Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 117, April 2019 | Page 24

THE RUNNING
MANN
By Stuart Mann
Hot & Sweaty at the Hippo
When a holiday is announced in our household, the first question my daughters ask is not, “Where are we going?” but
“What marathon is dad running?” The answer this time was the Hippo Marathon, with a mid-term break enabling my
daughters to spend four nights with their Nana in Pinetown while my wife and I were able to sneak off to Richards Bay for
two of those nights.
(Marathon #207 / Unique Marathon #117 / 23 February 2019)
A
fter 12 years of marriage,
two nights of peace and
quiet sans kids far outweighs
the attraction of a ‘dirty weekend.’
However, one thing is for sure... if you
want to get hot and sweaty, Richards
Bay is the perfect place to do it!
This is a place where your washing
never dries – despite the heat, it just
achieves varying levels of dampness,
depending on the humidity levels. It
is a place where shops stock jackets
as novelty items, and according to the
locals, Richards Bay is where the devil chooses to spend his winter holidays.
After several marathonless years
in the town, the Zululand Multi
Sport Club recognised the need
for a local marathon to help their
athletes qualify for Two Oceans
and Comrades. When thinking of a
name for the race, they looked no
further than their resident spinster,
Big Bertha, who happens to be a
hippopotamus... and a massive
one at that! She spends a lot of
her time in the waters around
the clubhouse, and often makes
cameo appearances during club
runs. Bertha gave the race her
personal nod of approval, making
one such cameo appearance on
the route during the helper’s run
the weekend before the marathon.
with over 750 runners entering (181,
229 and 354 for the marathon, half
and 10km respectively). In an effort to
counter the hot and humid conditions,
the race has one of the earliest starts
on the calendar, 5am. Still, setting off
before dawn at 26°C in 80% humidity
means one works up a sweat almost
immediately. However, tables are
spaced no further than 2.5km apart and
provided a plentiful supply of water,
Coke and snacks to ensure we replaced
all the good stuff we were sweating out.
In most marathons I look forward to getting into the 30s (the measure being
distance covered), but in this race one dreads the temperature getting into the
30s, which it does shortly after sunrise. I was told afterwards by one of the race
organisers, Igna Freysen, that we were lucky to get a “cool day.” Her comments on
the day’s weather were, “Minimum 26 and max 38, humidity was at 82%, which,
funnily enough, is not that hot for locals, as we train in this heat most of the time,
but we did feel for the other athletes!”
One Hill Town
The race is a flat, double-lapper, with one steep hill, known as Strandlopertjie, right
at the beginning, and one gentle pull in the middle. Strandlopertjie is apparently
quite often the most congested road in town, since it is the only place local runners
can do their hill training. The race starts in the lovely suburb of Meerensee (right
next to Alkantstrand Beach), goes through Arboretum and then loops back via the
new Port Gate. From there it’s a detour into the Small Craft Harbour, which includes
the Tuzi Gazi Waterfront with restaurants and lively night spots, before crossing the
Iron Bridge (a local landmark) and heading back to the Zululand Multi Sports Club.
Breaking a Sweat
Iron Bridge, a local landmark and popular fishing spot
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ISSUE 117 APRIL 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
There are several marathons in coastal towns where you don’t get to see the sea,
and unfortunately this is one of them – but a stroll along the piers after your race is
highly recommended. Concerns about traffic from the commercial and deep-sea
fishing boat launches combined with the additional admin of policing out-and-back
sections along the pier are the main reasons you avoid the ocean, but hopefully a
seaside solution will be found in future years.
I was surprised at the size of the crowd gathered at the start. The organisers had
an original target of 250 runners across all distances, but managed to triple this