Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 119, June 2019 | Page 25

of ‘gentle undulations’ to the finish. Yes, on paper this looks like an easy ultra – but
these days you can’t trust what you read in the papers, and I’m calling out this
route profile as “Fake news.”
How tough are those last 11km? I can’t recall a tougher finish to any race I’ve done.
I can, however, totally understand why Jeremy’s body simulated renal failure to avoid
running them again! The last section of the Real Gijimas Ultra makes passing kidney
stones seem like an enjoyable recreational frolic. My own body had heart palpitations
just writing this report and, lest you think I am some kind of sadomasochistic cry-
baby who can’t handle his back-to-back ultras, I’ll point out that even though I was
crawling along the home stretch, I was still passing other runners all the way.
Golden Highway and spent about 4km on a dirt road adjacent to the tar, keeping
out of the way of the morning traffic.
Racing Strategy
But we are getting ahead of ourselves so let’s head back to the start in the
township of Zwelitsha, just outside King William’s Town, where 400 runners
gathered in the dark on a cool Sunday morning, oblivious to the pain, anguish and
mental torture that lay ahead. The race started promptly at 5:30am, about an hour
before dawn. I don’t do a lot of back-to-back long runs, but when I do, I’ve found
that the toughest part is getting going on stiff legs and then holding on until around
the 8km mark, when the endorphins kick in... after which you feel fantastic and try
to get as many kilometres done before the leg fatigue sets in.
The tough climb out of Zwelitsha made this a tricky proposition, but I find that chatting
to fellow runners is always a good distraction, and I found mine in conversation with
Khaya Siyata from Buffalo Runners AC. He is a policeman in King Williams Town and
had just finished his shift at 3:30am, after which he had time for a quick shower and a
bite to eat before lining up at the start with the rest of us. He told me that he’s trying to
get as many cops into road running as he can, and that his bosses are very supportive
of his running, even helping to schedule his shifts around his planned races.
The road flattened out briefly before suddenly disappearing from under our feet
with a 3km freefall down to the Bridle Drift Dam, a plummet that smashes up your
quads just in time for the toughest section of the course. At 175m above sea level,
this is the literally the lowest point on the course. However, like an expert limbo
dancer, the figurative lowest point of the race for me kept getting lower and lower
as we climbed higher and higher over the final 11km to the finish line.
To begin the torture, the climb away from the dam is a murderous 2.5km with 115m
of raw elevation gain. At least I had been forewarned about this hill, was mentally
prepared for it, and begrudgingly hiked my way to the top. However, no-one had
warned us about all the other hills that were to follow, and it was whilst slowly
crawling up each one of these Mdantsane ‘MFs’ that I realised I really hate surprises!
Much of this section is run along Jiba Road. Whilst many readers will be familiar
with the word, ‘gibberish’ – as in “meaningless or unintelligible talk or writing” – they
will probably not be familiar with a South African variant of the same word (spelt
slightly differently but pronounced the same): Mdantsane Jibarish – meaningless or
unintelligible talk, usually compounded with a great deal of profound swearing, from
the mouths of runners trying to get to the top of Jiba Road, Mdantsane.
The first 32km of the route follows the winding R102, which is a service road
adjacent to the N2 highway. The scenic road crosses through many villages and
townships, and with isiXhosa being the dominant language in the region, one passes
landmarks like Phakamisa, Kwaklifu, Thubalethu, Ekuphumle, Ndevana, Ilitha, as
well as Berlin. The latter name reflects the German influence in the area from the
1850s, along with nearby towns like Frankfurt, Stutterheim and Braunschweig.
The middle of the race provides some great country running with views of the
stunning rural Eastern Cape interior, and it was good to knock off a few easy
kilometres over the gentle downhills whilst eating up the beautiful surroundings. If you
needed to feast on more than just the views, support tables were frequent and well
stocked. Most had water and a cola drink, with a few adding some additional food
and beverages to the menu. The vibe and energy levels at all the tables was fantastic.
Sting in the Tail
As we got closer to Mdantsane, the second largest township in South Africa after
Soweto, the rural countryside was slowly displaced by more urban scenery and
the traffic got heavier. After 32km on the R102, we hooked a sharp right onto the
Survival Tactics
I keep alert and look out for interesting distractions whilst running marathons – and
am generally pretty good at finding them, especially in the last 10km of a race,
when I tend to find a lot more reasons for a quick photo stop. However, I will have
to return to Mdantsane someday to see what I missed, because I spent a good
deal of the last section of the race staring at my toes through glazed eyes, whilst
slowly shuffling forward.
I think the only time I dared to look up, I spotted a hairdresser/surgery combination.
I can’t remember what I was thinking at the time, but it was probably
wondering whether they offered leg transplants and lobotomies.
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