Ready to race , with Nicky Booyens ( front ) and Carien de Bruyn
Does this sound familiar ? “ If more than 50 percent of the field finish , I will have to make the race harder next year .” That was the opening line in my column a few months ago , written about The Beast , organised by Kevin Ruthven of Kingdom Trails . He is the brains behind these gruelling challenges , and he loves to make races as tough as possible .
The sister race to The Beast 100km is the Ice Queen 50km , a race that follows the same route , but goes in opposite directions each year , unlike The Beast , in which you do the loop both ways , hence the Ice Queen is only half the distance . As you may recall , when I did The Beast , I didn ’ t finish it , and I declared that it was the most difficult race I have done to date . Therefore , I was relatively excited to tackle the Ice Queen , as I thought it was the same as the second loop of The Beast … in other words , the loop I hadn ’ t done , and apparently the easier direction .
However , when I got to the venue and chatted to friend and fellow trail runner Nicky Booyens – who , by the way , ended up smashing the Ice Queen and winning – I discovered that it was the same direction as the first loop of The Beast , so I was less than excited . Firstly , it is a hell of a tough loop , and secondly , unlike The Beast , I would be doing it all in the dark , as the Ice Queen starts at 5pm in the middle of winter , so it gets very dark , very quickly . Anyway , I wrapped my head around it and accepted that I would just have to be fully prepared for the cold , and have enough batteries for my headlamp !
TRAIL
( MIS ) ADVENTURES trail ( mis ) adventures by CARLA LEA FARINA
Long Live the Ice Queen
Having tackled The Beast , and come off second-best , it was time to take on the Ice Queen , and hopefully emerge conqueror .
Prepared for the Cold
Arriving at the beautiful Kingdom Trails at about 1:30pm , we spent some time catching up with friends and fellow crazy people , and then at around 3pm started getting ready . Folding my clothes as small as possible to fit enough to survive for a week in the arctic , I was absolutely not going to get cold out there ! Gloves , extra socks to change into after the ‘ death by hippo ’ river crossing , extra long-sleeve top , a jacket and a pair of waterproof pants … Oh , and of course , my fleecy buff . I was totally prepared for a race named the Ice Queen .
As it would happen , I seem to bring warmer than usual conditions wherever I go ( according to my friend Gareth Morgan ), and I ended up putting my gloves on , and the extra long-sleeve , but it was warm enough that my trail running buddy for the night , Dusten ‘ Dusty ’ Grace , even stayed in shorts .
The route is a gruelling 50km , but as you know , I am an expert in getting lost , and so I ended up doing just over 51km in 11 hours and 14 minutes – good enough to land second woman . It was the most hectic route ! From crossing a flowing river that apparently is hippo hunting ground – you know , I live on the edge … much to my mother ’ s dismay – to real-life boulder hopping , this trail is adventure in its truest form . Fortunately , I had no major
Delicious soup and coffee at a mid-race stop with racing partner Dusty
Prize-giving with Kevin and Nicky
misadventures , apart from looping around and around in circles for a while due to my inability to navigate , but it was the most spectacular adventure .
Getting Through the Night
Dusty and I stuck together for the entire race , motivating each other and laughing ( most of the time ), but I did spend large parts of the tough climbs swearing at Kevin . ( For the record : Kevin , you rock , but how do you manage to find another hill on the very top of a hill ?) Meanwhile , the aid stations were amazing , and it was quite difficult to head back out into the cold after getting the most delicious soup and coffee . I feel this was one of Kevin ’ s schemes to aid in his mission of having no more than 50 percent of the field finishing .
The last 8km or so went by very slowly , but the company was good , and much to my surprise , nothing hurt . The whole route was lit by blue reflective markers , and coming into the finish was like being at a rave , and added to the festivities . It was such an epic way to end a race .
Kevin knows how to put a race together – wellorganised , well-marked and very festive – and I highly recommend giving one of his races a try . They are tough , but they are meant to be . Kingdom trails is rustic but beautiful , and Mielie ( Kevin ’ s dog ) is as friendly as ever , and gets FOMO when he ’ s not included . This is the place adventures are made , and I can ’ t wait to be back . Thank you , Kevin !
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 !
Images : Courtesy Carla Farina
54 ISSUE 152 | www . modernathlete . co . za