Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 130, May 2020 | Page 33

TRAIL RUNNING
home, nor was he in any of the usual places he might
usually be. Now this is a mom’s worst nightmare. She
was far away and completely powerless.
The reasonable part of our heads was saying (out
loud) that he was probably perfectly safe. He was
playing somewhere and had lost track of time. But
the mom-brain was shrieking in the background, and
the need to do a U-turn on the highway and board a
plane back to Joburg to start the search was heavy.
After a good 20 minutes of deliberating his possible
locations in an attempt to remain calm, we received
word that he’d been found. A miscommunication had
him waiting patiently at the school reception, perfectly
safe, but slightly confused as to his long wait.
Vastly relieved, we continued our drive, and honestly,
I had no idea how far away everything is in the area
of Addo. We eventually arrived to collect our race
numbers, and suddenly, as I exited the car and the
air-con no longer shielded me, I was hit by the heat.
I don’t know what the temperature was, but I really
wished that I was not wearing jeans!
Rustic Setting
Number collection done, packs checked and 10kg of
coffee collected from Michelle’s parents for transfer
to Joburg, we decided to check into our BnB before
heading to the shops to buy a few last-minute
necessities and find a place to have dinner. The lovely
Lupus Den, where we stayed, is a home lost in time.
Antique furniture beautifully arranged on a mint green
carpet that still looked brand new, despite its age. Our
lovely host, Priscilla, who has lived on the lemon farm
for the last 55 years, greeted us at the gate. When we
mentioned our plans to go shop and find dinner, she
admitted her confusion to our refusal for dinner that
evening. Not only were the closest shops 25km away,
but there were no restaurants at all.
And so, at the last minute, we accepted her offer for
dinner, both on Friday as well as Saturday evening.
We were not disappointed. We were served a threecourse
meal on antique crockery and silver cutlery.
The food was a perfect blend of home-made love and
professional quality. Also, because we did not get to
the shops, our breakfast plans were thwarted, but our
lovely host came to the rescue again, making us some
oats, which she left out for us. I didn’t get to see the
pantry, but I’m pretty sure they can self-sustain for a
while, given the proximity of shops.
Now, all runners know that race prep is nervewracking.
Well, trail race prep is more so. You need to
have all your supplies, food, water, clothing, first aid,
The Addo 76km start
space blankets, etc. The list goes on, and depending
on the race conditions, the list will vary. So, finally
packed and ready, to bed we went. Not to sleep, but
rather to lie and think about the momentous task
ahead of us.
Taking to the Trails
The Addo 76km race is a point-to-point race, which
meant that in order to get to the start, we needed
to drive 30 minutes to the bus collection point. We
woke up at 2:30am, got to the bus a 3:45 and got
to the start line at 5:15. Essentially, we had been up
and awake for three hours before we started running.
Fortunately, the conditions were great. Cool, but not
cold, and dark, but not scary. The race started 15
minutes after we arrived and we managed to get to
the bathroom, but didn’t have enough time to get our
complimentary coffee. No stress, let’s get running.
Our research indicated that the race was mostly
jeep track, and we began with gusto. Cruising at
5:30 minutes per kilometre, our confidence was high
when we hit the first aid station. We sailed past after
giving our numbers, and started thinking about our
time. The first 20km was done in 2.5 hours, and at
this early point of the race, this meant that we should
finish in about 11 hours. That allowed for three hours
per 20km, and another two hours for the last 16. This
seemed reasonable… at that point. How naive we
were!
As the kilometres went by, we revelled in the beauty
of our surroundings. We chatted to other runners,
and joked and laughed. We marvelled at the 100-mile
runners and could see what we assumed were their
footprints in the sand going in the opposite direction
to us. However, as we came upon what we thought
was the second aid station, the heat was upon
us, and Michelle was starting to not feel so great.
Unfortunately, what we thought was an aid station
was in fact just a supporter, and the actual aid station
was located over the mountain that lay ahead of us.
Hit by Hills and
Heat
So we began the climb, still well ahead of schedule,
but starting to feel the heat. This was where it really hit
me how different this was to road running. The gravel
road was steep, and running up it was simply not an
option. With the sun on our backs, we took one step
after another, only using the front of our feet. I mention
this because it means you are doing a calf raise with
each step, and after a while it starts to burn. I hadn’t
faced a climb like this before. Not even the Comrades
Up Run could prepare me for this, and I was grateful
for all the strength training we had done, but then
Michelle started to fall behind.
We had talked a bit about knowing each other well
enough to pull and push where necessary, including
having safe words, sort of, that tell your partner how
you’re feeling. It’s always going to be tough, and it’s
normal to complain, but when you’re running as a
team, it’s important to know when something is really
wrong. This became apparent when Michelle said she
wasn’t feeling good, and me, not listening, started a
pep talk, hoping to talk her through this low point. The
third aid station wasn’t far away, and we just had to
get there.
Lupus Den BnB
On the downhill, we got a bit lost. The markers were
pegged into trees at or just above eye level, and in
hindsight, I think they should be hung a bit lower,
because when you’re going downhill, in an attempt to
not fall on your face, you tend to look at the ground.
The peak of your cap then blocks your eye-level line
of sight, and you may miss the marker. At least we
weren’t the only ones who did this. We eventually got
back on track and Michelle asked if I had something
that might clear the nausea that was gnawing at her
insides. I realised that I hadn’t brought ginger tablets
with me. Despite having purchased three bottles, I
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