TRAIL
Richard Schnitter ready to run at the MacMac Ultra start
Who Needs
Sleep ?
is what Jonathan Livingstone Seagull is about . Doing something worthwhile and unforgettable . Unfortunately , Schnitter ’ s friend picked up a back injury and could not run the next race , but he still hit the trails for the 100-miler last year , and so a new challenge had to be found . That was when Schnitter decided it would be the 200-miler .
Alternative Approach
The Tuks student has some interesting stories about how he prepared for the race , like the day he and his friends went to train in the University of Pretoria ’ s Humanities Building . “ I do a lot of hill work during training , which means running up and down a steep incline , sometimes 20 to 30 times . It is not only good physical training , but it also makes you mentally stronger . This one time , I decided why not change things a bit to make my training more interesting , so I thought , what is the highest building I know of with a lift ? The Humanities Building sprang to mind , so a few friends and I went there to train . We ran up the stairs to the top floor and came down with the lift . I did it 16 times ,” he says .
“ As part of my mental preparation , I watched many videos on 100-milers . It helps to understand what you are letting yourself in for , and the clips of these ultra races make it clear that you will suffer when running , so my racing mindset was to expect the worst , only to be surprised that it was not as bad as I had expected ,” he continues .
It seems that young Tuks student Richard Schnitter just loves the challenge of running for hours and hours on end , and getting by with very little sleep , which helped him finish some of the toughest ultra trail races in SA in the past few months . – BY WILHELM DE SWARDT
The chances are good that few , if any , students at the University of Pretoria have read Richard Bach ’ s Jonathan Livingstone Seagull . No surprise , really , as it is a challenging read , but the book can be summarised by saying our lives are not defined by societal norms , and we can break free from limitations to pursue our passions and dreams . And that is precisely what 21-year-old Tuks computer engineering student Richard Schnitter did recently .
In July , he finished second in the MacMac 200 Miler Ultra Trail ( 322km ) trail race , run mostly in the Mac-Mac Forest Nature Reserve near Sabie in Mpumalanga . During four days of running , his total running time was 84 hours , 29 minutes and 26 seconds , and in those four days he slept just three hours , as well as taking two 15-minute power-naps . That was it , as he came home second out of the four finishers from an original 12 starters ! But this is only part of the story . Eight weeks earlier , Schnitter competed in the Ultra-Trail Drakensberg 100-miler ( 161km ), finishing 16th after running for 34 hours , 16 minutes and 18 seconds .
In It for the Long Haul
Now , any keen distance runner will tell you that to run a marathon is gruelling , while the approximately 90km Comrades Marathon is a physical and mental challenge . So , imagine what it takes to run a 100-miler , which equates to nearly running the
Richard finished the tough 200-miler with very little sleep
Comrades twice , let alone a 200-miler , which is close to running four Comrades races ! Also , take into account that Schnitter competed in trail runs to do these distances , which meant racing at high altitudes , often on single-track paths , all the while being challenged by nature ’ s obstacles , , including 15,000m of ascent in the Mac-Mac Ultra !
One is always tempted to ask ultra-trail runners , why do it , and Schnitter says it is all about adventure . “ As a youngster , I dreamt about climbing the highest mountain , or doing something that nobody has dared to do . Then two years ago , a friend suggested that we should do the Ultra Trail Drakensberg 65km race , which we did , and we both really enjoyed it ,” he recalls .
That was it , and immediately after that race , there was talk of doing the 100-miler race next . That
“ OK , I must admit , in the 200-miler , I had to push myself far beyond my limits . I don ’ t know whether I would have made it if it was not for my faith in God . Also , the T20 World Cup Tournament final between the Proteas and India helped me immensely on the last day . I watched and listened to it on my phone while running , and it was a nice distraction . Then I lost the signal and could only watch again with 20 balls left in the game .”
Setting New Goals
Schnitter is not sure , but according to some fellow runners , he could be one of the youngest ever in the world to have finished a 200-mile trail race . “ At the very least , I ’ ve been told that I might be the youngest South African to have done so , but it is hard to verify , he says .
For now , however , Schnitter is taking a break from running . “ I think my body might have had enough of running for a bit , so I have taken up playing Ultimate Frisbee . The challenge is to see if I am good enough to be selected for the South African under-24 side that will compete at the World Cup ... and to do so , I need to get my sprint muscles working !”
Richard with women ’ s winner Nicky Booyens , who finished just five seconds after him
This article is taken from a media release sent out by the Department of Sport ( TuksSport ) at the University of Pretoria . More info at www . up . ac . za / tukssport .
Images : Sven Musica
40 ISSUE 172 | www . modernathlete . co . za