Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 130, May 2020 | Page 37

TRAIL RUNNING
A thunderstorm selfie
Pushing Through
I don’t know what kept me going at that point.
Perhaps it was the call of the nearby finish line, but
perhaps it was the same pull that I had felt in the heat
of the day, when the sun sucked my energy and I
wanted to fall to my knees on the gravel road. Head
down and panic simmering at the edge of my mind, I
put my head down and just climbed. Fear, adrenaline
and exhaustion, culminating in a boiling pot that
encompasses this amazing race.
This race that draws your life breath as the earth
inhales your being as the sun rises over the start. This
race that pulls you into the lull as the earth awakes
and slowly takes its morning breath. This race that
takes everything from you, calmly, through sweat, as
your heart beats over as the road rises over a verge.
This race that thrills your senses with the beauty of
the plateau as the sun sets on the horizon. This race
that forces you to run through nature’s fury. This race
that pulls you through the darkness and somehow
gives you the will to climb.
In the darkness we found the finish line, lit with
candles and the distant sound of people. I found my
Michelle again. She had made her way to the end –
her own story, her own adventure. We hugged and
we cried. Then, we remembered about the free beer
coupon. All in all, this was not what I expected from
my first long distance trail run, but I think I got my
money’s worth.
The Addo Elephant Trail Run presented by
Hoka One One offers 100 mile, 76km and 44km
distances. Founded in 2005, it SA’s oldest 100
mile ultra trail, and was the first SA event to offer
triple ultra-distance options. Addo is the only
national park in the world that can lay claim to
having the Big 7 (elephant, lion, leopard, rhino,
buffalo, southern right whale and the great white
shark), along with many other species, but rest
assured that the route of this race is designed to
keep runners away from those areas of the park
with lions, elephant, rhino or buffalo. The route
features many river crossings as runners track
the rugged Zuurberg Mountains and beautiful
valleys of the park. If this sounds like your kind
of race, make a note that the next edition of the
race is scheduled to take place from 5-7 March
2021. More info at http://addo.run.
The Addo finish...
understated, but
hugely satisfying
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