UTCT is all about climbing mountains !
TRAIL RUNNING in hard lockdown , which in one sense was really tough . I wasn ’ t sure if I was going to be allowed in the hospital , and everyone was just scared . The good thing was that there was no sense that becoming a parent changed my world … the whole world changed at that time . My son Killian and COVID-19 came as a joint package ,” he says .
On naming his son Killian , Andre says : “ We really tried hard to find other names . I liked the name , but knew all my friends would make fun of me for naming my son Killian , because of Kilian Jornet . In the end , we decided to let them make fun of me , because we loved the name !”
CALL OF THE MOUNTAINS
Looking ahead to his big race in November , Andre says that after running 100km , he did not initially think he would progress further and aim for a 100-miler . Also , he did not run the 2021 UTCT , but was stationed on Kloof Corner with the ‘ Mountain Men ,’ a group of runners who are renowned for providing amazing support and ‘ gees ’ at this 20km point in the race , and that left a big impression on him . special . Also , I think you need to sign up and commit , almost like on a drunk night out with friends , and then figure it out from there ,” he jokes .
In April this year , Andre did the Ultra-trail Drakensberg ( UTD ) 100km . He ran a great race in terms of the result , finishing 12th , and says he executed his race plan really well . The strange thing was that because it went so well , and he did not have that turmoil and pain during the race , he almost felt robbed of something . Of course , that may be ‘ rectified ’ in the upcoming 100-miler , but he is feeling confident about the race .
“ At the moment I am young and fit , and my son is still little , so I can work out the training schedule and still be a dad . If we have another child , it may get trickier , so the timing makes sense to give it a go now . I get up at 5am and do my run before the family wakes , running three to four times a week , with one long run on a Saturday . I train a lot on my own during the week , as I don ’ t know many people who will join me at 5am ! Sometimes I will join up with Mountain Men runners at 7am for a run , but also getting some running in before I meet up with them ,” says Andre .
Images : Sportograf / sportograf . com , Zac Zin , Simon Pocock
pandemic and the various lockdowns we all endured were hard to get used to , but he was able to stay in contact with running friends . “ I am fortunate to have made some great running friends . There are about 20 of us on a WhatsApp group , and there is always someone to run with . In lockdown , there was still banter on the group , which helped .” The enforced isolation also saw him developing a personal challenge for himself .
“ During lockdown , I ran around a lot in the parking lot . We were staying at my parents-in-law ’ s place in Tamboerskloof ahead of our son ’ s birth , and in the afternoons , I would climb the 70-odd stairs at the front of the property for an hour at a time . I looked at my Strava one day and saw I had climbed 5000 metres of elevation , and I wondered what that was comparable to , so I googled and saw that Base Camp of Everest is around 5000 metres above sea level ,” says Andre .
“ I then decided to try do the equivalent of Base Camp to Everest summit in one day , which is about a further 3500 metres of elevation . I woke at 5am and climbed up and down the stairs for about six-and-a-half hours – I had worked out I had roughly 120 sets to do , so I used an ice tray and filled it with pieces of corn and then marked crosses each time I filled the ice tray . It was good to push myself physically and reach a goal .”
NEW WAY OF LIFE
Thankfully , Andre says he didn ’ t have to climb the stairs for too much longer . “ Soon after that , we were allowed to run within five kilometres of home , and our WhatsApp group blew up . We planned routes of 20 kilometres within a five-kilometre radius . We also could only exercise between six and nine in the morning , and it was interesting to see that almost everyone I knew had their best mileage month ever , because it was as though we had been given this gift we had to use .”
Andre also became a father during lockdown . “ Our son was born on the 11th of May 2020 , pretty much
“ The vibe was just so incredible , and seeing Jim Walmsley , Courtney Dauwalter and other top internationals running was inspiring , so when they announced that they would introduce a 100-miler in 2022 , it sparked a ‘ maybe ’ in my mind . I think it ' s partly because it ’ s going to be the first one that I just want to do it . The race will grow and be around for a while , and being able to say I did the first one will be
“ I am a big believer in having a solid , deep foundation , which I have from my UTD training . I rested a while , and then in July and August I did about seven hours a week of training , which is what will serve me well in November . The October training may help me shave some time off on race day , but it ' s those previous six months that will get me to the finish line .”
UP FOR THE UTCT ?
The ninth edition of the RMB Ultra-trail Cape Town takes place from 25 to 27 November 2022 . All five UTCT races are genuine mountain excursions over some highly technical trails , with distances to suit every trail runner :
• UTCT – the new 100 miler
• UT100 – the 100km
• PT55 – the Peninsula Traverse 55km
• TM35 – the Table Mountain 35km
• EX23 – the Explorer 23km
The UTCT takes participants from the northern mountain range of the Mother City to the more remote southern mountains , taking in additional trails from Silvermine to Kalk Bay , Kommetjie , Simonstown and beyond . The other races traverse sections of the northern mountain range , including Table Mountain , Lion ' s Head , Signal Hill , 12 Apostles trail , Llandudno , Hout Bay , the Constantia Winelands , the upper slopes of Kirstenbosch Nature Reserve and Devil ' s Peak .
For further information and to enter , visit www . ultratrailcapetown . com .
Andre shows how he feels about conquering his first 100km trail .
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