MANN the running mann by STUART MANN
THE RUNNING
MANN the running mann by STUART MANN
Like Father , Like Son
I ’ m starting to catch up again with my backlog of race reports , and I hope you enjoy my trip down memory lane at the Knysna Forest Marathon . I have a long history with this race , but it was 11 years since I had last run ‘ Kringe in a bos ’. Marathon # 269 / Knysna Forest Marathon # 11 / 22 June 2024
I
have in my possession three permanent number 30s from the Knysna Forest Marathon . Now , you might be wondering how I come to be in the possession of three . This story starts when I was considerably younger … Every winter school holiday , my dad ( the Old Running Mann ) would drag the family down to the Garden Route to run the Knysna Forest Marathon . He was the 30th person to run 10 Knysnas , and then ended up with a ‘ Double Loerie ’ after his 20th . The two ‘ face cloth ’ size permanent numbers in the pic below are his .
I started running marathons in 2002 , and the 2002 Knysna was my fourth marathon . After running Two Oceans together over Easter , I flew down from Joburg to meet up with my dad and we ran Knysna together as well . Knysna was the first time I ever ran a race and regretted spotting each kilometre marker – it was simply that beautiful in the forest , I didn ’ t want it to end . The ‘ hand towel ’ size permanent number is mine . I inherited The Old Running Mann ’ s number after my 10th run in 2013 .
got up to buy another round of beer or visit the loo ( to make room for more beer )… preferably combining both trips at the same time .
Habits are supposed to be formed when you ’ re young . Whilst beer drinking certainly stuck , running did not . Immediately after completing my first half marathon , I went cold turkey on any further jogging . However , four years later , when I was working in Joburg and had started to resemble the Michelin man after being on cortisone for an eye infection , I entered and trained for a second Knysna – and this time the running bug stuck .
It was nice to log back into the Knysna Forest Marathon
The Running Mann family has a long history with the Knysna Forest Marathon
Half a History
However , my long history with this race goes even further back , as Knysna was also my first ( 2017 ) and second half marathon ( 2021 ). As a UCT student , a friend of mine called Hayden Parr and I trained to run the half marathon , which was a rite of passage for the student populace in those days . Hayden was both a reliable running and drinking partner – so much so on the latter point that my parents referred to him as ‘ Hayden from Hades .’ However , Hayden broke his leg on the dance floor of his own 21st birthday party , about a month before the race . ( To this day it remains a mystery exactly how this happened . One minute he was on the dancefloor , busting some moves , the next he had a busted leg .)
I don ’ t remember too much about my debut half marathon in 1997 , but I finished in 1:46 , which I ’ ll take for a good first effort , but do recall being incredibly stiff and sore afterwards . At ‘ The Cave ’ after the race , Hayden ( who diligently tagged along even though he was not able to run ) and I secured the comfort of a table and then only
Flying South Solo
Back to the present , and this dad was planning to keep up the family tradition by dragging his family down to the Garden Route for a marathon . We had a Garden Route holiday pencilled in early , as the 2024 Knysna race date coincided with my daughters ’ week-long winter mid-term break . However , the school timed my eldest ’ s exams directly after the break , and she is not the kind of kid who needs any study distractions . Therefore , I flew solo into George airport ( with much thanks to Race Space who covered my travel costs for this marathon ).
The race starts deep in the forest , with transport provided by authentic minibus taxis . I picked a hotel close to the pick-up point and strolled through early , so as to avoid the queues . The race attracts almost 5000 half-marathoners , many of whom are temporary licenced , non-club members ), but far fewer marathon runners – usually just over 500 . The marathon starts at 7am , an hour earlier than the half , but you need to get to the taxi rank early if you want to avoid the half marathon crush .
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