my normal adventure race training but tried to sneak in an extra paddle or so a week. 


February 15 2012 arrived very quickly and the butterflies set in when I got my first view of the Ernie Pierce weir the first obstacle after the start of the race. I picked up our “goodie bag” at the Natal canoe Club and even though it was 10:30am bumped into a bunch of familiar faces and felt as if I had never left the Camps Drift club house 21 years ago.


A short trip up to the Dargle Farm which would be home for the next 3 days saw me spend the afternoon moving the peddles in the boat and making sure all my gear would fit the rather wide boat we would be paddling. My partner Gnu Griffin arrived in time for tea and we loaded the boat onto the bakkie and headed up to a mountain top trout dam to take the boat for a quick tap in the thick mist so typical of the Midlands. The boat felt a bit skew in the water but it was not bad and I was convinced that it would be fine once we hit the river.

Eyes close, mouth closed, at the bottom of Ernie Pierce Weir - Don't swallow the water

Day 1

Due to a "P" batch start we get to sleep in but then get hit by the rush hour traffic in Maritzburg. Our start is so late in fact we console ourselves that the leaders will have finished the whole day 3 minutes after we have started. The weather is perfect and we head of across Camps Drift towards the 4m weir / shoot that saw the leading ladies amongst others take an early swim. We shoot down and pop amongst the carnage at the bottom of the shoot and paddle clear. What a relief. The field spreads out a bit before Commercial Road weir which we shoot fine in front of a huge crowd including Gnus son and my nephew who are on a school outing to watch the race. 45 min latter and we start the first portage of the day. My legs were aching for a run but the paths are full of people so we get in the queue and walk to the top of the hill at Bishopstowe. The trip back down to the river is a bit quicker and we get back in to the water with a pile of other boats. A mixed doubles pair flips over in front of us in Tegwaan Rapid and our nose gets stuck in their cockpit. We back paddle just before the boat hits the first of many rocks and get the hell out of there. Before long we are out the boat again and slogging up the Guinea fowl portage. Some banter with some Michael house school boys passes the time as the snake of canoes on top of people went down into the Devils Cauldron (a valley which can get very hot and humid). The top of the hill is 20km to go for the day. We drag the boat at breakneck speed down Geoff’s road and get back in the flowing water. Maze saw me find an interesting line but we survived the tricky channels and started to focus for Mission Rapid (the biggest one for the day) Two boats fell out in front of us at the top of the rapid so our approach was messy but we hit the bottom on the right line and shot through at a very forgiving water level. With only a short portage and some small rapids day one was in the bag.After a quick check of the boat (hardly a scratch on it) we headed back to the Dargle feeling quite pleased with ourselves.

Day 2
At about 8:30 pm a sms tells us that we have moved up from "p " batch up to h batch and we will start at 8:15 am. I hit the sack and try and remember what Netski has said about the line through Tombi one of the bigger rapids of day 2. Friday is still nice and cool and we start on the water while half the batch starts on the bank to portage the Dusi Bridge weir. Back in the water after the weir it takes a lot longer and some careful paddling to reach the first Saddles take out. Here you portage over a hill and back to the river and then paddle upstream and take out again and go over a hill again and back to the river. This cuts out a huge S in the river. From here it is not long till Confluence where the Dusi joins the Umgeni River. This section contains The Cascades, Washing machine and Slide. We shoot them all and make it safely to Marian Foley Causeway, the half way point of the race. After the Umgumenis portage the “big Three” rapids await, Gumtree, thombi and Hippo. We are through the first two before we know it and slide over the Hippos back and off we went leaving carnage behind us. The are some fun rapids before the flat warm waters of the Inanda Dam. At the start of the Dam Gnus partner Rich meets us with cold water. I top up my bottle with water and pop in a GU Fizzy tab and am ready for the slog across the dam. We find another boat that is in a hurry and team up to reel in tons of boats across the dam. Day 2 in the bag. No swims and the boat still very much intact.

