C o l u m n
THE RUNNING MANN
A two-lapper meant two trips to the Potchefstroom Dam
A combination of the good weather , great company and flat route meant that I arrived at the finish line 30 minutes faster than at my comeback marathon three weeks earlier at Shikhumba . However , I did have one big regret . When I started the race , my prime objective was to find a pot , a chef and a stroom along the route . I found the chef ( see photo below ), and the stroom was the unmissable Mooi River flowing into the Potchefstoom Dam , but a pot had eluded me .
Once again , it was Roland to the rescue – I reckon if you ’ re looking to score some pot in Potch , then Roland ( a former Pukke student ) is your go-to-guy . In fact , Roland scored a ‘ triple play ’ with plenty of pots and chefs alongside the Mooi River . Not only did he spot the pot while running around the dam , he was also hungry enough after the race to go back for a closer inspection of the stampmielies and beef curry .
I found the head “ chef ” of PotChefStroom during the race , and Roland found the Potte
Bok for More Marathons
Despite this opening , I will resist the temptation to go back to the topic of curry and its after-effects . Instead , I ’ ll return to rugby , because running a marathon before a World Cup Rugby final is a tradition that I was happy to continue in 2023 , but I was pleased that this year ’ s plans were far better than those I ’ d made in 2019 . That year , I ran the Bonkolo Marathon in Komani ( Queenstown ) on the morning of the final , then had to listen to the match on the radio while driving back to East London Airport , and watched the last five minutes at an ethnic hair salon along the way in Stutterheim .
Whilst the ‘ plateau ’ of Potchefstroom kept the heart rates low for her marathon runners on the Saturday morning , another one-point victory from the Springboks meant that this runner achieved the beats per minute of a 20-year-old later that night . Unfortunately , after waking up on Sunday morning , I realised that I am no longer able to behave like a 20-year-old . My legs felt fine , but my head didn ’ t !
Signing out from the LetsGo Potch Marathon
About the Author
The Running Mann has run over 250 marathons and ultras around the world , and his mission is to run every marathon in South Africa , while his dream is to get a sponsorship from a beer company , so he can toast all his marathon finishes in style . If you ’ d like him to run your race , or talk at your event or club , email therunningmann @ gmail . com . You can follow all his adventures on his popular Running Mann blog .
Images : Stuart Mann , Roland du Plessis
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