Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 120, July 2019 | Page 46

almost impossible. We had run 120km over 24 hours,
and we had made it home alive.
Carla and Su-yen with race organiser
Andrew Booth (left) and one of their
rescuers, Tommy
We ate some dinner with Tommy, who was freezing
because I had borrowed all of his clothes, and we
shared the happenings of the last 24 hours with our
friends around the campfire. It was at that moment
that I fell in love with trail running and the Eastern
Cape all over again. What an epic adventure, and
even though we did not get an official finish, nothing
will ever take away from the greatest adventure of
my life. The people involved in this race, from the
organisers to everyone who helped along the way,
made the experience magical, and you can guarantee
that we will be back to conquer the Ultra next year...
but this time with top of the range satnav equipment!
Su-yen: Although we indeed got an official DNF,
we felt like we had done battle and won. We will be
back, equipped with a decent satnav, and a louder
whistle. We will finish this adventure the right way. It
was an honour to be on the start line with our fellow
pathfinders, even though we found more than we
bargained for. Thank you Andrew Booth and the KZN
Trail team, Matt Botha and Devland Fogg of Wild Child
Africa, Rhys Foster and Tommy and everybody who
made this incredibly long day one of the most eventful
and exciting of my life.
towards us. The sea was harsh. Rhys and Tom
jumped in and were bowled over by waves, but they
were calm, they were amazing. They got Carla off the
ledge first, narrowly avoiding dashing her against the
rocks, and I followed.
We wrapped her up in all the clothes we had and we
made it along the beach to the final river crossing,
which was now neck-deep. A final swim, where Rhys
practically had Carla in a headlock, and we made
it up the other side to the bakkie. I’d like to say we
would have found that road, had we jumped off that
ledge and made it up the beach and got across the
river alone, but I can’t say it was obvious – and given
our record ability to choose incorrectly, an unlikely
outcome. I was just too happy that we weren’t going
to die.
Carla: We had warmed up and been driven to the
finish, passing the last two teams by car. We were
allowed to cross the finish line by foot (we managed
to walk the last 1.6km), and we received the warmest
welcome home I have ever received. I was pumping
with adrenaline and eager to tell everyone about the
adventure we had just had. We had conquered the
Carla: P.S. I’d like to dedicate this to Tommy and
Rhys. Without them we would still be on that cliff!
Su-yen: P.S. I think the only thing I am annoyed about
is that the DNF means Discovery Vitality won’t award
me my points. Oh, the injustice of it all!
Su-yen: We were bundled into the bakkie and to
safety. I knew our race was done. We could have
demanded to carry on, we could have been stubborn
and foolish again, but the relief of being found and
rescued outweighed the need to carry on, and as
we drove the last few kays towards the finish, saying
goodbye to our rescuer Rhys, who had to rejoin the
last team a couple of kilometres down the path, I
knew it was going to be a DNF. With one kilometre to
go we asked to be let out, so that we could at least
finish the race on foot, and crossed the line a few
minutes later, having covered 120 kays in 24 hours.
The welcome we received was amazing, the gin and
tonic thrust into my hands heavenly, and the bowl of
stew life-saving.
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ISSUE 120 JULY 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
Carla: We hurried to the next river crossing, where I
was put in a headlock and pulled across before the
tide got too terrifying, but we made it. Ice cold, they
loaded us into the bakkie, put the heater on and drove
us to the road where we should have ended up. We
tried to get out and run the last 8km, but Rhys would
hear none of it. We would sit in the car and warm up.
Again, had we been left to our own devices, we may
have gone wrong yet again!