Janine Nortje being chased by husband Dijon to complete an important handover in Westville
Steve Gossman powering through Westville on his way to his first Bill Rowan
Ignatius Gorejena ( Bluff ) and Llloyd Sithole , working together to achieve their silver medals
Time to Get to Work
Shortly before 7:30 , the lead pack came through , followed by Gerda Steyn , which deserves a special mention , because let ’ s be honest , it ’ s Gerda , and I am a massive fan-girl … so much so that for a moment I totally forgot why I was there ! However , I rallied quickly when I saw the first Westville runners coming through , cheering them on , and it was incredibly special to witness the smiles on their faces as they heard their names being called . That was one of my top highlights .
Another epic moment for me was seeing Lloyd Sithole fly through Cato Ridge on track for his silver medal just six weeks after his podium finish at Ultra-Trail Drakensberg , followed closely by seeing my two friends , Steve Gossman and Janine , looking strong and right in the middle of the two sub-9 busses , chasing their Bill Rowan medals . I was fully aware that this was realistically the only time I would see them on the road until the finish .
“ Meghan and Shaun have just passed through Cato Ridge !” The warning I needed to hear from Lauren , because as much as you know who you ’ re looking for , the multitude of runners can totally throw you off . Even though they were still about three to four kilometres away , out came the magic green umbrella , making it easier for them to see me and pull towards my side of the road . Surprisingly , I already spotted them from about 200 metres away , partly because Shaun is tall enough to stand out in a crowd , and partly because those Westville red and white hoops can be spotted a mile away . I was ready , with Meghan ’ s sachet of goodies in one hand , Shaun ’ s in the other . They both looked amazing , strong and comfortable , like they were having an absolute blast . They slowed down to a power walk and in a flurry of movement , nutrition was handed over , jackets were handed to me , and then they were off again . Lauren managed to get a photo , which was duly posted to the ‘ Kings of the Road ’ group , followed by a checkpoint report .
Taking a Chance …
I then made a risky decision . According to the Comrades App , two more of my running tribe , Paula Symington and Carlo de Oliveira , were about 20 minutes behind , and I was concerned that the gap would grow , meaning this was my best and possibly only chance to surprise them with some support along the route . So , Lauren and I patiently waited for them to come through , cheered for them like rockstars , and then quickly grabbed our things , sprinted to our cars and got ready to fly to the next point at Alverstone Road / Phezulu , only to be faced with standstill traffic . It was now that I realised just how risky that move had been .
Luckily enough , we managed to get through relatively quickly and make our way onto the highway on route to our next stop . However , the pressure increased when I found myself taking a wrong turn and way overshooting the mark . Some skilled manoeuvring allowed me to correct my mistake , but it felt like Alverstone Road was never-ending , and I could mentally sense my two runners inching closer to the checkpoint , while the possibility of me missing them increased . We found what I thought was a decent parking close to the Alverstone Road exit , just as I received the notification to say they had passed Drummond . They were close , and it would be tight , so I took off running at what I am still convinced was my fastest kilometre of all time !
I arrived to see some Westville runners who I knew were ahead of them , and breathed a sigh of relief as I armed myself with Tailwind and took out my green umbrella , allowing myself to absorb the atmosphere around me while I got ready to cheer them on . As before , I saw Shaun and Meghan from a fair distance away and made my way to them , reminding them how amazing they looked before sending them on their way . A high-five to Lauren and we knew we were good for at least two hours until the next checkpoint at Kloof . I got to see two more of my favourite Westville members come through , Paul Pearce and Kylie Griffin , with Kylie making good on her promise and ambushing me with the sweatiest hug . She was thrilled that she was able to see me , as she had resigned herself to the fact she wouldn ’ t , because she knew where my priorities lay for the day .
Meghan and Shaun meeting Catherine at the first checkpoint near Cato Ridge
Images : Catherine Dixon , Lauren Ward , Karen McKenzie , Tony Calitz & courtesy Meghan King
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