THE RUNNING MANN
C o l u m n
The rarest sight in road running – David Case running on an uphill
Don ’ t get too close to the edge – it ’ s a long way down !
The much more common sight of David Case walking up a hill
Whilst sightings of the last remaining Knysna elephant are incredibly rare , a picture of ‘ downhill David ’ running on an uphill is even rarer . According to Wikipedia , there have been 140 photos taken of the last Elephant cow from this subspecies by hidden camera-traps in 38 different locations in the forest . However , from thousands of cameras at decades of running events across the country , the photo below is the only known picture of David running on an uphill !
I met ( and ran with ) David during the 2019 Golden Gate Marathon , where I noted , “ From what I observed , David relies heavily on gravity and is unbeatable ( and unstoppable ) on the downhills .” However , this does pose a significant safety risk during the various Knysna Forest plummets . Whilst it is always pleasant to bump into David on a run , you really don ’ t want David bumping into you on a downhill . With the steep , sharp turns and only low stone wall barriers separating this freewheeling marathon runner from certain death , even a slight tap as David thunders past at near terminal velocity and it would be Case-closed !
By the time you get to 36km , your legs have already been completely annihilated by the steepness and sharpness of the downhills . However , you still have one final cervix-shattering descent to survive . For those that can stomach it ( or have not left their stomach somewhere on the 3km drop down to the lagoon ), they were still serving shots at the last drinks station . One of the marshals here had clearly gotten vrot on the tots , and leeringly told me , “ Fourways ? I only know one way !” I just ran on quickly , in case he tried to show me . From there , it ’ s a stroll under the ‘ troll bridge ’ and up the stairs onto the N2 main road for two pancake-flat kilometres adjacent to the lagoon and into the finish area on the Knysna High School sports fields .
Time for Oysters
After the race , the cultured and sophisticated can swallow oysters freshly cultivated from the Knysna Lagoon with a Chardonnay chaser . Since I am neither cultured , nor sophisticated , I headed straight for the beer tent , where I ( naturally ) found David and Sandra . Despite the stereotype , I have found that most Pirates runners prefer beer to rum after the run .
After an 11-year break , and 151 marathons in-between , it ’ s nice to reaffirm one ’ s memories , and I found that the Knysna Forest Marathon is still one of the best organised and most beautiful marathons in the world . My family is definitely in store for some future ‘ Garden Route holidays ,’ and I would recommend that any marathon running parent start selling the family on the idea of a trip to the Knysna Oyster Festival .
Images : Stuart Mann
Serenity and tranquility at the bottom of the Gouna River valley
What Goes Down …
The beautiful babbling brook at the bottom of the valley is a picture of serenity itself . Once you ’ ve managed to come to a screeching halt on the causeway , this is a mandatory photo stop amongst the tranquillity of Mother Nature ’ s magnificence . However , the peace and serenity are short-lived , as reverence to Mother Nature is quickly replaced by mournful mutterings of ‘ mother- ******’ as runners see the monstrous climb that lies ahead of them .
The repayment after the nosedive to the river is a long , steep 3km climb with a few hundred metres of extra interest added onto the top , where one reaches Simola . It is here that you join the half marathon route . ‘ Back in the day ,’ I was quick enough to still catch ( and pass ) plenty of half marathoners over the last few kilometres of the marathon , but 2024 Running Mann had an open road all to himself , and by the time I got there , the giant bottle of Old Brown Sherry at the Rawson table was long gone !
Despite the stereotype , I have found that most Pirates prefer beer to rum after the run
About the Author
The Running Mann has run over 260 marathons and ultras around the world , and his mission is to run every marathon in South Africa , while his dream is to get a sponsorship from a beer company , so he can toast all his marathon finishes in style . You can follow all his adventures on his popular Running Mann blog . His travel costs for this marathon were covered by RaceSpace , South Africa ’ s first app-based race calendar , bringing thousands of event listings to your fingertips , all 100 % free .
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