Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 128, March 2020 | Page 25

THE RUNNING MANN
The Red Hill route allows
you to explore the part of
the Peninsula not on the
Two Oceans route
tools as dawn broke, the day shift got going just
after 5:30am with our own version of road work.
Overcast conditions and a light breeze greeted us
as we headed off in a westerly direction towards
Kommetjie. Those familiar with the Two Oceans Ultra
Marathon route will know that you turn right at Fish
Hoek circle, head through Sun Valley and go up and
over Chapman’s Peak. The Red Hill route allows you
to explore parts of the southern Peninsula you’d see if
you carried on running straight at Fish Hoek, towards
Cape Point.
There was plenty of chit chat and a bit of singing
during these early stages. I was worried about my
hamstring holding out for the full 42 kilometres, and
therefore looked (or rather listened) for a potential
distraction. There are always one or two ‘loudmouths’
in every marathon field, and a good tactic is to
find one who’s got something interesting to say.
Fortunately, I was running at the same pace as local
running legend Peter Taylor, who has run the Two
Oceans Ultras 32 times, most of them barefoot with a
“toss your spare change in here” donation rucksack
on his back to collect money for the South African
Guide Dogs Association.
He has some great stories to tell, and everyone within
earshot was duly entertained. However, he really
grabbed my attention during a story from one of
the seven Comrades he ran barefoot, when he said,
“Hillcrest has the roughest roads I’ve ever run on.” I
would be running the Hillcrest Marathon (hamstring
permitting) two weeks later, and interrupted his story
to ask if I could quote him on that. He backtracked
slightly, but still conceded, “Maybe not the roughest
roads in the entire country, but Hillcrest is definitely
the roughest place on the Comrades route!”
Running in Paradise
After six kilometres of running along Kommetjie
Road, you enter the coastal village bearing the same
name and the ocean comes into view. You can’t beat
running on the exquisite Cape coastline, and the next
eight kilometres alone are worth making the trip to
venture deep south. It was still fairly gloomy at this
stage, and the Slanghoek Lighthouse warned us of
the peril in store – the first climb of the morning rising
from sea level to 100 metres above in just under two
kilometres. The top of the Slanghoek climb is marked
by a stone wall that was part of the World War Two
“Cobra Camp barracks, which stood next to the
Slanghoek Radar Station.
From the top, there is a lovely drop to the Soetwater
Resort and Witsand Beach, followed by several flat
kilometres through the very appropriately named
Misty Cliffs – a surreal sight as the pearly-white sea
sand blends with the swirly-white mist. During this
section, there were plenty of signs warning of the
dangers of baboons. However, despite the signs,
baboons are only the second most dangerous primate
on the Cape roads. They are also usually responsible
for less litter…
The next village along the route is Scarborough,
alleged to have more environmentalists per square
metre than anywhere else on the planet, so it is no
surprise that Red Hill was the first race in the country
to officially adopt the #runclean campaign started by
Modern Athlete a few years ago. The race has also
introduced the concept of ‘Green Marshals,’ who
monitor the route for littering and stringently apply
the ASA rule that any runner found littering in an
environmentally sensitive area can be disqualified.
The anti-litter campaign seemed to work well on race
day, and no-one complained that they missed a Two
Oceans or Comrades seeding because they put their
rubbish in the bin. It’s also nice not to have to worry
about discarded plastic sachets ruining my race
photos, because there’s nothing worse than a piece of
litter (or a cyclist) defiling what would otherwise be a
fantastic running photo!
Decision time at the Perdekloof Junction split:
Keep left for 36km, or pass right for 42.2km
Big Small Firm,” and other local companies such as
Komicx, Chip Base and Chapmans Hardware play a
big role in the success of the race.
Decisions, Decisions…
At 16km you are diverted back inland and there is a
steady climb all the way to the Perdekloof intersection
just before the 20km mark. Here it is decision time.
Red Hill is unique in that, regardless of which race you
signed up for, you can do an in-race downgrade to the
36km Classic or upgrade to the marathon. This is a
popular choice amongst Capetonians, who are well-
known for not being able to make up their minds!
Downgrading is usually the more popular option,
especially in years with hot and windy conditions
when there will be several hundred runners who
change their planned flight pattern after burning up
too much fuel early on. The cool weather this year
saw just under 100 runners make a change, but many
of them upgraded, including the women’s winner of
the marathon, Nienke Pannekoek – and unlike her
name suggests, she likes her courses hilly.
I chatted to Nienke after the race and she told me she
was originally planning to use the new Hemel & Aarde
Marathon at the end of February as her qualifier.
However, after running with a friend and chatting all
the way to the split, Nienke felt great and decided to
give the full marathon a go – and ended up winning it!
All Hands to the Sails
Fish Hoek AC has 250 members, and with well over
300 volunteer positions to fill on race day, they enlist
the help of the local Rotary chapter and Ommiedraai
Friends (another local running club). If you’ve run
Western Cape races, you can’t help but notice the
orange Ommiedraai kit and their friendly runners and
supporters wherever you go.
It was therefore no surprise when I got a friendly
greeting from an Ommiedraai runner along the route. It
turned out to be Fahmy Galant, the General Manager
of SAIDS (South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport)
who I’d chatted to whilst writing an article titled Drug
Running at Comrades (and Discrediting American
ignorance), also published here in Modern Athlete. It
was great to meet in person and even better to know
that the custodians of our sport are active participants
as well.
Meanwhile, this race looks after the community and
the community looks after the race. The main sponsor
is a local law firm, STBB, which brands itself as “The
Going the Extra Mile(s)
Those that turn left on the Classic route immediately
tackle the perils of the Red Hill, while those that pass
right get to procrastinate with a 6km drag. Despite the
increasing agony in my left leg, there was only ever
one choice for me. I have mastered the art of delayed
gratification and therefore avoided the immediate
pleasure of climbing up Red Hill. Besides which, I
wasn’t going to fly down to Cape Town and get up at
4am in the morning for anything less than a marathon!
That out-and-back dogleg* that makes up the
marathon distance is probably the most boring
section of the route. Whilst this is by no means an
ugly stretch of road, it’s a psychological grind, since
you know you are only delaying the inevitable torture
and torment that is to come up Red Hill. (* Sidenote:
The grave of ‘Able Seaman Just Nuisance’, the
25