Images : Courtesy Carla Farina
Firstly , please be aware that our ticks are the size of grapes . Secondly , please be aware of snakes – we have six of the deadliest snakes here . Thirdly , be careful of leopards – they have babies , and will be aggressive . Fourthly , the rock in this farm is iron . If there is lightning , you should crouch down and make yourselves the shortest thing around , but only let your shoes touch the ground , as they are rubber . Fifthly , there are hippos in the river – please try to make sure you are not alone when running along the bank . Lastly , if more than 50 percent of the field finish this race , then I will have to make next year harder !
This was our race briefing for the latest epic adventure I went on , The Beast 100km ultra , which is a two-loop ( basically one clockwise and one anti-clockwise ) race in the mountains at Kingdom Trails in Mpumalanga . And when I heard race organiser Kevin Ruthven ’ s briefing , my eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas … I was so excited , I could hardly contain myself !
This race is very loosely based on the Barkley Marathons in the USA , in that we had to find three books along the way and tear out the page number corresponding with our race number . You then had to present these pages to Kevin when you finished the race in order to receive your finisher ’ s medal . But , here is the deal . In order to finish this race , you have to train for it . Train ? What is this strange concept ?
Seems the Right Way
We arrived at Kingdom Trails at about 8pm , a rustic yet very cool farm managed by Kevin and his dog . The race
Finding that first book page was easy . Then things went awry …
TRAIL
( MIS ) ADVENTURES trail ( mis ) adventures by CARLA LEA FARINA
Tamed by The Beast
Kevin Ruthven ’ s heart will fill with joy when I say this , but The Beast Ultra is officially the toughest race I ’ ve done to date !
was set to start at midday the next day – nice and warm – and this already somewhat confused my brain , because usually by 12 o ’ clock you have run at least 30km in most races . Anyway , off we set , a small field of about 24 people , heading out into the unknown and the heat of the day , totally oblivious as to what was waiting ahead .
Initially , things were running relatively smoothly . Running partner Su-yen and I found the first book with no difficulty , and on we went . Then , because it ’ s me , misadventure struck . As this is a double loop race , if you take a wrong turn , you end up going the wrong way , but because my watch assumed I was now on loop number two , it didn ’ t tell me that I was , in fact , getting very lost .
Eventually we found a water table , which should have been the 15km table , but when we got to it , they yelled , “ You are winning !” Puzzled and with a mouthful of sweeties , we eventually discovered that we were in fact at the 35km aid station , so we calmly gobbled our food up , so it would look like nothing was wrong , and then we backtracked until we found the path we were meant to be on . This happened a few more times – not to the same extent , thankfully – but we just carried on .
Climbing in the Rain
It then started getting dark , so we pulled out the headlamps and started climbing . As in , with our hands . Up boulders , through bushes , over rivers , thorns in our hands , all climbing . We confused moss with white markings . Often . We reached ledges even the toughest rock-climbers wouldn ’ t attempt . And then , danger number 4 ... The lightning came in , with torrential rain . Water in our eyes , shoes , hair , rain jacket , everywhere !
Finally , we found the second book and headed back to the path for what should have been the last stretch home of lap one … but the watch did its awful trick . Again . We walked and walked and walked , but the watch told us we were getting further away from the finish . How was that possible ? Eventually , we passed a massive spider web and sandy pan that looked very
Carla and Su-yen … before the misadventure
fresh and untouched , and it was here that we knew for sure we had gone wrong . So , we turned around and eventually found our way back to a warm camp with hot food .
“ Will you be going out for your second lap ?” asked Kevin . A very prominent “ No !” came from my mouth , and now it was Kevin ’ s eyes lighting up like a kid on Christmas morning . He was well on his way to achieving his goal : Of the 24 starters , there were only 4 official finishers ( and one unofficial finisher who finished , but outside the 25-hour cut-off ).
The Time of My Life
I may have DNF ’ d , but I loved every minute of it , and will most definitely be back for more next year – I do , however , recommend some training . I ’ ll also be lining up for Kevin ’ s other race , The Ice Queen , in July . Thank you , Kevin , for a most epic and awesome adventure !
About the Author
While Carla ’ s ‘ day job ’ is Head Tennis Coach and Director of Tennis at Game Set Match Tennis in Johannesburg , her second love is trail running , which she tackles with an unquenchable thirst for adventure , a never-say-die attitude , and a healthy sense of humour about all the misadventures that befall her on the trails !
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