Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 115, February 2019 | Page 17

to provide some philanthropic assistance to a thirsty tree. Whilst I was taking a
slash, I heard Slash’s guitar chords rip through the morning air whilst Axl Rose
(somewhat ironically) belted out Take me down to the Paradise City. All highly
appropriate, since Bloemfontein is nicknamed the ‘City of Roses,’ while I live in
Johannesburg, the ‘City of Guns.’ Fact checked: Yes, Bloemfontein is a bit
boring, but the organisers and support tables do a good job of keeping the
runners entertained before, during and after the race.
great feature to do a loop through the gardens and cut out some of the more boring
suburban sections later in the route. The eastern section that followed did start to
feel a bit monotonous, but the lively tables kept the boredom at bay.
Bloemfontein translates as “Fountain of Flowers” and is nicknamed the “City of
Roses.” I kept my eyes peeled for some rose bushes on the route, but came up
short – even the second-best option of a nice colourful flower bed also evaded me.
I did however find a solitary fountain.
Fact Check #3: Is Bloemfontein Flat?
The race starts and finishes at the Tempe Military Base, one of the largest in the
country, and I managed to book a room at the closest B&B to the start – to stay
any closer to the base, I would have had to enlist in the South African National
Defence Force! The B&B, which I would highly recommend for future marathon
participants, was called ‘Castle With a View’ and was on the marathon route. This
should have been an indication of what was in store, since good views don’t come
without steep hills!
There was nothing flat about this race – even the Twizza at the water tables was
fizzy! Much of the marathon is run over rolling hills through suburbia, and with
Bloemfontein about 1,400m above sea level, the marathon fluctuates between
a fairly narrow altitude band of 1,390m and 1,470m. Fortunately, while there are
a couple of short, sharp pulls, there
are no real monsters to overcome.
Nevertheless, the cumulative elevation
gains broke 600m, which puts this
race on par with the Soweto Marathon
in terms of climbing. Myth busted:
Bloemfontein is definitely not flat.
As the Free State summer sun started to beat down, we were reminded of the
importance of water over the final 2km when we made it back to the base. The drill
sergeants made sure we completed a short final lap around the sports fields before
we received an honourable discharge and could relax to the sounds of OFM whilst
browsing the stalls and kids entertainment areas at the finish.
Post-run Debrief
This was just the second running of the race, and according to the organisers, it
is already the largest running event in the Free State with about 1500 participants
across the marathon, half, 10km and 5km fun run. The popularity is helped by a trio
of great sponsors in OFM, Chatz Connect and Vodacom.
A few refinements in future years, including a little more military precision on the
marshalling side, would transform this from a “nice to do” to a “must do” race. I
would suggest a few route tweaks, like incorporating a loop through the botanical
gardens, perhaps getting some of the local school bands to play along the route, and
making a bit more of the military angle. The race is run really close to Remembrance
Day, so it would be fitting to formally honour fallen soldiers. It would also be quite
special to get going with a 21 or 42-gun salute for the half and full marathoners
respectively, but not sure the locals would appreciate all the noise!
Bloem Route March
The first section was my favourite of
the race, an opening 8km that explored
every nook and cranny around the
military base. It was really interesting
running past the various sections of
an active, working military base. I also
enjoyed inspecting the decorations strewn around the base in
the form of retired tanks, cannons and other artillery, all of
which makes for a unique running experience.
After exiting the base, you reintegrate with
the civilian population as you head
into the Bloemfontein suburbs. The
meat of the marathon is made up
by a couple of long out-and-
back stretches that patrol
you through the northern
and eastern extremities
of Bloemfontein. The
northern section takes
you all the way to
the entrance of
the Free State
National Botanical
Gardens, but you
unfortunately turn
around at the
gates – I couldn’t
help but think it
would have been a
An honourable discharge from the
Music Marathon
" The organisers aim to make this the
“most colourful, music and fun-filled
running event” in the country "
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: This is a slightly reworked version of one of Stuart’s
regular running blogs, which focus on his adventures (and sometimes
misadventures) running marathons and ultra-marathons all over South Africa,
and occasionally in other countries. He says his lifetime goal is to attract a travel
sponsor through his running blogs, so that he can run more races and share
their stories. You can read the original blogs at http://runningmann.co.za, and
follow him on social media @runningmann100.
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