ROAD RUNNING
Finally in my sleeping bag ! We are in a teepee tent , with a floor of reindeer skin directly on the snow . The wind is howling outside and the temperature is hovering around minus-25 degrees . Tomorrow , we ’ ll set off on a 230km selfsupported race north of the Arctic Circle . So , how did I get myself into this crazy adventure ?
Fourteen months earlier , Robin had introduced me to this event called The Ice Ultra , a five-day race in Sweden , in winter , in the snow , with temperatures ranging between minus-5 and minus-40 ! To understand why I would even contemplate this , you need to go even further back to 2008 , when we founded The Cows .
Teepee tents on the Arctic Tundra .
The six South African friends who signed up for the Ice Ultra together .
were signed up – Tarryn , Robin , Nick , Andre , Paul and I . ( We later met Kyle , the seventh South African to tackle the race , in Sweden .) Excited , nervous , never having a completed a run in the snow before , we started our preparation .
All of us were completely out of our comfort zone , so we started consuming all the information we could find on the event . Past participants had put up YouTube videos on everything from equipment reviews to training tips , so that was a starting point . We managed to connect with a few of the runners from the previous year , and they were kind enough to jump on calls and answer our questions . The generosity of the running community is always something special . We also tried to replicate snow with sand , and quickly learnt that the snowshoes would be an interesting variable . The Jourg crew also went as far as getting into freezers to test kit !
We sourced most of our equipment from Sweden , wanting to make sure that we had gear that would definitely be able to handle the harsh conditions . Our running schedule included , on average , four runs a week , with a long run over the weekend and at least one back-to-back run . The routine was punctuated by races , including the Whale of Trail and UTCT , to build up distance .
CELEBRATING MOO TIME
Inspired by the life of Jessica Bain , who whispered her farewell at the tender age of just 20 months , we started The Cows , fundraising for CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation South Africa , which supports children with cancer . The motto we framed for The Cows is Love Living Life , and this is how I approach events . It ’ s absolutely about the experience , not about the time !
My first event for The Cows was the 94.7 Cycle Challenge in Johannesburg . At that stage , training meant going to gym , so completing 100km on a bike was a real challenge ! My cow mates inspired me to shift my boundaries , and soon I was taking part in events that I never thought possible , to the point of completing the seven-day , 250km Marathon Des Sables in Morocco in 2016 – considered by many to be one of the toughest running events in the world .
I will forever be grateful to this crazy crew . That ’ s why one of the flags I carried with me during the Ice Ultra had the pictures of friends that we have lost on our Cow journey ... Lives unexpectedly cut short , that remind us to Love Living Life !
INTO UNKNOWN TERRITORY
So , when Robin mentioned the event , it took me less than two minutes to say , yes , I ’ m in ! Soon , six of us
The famous Northern Lights welcomes the runners to the Ice Ultra .
The Ice Ultra takes place in the Lapland wilds of Sweden , within the Arctic Circle .
44 ISSUE 167 | www . modernathlete . co . za