TRAIL than those I have previously done , but I should have been nervous . The UTD160 is properly hard . And you underestimate any 100-mile trail run at your peril !
It was quite misty as we started , and as the field spread out , more and more attention had to be paid to my GPS . The first loop was largely bundubashing , with very little by way of paths to follow . The occasional yellow marker ribbon and GPS check that I was still on route was all I could rely on . Every now and again a break in the clouds or mist would open up to reveal a beautiful but stark landscape . Due to my lack of acclimatisation to the altitude , my poor sea level lungs were struggling with the rarified atmosphere , my breathing rasping for what would otherwise have been fairly simple climbs . The second loop in Lesotho was up some more challenging climbs , and I really started to struggle . In addition to my lungs suffering , I developed a splitting headache .
The route markings for a chunk of this loop were a fair way off the GPS track , and visibility was quite limited , so whenever I lost the markers , my only option was to follow the GPS track . At one stage , I found myself stumbling along quite a narrow , precarious ridge that ran into a dead-end drop-off . A break in the mist revealed a marker at the bottom of the ridge , but instead of backtracking , I decided to “ tiger line ” it down . This caused a minor rock slide , which I narrowly managed to avoid following off the edge of a cliff , and somehow I made it safely to the markers .
Fighting the Cold
I made it back to the border and hit the steep but runnable pass back down into SA . I hoped that the descent would cure my headache and breathing struggles , so I got down the pass quite quickly to the
12 Apostles turn-off . As I traversed the muddy and slippery path , visibility became worse and worse , and the rainy mist ( or misty rain ) became thicker and colder . I eventually realised that the lack of visibility was also due to nightfall , and I had better get my warm kit on as well as my headlamp .
My biggest mistake of all was having left this too late . My hands had already ‘ frozen ’ to the point of being useless , and I could not get my gloves on . For 20 minutes I stood there , in the icy weather , getting colder and colder , trying to get my fingers into the right places . I tugged with my useless other hand , and even with my teeth , but to no avail . With no usable fingers , I also couldn ’ t put on my thermal base layer . I was in just shorts , T-shirt and rain jacket .
By now the rain was getting heavier , and even with my headlamp on , visibility was less than two meters , barely enough to see the ground . I decided I had to move to try and generate some heat . If I stayed still any longer , I wouldn ’ t be able to move again , and if I got my base layer wet trying to put it on using frozen pork sausage fingers , it would be pointless anyway . So I ran , with my gloves only half on . And I ran hard , trying to stave off hypothermia !
Desperate Times
Even though I couldn ’ t see the path , I had to keep going flat out , relying on the GPS and praying that for this section it was accurate . Without my fingers , I couldn ’ t access the notes on my phone telling me where the next checkpoint or aid station was . I just kept hoping it would be soon . After about an hour of this , I saw a flash of light through the mist and rain , and briefly felt relief , until I reached the light and found two other runners in a similarly desperate situation , needing to find shelter in order to be able to don their thermals .
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