The clean water below Indada Dam at Umzinyati Rapid

Day 3

There is a slight drizzle and it is cool. What a pleasure. We ride slip the whole way across the dam and put in halfway down Tops Needle. The rive r has already claimed a few boats as we get in the wreaks are still stuck around rocks. Side shoot is a bit messy and Umzinyati was great fun. Gnus family follow us down the river past Little John and we say cheers to them after Graveyard Rapid. We portage Island and get in and slide back to the main rive r. The causeway is easily shootable but a car nearly drives over us not listening to the officials. We are nearly at Five Fingers and we hit a rock and swim. Luck is on our side and the boat and paddlers are fine but it took and age to empty and get going again. Five Fingers was great fun and we cruised Mango Rapid and hit the flat water heading for home. I ticked of the bridges off and soon the finish line came into sight.

My third Dusi since 1990, Gnus 4^th since 2009 what a wonderful experience.

The low down

Day one 39km, 4hrs 12min, 3 GUs, quite a bit of portaging, fun small rapids, GU Recovery Brew at the finish

Day 2 42km, 4hrs 20min, 4GUs, 1 GU Fizzer to replenish bottle, awesome rapids, Gu Recovery Brew at finish

Day 3 37km, 3hrs 20min,2 GUs, one swim, nice rapids, Hansa Recovery drink at the finish.

My “find’ of this Dusi was my shoes. I have big feet so need a small shoe to paddle and portage in. The Inov8 285 was amazing. Good grip and enough cushioning on the downhill’s. It did not let in a lot of sand

In the bag!

The Real RETTO (Otter) Run-Natures to Storms River

Out to pasture, Pennypinchers AR Squad Member, Chris "Che Che" Crewdson celebrated his 10th run of the Otter on Saturday being the Course Director, for the prestigious Otter African Trail Run organised by the elite Magnetic South crew.

 

Chris was joined by fellow Otter African Trail Run colleague, Petrus "Wingman" Maree who has been responsible for all the field marking and event crew operating on the event. Petrus celebrated his 5th Otter Safety Run. Plus 4 local members of the MCSA Mountain Rescue Crew joined the vital safety scout.

 

Chris is again splitting this year with 7 months involved in heading up and managing the logistics of the Tour De Tuli, which attracts mountain bikers from all over the globe who come to ride in exquisite natural wilderness areas in the Tuli Block of Botswana, Maramani Community of South Eastern Zimbabwe and finish in the Mapungubwe National Park in RSA. The tour raises funds for the Children In The Wilderness program set up and managed by the worlds largest safari operator - Wilderness Safaris. For the other 5 months he is back home in Knysna and works with the top class Magnetic South team on the Otter African Trail and Sabrina Love Ocean Challenge.

 

"It has been a major adjustment having to share my year between the lush incredible beauty of the Garden Route and the fast paced big smoke existence of Johannesburg. However getting out there even in the concrete jungle of Gauteng, you do find some gems and its these isolated spots that keep you mindful of just how incredibly fortunate we are to live here in the Southern Cape. I do miss being a regular member of this very passionate group of like minded folk and the Pennypinchers AR Team has given me some unbelievable memories over the years that I have had the pleasure of enjoying racing with it. Now it is time for younger blood to pick up from where I left off and take the team to places I can only dream to be ! "

"It is hard to let go and accept that circumstances require one to move into new directions however my goal is to keep flying the Pennypinchers AR Team brand high at the annual challenging Skyrun, which is all I can fit into a life of living between two centres."

 

Working on the Otter is an absolute HIGH and what an honour to be involved in this event. It is an exceptional trail and a run that must rank on your "bucket list". What makes the Otter that much more special is that the trail is open to runners ONLY once a year. Magnetic South as part of their safety management due diligence, have put together the most comprehensive management plan of any Trail Run in SA. Included is the sanction by SANParks to have a specific number of safety scouting runs on the trail with members of the MCSA Mountain Rescue Team who are called out when hikers get into emergency situations. Two members of the Pennypinchers AR Team, Lettuce & Jeaneatte form part of this highly dedicated Mountain Rescue unit and shared my 10th outing. How fitting could that have been !!! 

 

A REMINDER that the Otter Trail is not allowed to be run unless your are a participant in the event or a sanctioned member of the safety team and all the necessary permissions have been given by SANParks, Magnetic South and MCSA Mountain Rescue.

 

Wishing the team and its many very supportive and loyal sponsors/supporters a year full of the GOOD STUFF.

 

Much appreciation to you all for making my time in the team an absolute adventure - see you at Skyrun !

 

Che Che