ROAD RUNNING
Midnight Meandering of a Challenger ’ s Brain
Below is an extract from the diary of Belloc 72 ( Challenger # 2 ), a two-time SBBU finisher . He abandoned the race after loop 16 , for reasons he has not yet disclosed …
Sunday 28th April 2024 Loop 15 , just after midnight
Another loop completed , time to sign back in
culture , tasks that are both laborious and futile are therefore described as Sisyphean .)
The road stretches before me like treacle . Leaching out any strength left and replacing it with iron filings made of parasitic little bastards that dig into the flesh and bone . We ignore the apocalyptic doom of midnight that surrounds us . It does not help our cause .
I have been whispering words of encouragement to Simzo and Creasy of Sparta for the last few hundred metres . Trying to distract them from our predicament : The shrinking of time like warped Salvador Dali clocks . “ The important thing about running , or in our case walking , is how to relax .” I showed them a few examples . “ Breathe in for 4 beats , breathe out for 4 beats . Do it again . Repeat .”
Breathing needs to be circular and balanced . Pain needs to be managed by pigeon-holing the bastards into little compartments that our brain can dissect , analyse , allow to percolate and then gently dissipate . Is it really pain ? Or is the brain telling you something else ?
I look to my left and right to see if this is connecting with Simzo and Creasy of Sparta . They usually laugh or at least nod in acknowledgement . I stop for a moment and do a 360 . Neither of them are here . The thought crystallises in the synapses .
Of course . Creasy of Sparta abandoned at the halfway mark . They carried her off like one of Napoleon ’ s young recruits overwhelmed by snow on the Russian Front .
Simzo was here . A few moments ago . Or maybe not . It is unclear . Midnight is a cruel mistress . The thought reveals itself to me like regret : Simzo pulled the pin after loop 14 .
I look around me . I am alone . Alone with ghosts . The ghosts and the darkness .
One by one , challengers succumb to the SBBU ’ s unforgiving demands , and each time a challenger rings the bell of defeat , to signal their surrender , Taps is heard over the sound system . ( Taps is a bugle call sounded to signal lights out at the end of a military day , and is also played at military funerals .)
The breaking of dawn reveals the final toll . Out of the 45 hopefuls aiming for the 100 kilometres , 40 emerged victorious . As for the four athletes tackling 100 miles , only two remained standing : The Warmonger and Crazy Hazy . The Spartan Baby Badass Ultra had claimed victims , but also minted new legends . It stands not as a race , but a testament to human endurance and a celebration of overcoming limits in the pursuit of meaning . And to raise money for a worthy cause . In the first two years of the event , the SBBU raised R450,000 . This year the SBBU raised close to R610,000 , bringing the total raised for CHOC to over R1 million .
An Honour Earned
According to Greek folklore , Spartan babies who seemed weak or infirm at birth were tossed off a cliff . At least , so the legend says . Well , at SBBU 2024 , 49 brave runners lined up to see if they were worthy of being considered strong enough to be bestowed the title of Spartan Baby , and spared from the cliffs of doom . Time revealed that most were worthy , and for their efforts and sacrifice , they took home a Spartan belt buckle , finisher certificate , home-grown chilies and a lemon tree .
Modern Athlete ’ s Richard Laskey ( in cow suit ) was amongst the SBBU 2024 Challengers
The herd heads out for another late night loop
The conversation and jokes of the early loops didn ’ t last …
Images : Jayde Fouche , Rob Riccardi , CHOC Cows
32 ISSUE 169 | www . modernathlete . co . za