Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 77, December 2015 | Page 14

Ma

IN THE LEAD

Crushing the Trails
& Obstacles
She has excelled in road running, cross-country,
trail running and now obstacle course racing
(OCR), including representing South Africa at the
2015 OCR World Champs in the USA, and still
Trish Bahlmann says she is driven to achieve
more. – BY SEAN FALCONER

“I’ve run ultras on the road and trails, but never
been in such a mind-game as in OCR. In running
you can still walk to the line if you blow, but if
your arms blow, there is no way you can get
over a tough obstacle. Where I often come short

Trish and Claude at the OCR World Champs in the USA

at Warrior races is the last big obstacle. Thanks
to my running strength I am usually well in the
lead, but then I sometimes get stuck and the
other girls pass me. OCR can be one of the most
frustrating things in the world, but mind you, I’ve
only been in the game about 10 months, and I’m
getting better all the time.”

World Champs

In spite of a few frustrating losses, Trish did
enough to secure a spot on the Jeep-sponsored
SA team selected for the OCR World Champs
in Oregonia, Ohio on 17-18 October. “It was
a huge honour to be selected to represent SA
for the first time, and it was also my first time
travelling overseas. I’m not a great flyer, though,
so that was my first obstacle to get over. Next
time somebody must just knock me out when we
have to fly! But what an experience to compete
against people who make OCR a profession, and
the level of racing was unbelievable. At Impi and
Warrior we normally do 15 to 18km with about
30 obstacles, but the World Champs course was
17km with 53 obstacles! Granted, the obstacles
were generally easier than what we have back
home, but the running was proper trail, either
steep up or steep down – the only flat section
was the finish line!”
The SA team also had to contend with freezing
cold, rainy conditions, what Trish describes as
“the worst conditions I’ve ever had to compete
in, despite growing up in the Free State where it
can get bitterly cold. It was zero degrees on the
Saturday morning of the individual races, and we
went straight into the water near the start, so
we couldn’t even warm up. You know something
is happening if you get handed a space blanket
halfway through an event! It’s amazing what the
cold can do to you – you think you’re strong and
fit, but it’s horrible when your body is shutting

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ISSUE 77 DECEMBER 2015 / www.modernathlete.co.za

Images: Courtesy Trish Bahlmann

E

arlier this year, Trish Bahlmann was
standing at Durban’s King Shaka Airport
with boyfriend Claude Eksteen, about to
board a Thursday flight to Cape Town for
t H