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Sunday 30 April – Loop 6 ( 3pm )
The Munger is leaning against the railing of the stairs , sweat dripping down the contours of the stress lines of his face . He is one of the 100-milers , and is barely making the cut-offs . Someone has called me to convince him to quit . He had been vomiting in the bathroom for the last few minutes . “ Four or five minutes , lots of vomiting . He ’ ll listen to you . He better pull out , so he doesn ’ t kill himself ,” I am told .
I walk over to The Munger . “ My boy , you ’ re sweating too much . I heard you are vomiting . Drop down to the 100km . Let your body recover .” The Munger looks up at me . “ I either do the 100-miler , or I fail . I didn ’ t come here to do the 100km run . I ’ m all in .” The Munger ’ s eyes , blue like an Alaskan wolf , show me he is telling the truth , so I reply , “ Make a call on the next loop . Don ’ t break yourself .” Overwhelmed by nausea and shortening hours , The Munger quits after finishing loop 6 . The SBBU carves another notch into its belt .
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Sunday 30 April – Loop 10 ( 7pm )
Matthew , a baker from Bedfordview , decided to attempt the SBBU as an unofficial entrant . His brother joined him for a few loops to assist with morale , and Matthew made it to loop 10 , but could not go any further . He wrote a message a day later : “ It was so , so awesome , and thank you for doing what you do , definitely a memorable event , and I
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can ’ t wait to give it another go . I made 10 laps and then all my joints and ligaments gave up on me . A learning curve , for sure .”
Sunday 30 April – Loop 12 ( 9pm )
Johnny Cobra found himself in a vicious circle . The harder he focused and pushed , the more time warped and began to trickle through his fingers . The 100km runners could see it happening . They had time to go to the ablutions , to get an ankle strapped , to get a hot drink . Johnny barely had enough time to peel a naartjie before the cowbell rang .
We thought he ’ d quit at about loop 9 , but he didn ’ t . He made it back to the barracks in time to have a sip of water and dry his brow , before going out once again into the fray . He scraped out loop 10 , and then finally decided to call it quits on loop 11 . He walked to his cot and sat down . A few seconds later the cowbell rang . John immediately sprung to his feet . “ One more loop !” he shouted . And off he went . We laughed like madmen and went out into the dark night .
Finally , after completing 12 loops , John pulled the pin on his 13th loop . He had been sprinting down the only downhill section of the course when he stopped , abruptly . “ That ’ s all I have to give . What a ride !” Or something similar that only an asylum escapee would scream , when surrounded by straightjackets . John finished his loop , fell onto his cot and passed out for several hours . He would tally up his numbers to over 100km , and leave the barracks with the title of “ Baby .”
Sunday 30 April – Loop 14 ( 11pm )
Running a race with competitors and friends around you is one thing , but running when others around you have capitulated to the distance can eat away at your resolve . Warmonger was finishing each loop in good spirits and with a zip in his step , but he seemed to have too little time to fuel and hydrate . After settling himself into his camping chair , he would only have a sip of water or something small to eat , and it didn ’ t seem enough . For the energy he was exerting , I thought he would be shovelling in the carbs .
Just before midnight , after having completed over 90km , I saw a smile on Warmonger ’ s face . That ’ s me done , his eyes declared , and he fell down onto his thin rubber mat on the cement floor and went to
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sleep . He looked like the victim of a skydiving accident . Mothers can only dream of their newborn infants sleeping like Warmonger slept that night !
You can ’ t hold back The Warmonger !
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Sunday 30 April – Loop 14 ( 11pm )
Princess was running like a champ , small tight steps gliding along the tar . He was leading the way for his son , Bricius , whose methodical running style was turning into a grimace . A father and son running an ultra is remarkable , and something to behold : Love and courage , exemplary discipline and infinite love . Every loop that we saw them together brought a warm buzz to the stomach . But just before midnight , Princess pulled the pin , the same time that Warmonger abandoned his 100-miler . “ He ’ s off to help Crazy Hazy ,” I thought to myself .
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Images : Courtesy Rob Riccardi , Richard Laskey & the CHOC Cows |