Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 101, December 2017 | Page 19

TRAIL RUNNING
Scenery from the
Mutter, caught by
Alison’s camera
Always Be
PREPARED!
When event organisers send out their final instructions for ultra-events,
especially for those happening in the mountains, take note and don’t fob off
the compulsory kit items, because they may just save your life, or someone
else’s life. – BY ALISON CHADWICK
W
ith glorious weather to see us off, 61
enthusiastic trail runners set off at the
start of the Mighty Mutter 65km or Mutter
37km trail run on 7 October. Run in the Southern
Drakensberg, both events are self-navigating, and
this was my third Mutter. The first 13km up to Thule
Beacon at 2537m was tough going, and thanks to the
great weather, we wished we’d worn our short Funky
Pants rather than long leggings. However, once on
top of the ridge, the temperature immediately dropped
and we could see the rain approaching, and we
soon pulled on an extra layer and rain jacket. Just 10
minutes later the rain started and it got very cold, and
actually quite unpleasant.
We continued in these conditions for the next 10km,
and I could see that one of the women in our group,
Fiona Dawson, looked like she was struggling – not
fitness-wise, but with the cold and rain. She did not
have the correct gear, notably a waterproof jacket, nor
did she have gloves. Another factor when it is raining
is that no one wants to stop to eat or take a drink from
the streams, and on this particular day everyone was
too cold to stop, so we just kept going, and unless
your food is easy to reach, you’re not going to stop
to eat.
We reached our third and last checkpoint at “The Pig,”
about 23km into the race, and at this point I knew I
had to help Fiona, as she was shivering and shaking
uncontrollably. I could see that the early signs of
hypothermia were perhaps setting in, and luckily I had
a dry long-sleeve thermal top, a windbreaker and a
spare pair of gloves for her, and we used my poncho
space blanket as her outer layer. I also insisted that
she eat something, even though her hands were
shaking too much. (She doesn’t eat ham, but she said
she didn’t care at that stage!)
A FRIEND IN NEED
In situations like