Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 125, December 2019 | Page 52

SENSORY OVERLOAD
only for the close quarter sleeping arrangements in
the hut.
It’s up at this basic hiker’s refuge, halfway through the
Hobbit Journey, that it all comes together. Suddenly
the strangers from the night before have the day’s
experience in common and there’s a new camaraderie
and mutual respect now evident amongst the group
as they share a tasty warm meal, beers and their day’s
stories around the fire. As Tolkien put it so aptly, “If
more of us valued food and cheer and song above
hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”
Whether they scored a hot shower or freshened
up with a wet wipe, grabbed a bunk bed or were
relegated to a mattress in the outside shelter, it’s
here that the fast and the slow get the chance to
merge and mingle. They eat together, pore over maps
together, snore next to each other, and trip over one
another in the predawn toothbrushing and breakfast
scramble, before setting off to greet the sunrise from
the top of the first hill.
One third of the way along this stage, the trail is
joined by that of the 38km race route run on the same
day, and suddenly runners start seeing orange tags
marking the course and even a couple of fully-laden
feasting tables at just the most strategically welcome
points. This day draws the group in to the general
Hobbit race festivities and simultaneously sets
them apart as they bring down from their time spent
wandering (or lost) in the mountain an aura of self-
satisfaction that cannot be found in a goody bag.
All are directed to plunge down into a more
enchanted, engulfing forest before the wicked
scramble sharply up and over the enigmatic peak that
watches over the town. Standing out on a ledge on
the exposed and bristly haired Hog’s back for the final
grand view, feeling alive and proud and possibly a
little bit smug, Tolkien might once again lean forward
and tap the shoulder, saying, “You are only quite a
little fellow in a wide world after all.”
Which is the cue to come back down to earth,
following a meandering path to reach the finish line
and receive another enthusiastic Tatum embrace.
Each runner completes their own journey with their
own reward, and that is their story to tell. The happily
ever after ending comes not from Tolkien, but a
consensus from the whole band of Hobbiters over the
years, and that is that Graham was right. “It all made
sense out there.”
Vrugtman
Such was the bond formed one year between four fast
and competitive athletes who had never met before,
that they crossed the finish line in first place as one,
having run the whole of the second day together. “At
some stage we all just realised it would’ve made our
name ‘doos’ to suddenly try and pull ahead,” admitted
one of the quartet, adding that he’d had his best time
ever out on a trail.
The Xhosa word Amathole means ‘calves’ –
to the herdsmen, the grasslands and shady
glades of this range make it the perfect place
to raise cattle. Runners relentlessly raising
tired legs up the steep sides of the gorges
think only of their own aching calves and
there are times during day two when every
participant is tempted to stop and wallow
in the pools beneath the myriad cascading
waterfalls. Tolkien, again, has the best
advice: “All we have to decide is what to do
with the time that is given to us.”
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ISSUE 125 DECEMBER 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za