jogging

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Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon

Date: 4 April 2015

Distance: 56km

Time: 6:43.42

At the start, still dark.
Thousands of runners all rearing to go with the start banner way up ahead.
And still thousands more behind us, all getting into the spirit of things.
Quite unbelievable to see so many runners on one course.
And the stream of runners continues as far as the eye can see.
Lots of supporters next to the road.
Approaching Fish Hoek, we had to make our way through the roadwords.
Fish Hoek.
The famous colourful bathing boxes at St James.
A band entertaining runners. We were treated to “Like a Rolling Stone” as we passed.
More entertainment.
The dreadful sachets that are an environmental nightmare. When will someone please ban these for good!?
Yay! Salty boiled potatoes at the bottom of Ou Kaapseweg.
Taking a walk break on the 7km uphill.
The long road of runners up ahead makes this a rather social outing.
Luckily we were safely within the cut-off time.
A colourful snake of runners.
Still smiling, or is that a grimace?
Presumably the houses of Noordhoek Manor visible up ahead.
Approaching the fire-ravaged, black and bleak Silvermine landscape.
Once over the top of Ou Kaapseweg we were faced with a knee jarring downhill.
Road signs damaged in the recent fire.
The Kaapse Klopse provided some colourful entertainment.
A silly little out-and-back section along Southern Cross Drive before the Constantia Neck hill.
More entertainment to keep everyone motivated over the last few kilometres.
Cold and windy at the finish.
Happy to have made it in time.

On a recent trip to South Africa to catch up with family and friends, we grabbed the opportunity to take part in the Two Oceans (ultra) marathon, aside from the world famous Comrades Marathon probably the premier ultra marathon in the country. Twelve years ago (2003) was our previous running of “the world’s most beautiful marathon”, when due to some or other natural mishap (and road works to prevent rock falls) the course could not follow the usual route over Chapman’s Peak. It had to be diverted over Ou Kaapseweg (loosely translated as Old Cape Road). We call it Ou Kakseweg (Old Shits Road), because it is terribly hilly, crossing over the Muizenberg Mountains from south-west to north-east. All these years we’ve always felt like we had unfinished business and thought this would be a good opportunity to finally experience the official course over Chapman’s Peak. Described on Wikipedia the course looks like this: “The Ultra Marathon follows a more or less circular route through Muizenberg, Fish Hoek, over Chapman’s Peak, through Hout Bay and Constantia Nek, and eventually finishes at the University of Cape Town campus. On occasions when Chapman’s Peak Drive has been closed due to construction or rock falls, the Ultra Marathon has followed an alternate route over Ou Kaapse Weg“. Continue reading →

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Back-to-back 21s #2: Pahiatua Bush Harrier Half Marathon

Date: 22 March 2015
Distance: 21.0
Time: 2:13.11

The field of runners at the race briefing.
Gerry seems ready for the second 21 for the weekend.
Wet roads from the rain we woke up to early in the morning.
At this point there weren’t many other runners behind us going straight.
Luckily only a short bit of the course is on a busy road (State Highway 2).
With Tui’s doors already open for business, it’s very hard not to hang a left for a pint or two!
Another lovely tranquil run in rural NZ.
You even get to share the road with tractors.
Striking a Charlie Chaplin pose. We are the Tail-end-Charlie’s after all. 😉
Minor confusion whether this cone meant ‘go straight’ or ‘turn right’.
Farmyard flavours, reminder of the great Merlot’s we’ve shared with good friends over the years.
While the skies weren’t as blue as the previous day at Taihape, we were still treated to near-perfect running conditions.
The hilly little twist in the tail.
Once over the crest, it’s not far to go on a downhill and flat stretch to the finish.
Uhum, still too much energy.
Prize-giving was a jolly affair with sausages, beers, tea, coffee and cake.

The weather for our second back-to-back 21 could again not have been better. No wind, fairly warm, but rather humid. The start and finish for this mainly fast and flat run, is at the Pahiatua stadium. Organised by the Bush Harriers, the highlight of the day is probably the amount of spot prizes. You know there’s no shortage when every single participant receives something. And then the club president would still request anybody who has not received something, to put their hand up. And even after that, there was still a box full of prizes left over for next time!

The course runs through the residential part of town before heading north on SH2 towards Hawkes Bay. Just before the 5km mark, you leave the main road to run past the famous Tui Brewery HQ heading east between farms. Nice and quiet roads with great weather made for a comfortable easy long run.

At about 9km, a short section of about 2km is run on a gravel farm road. We were happily trotting along, and started to pass a walker here and there before the route gradually started on an incline from about the 15km mark. And with 2km to go, a proper 700 metre long hill reduced most runners to a walk. But once over the crest, it is downhill and flat to the finish.

Sausage sizzles and beer were for sale. Tea and coffee were on the house. As it was the 30th anniversary of this event, lovely moist chocolate cake was also passed around to everybody.

A nice run in the country, well worth the outing. Water stations at about 6.5, 12, 16 and 18km. A good course also for walkers as it is mainly flat easy terrain. Since this event is in our neck of the woods, a lot of familiar faces were out and about. Great to see so many of our own club members and also starting to recognise a few from neighbouring town clubs. Unless anything critical comes up, we’ll most probably be back next year.

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Back-to-back 21s #1: Taihape Half Marathon

Date: 21 March 2015
Distance: 21.5
Time: 2:18.45

Registration just down the road, under a tree. 🙂
Course map.
Runners, walkers and spectators at the event HQ.
Is that a Tarawera T I’m spotting? 😉
And that’s the total field of half marathon runners – with me and Gerry (taking the photo) right at the back.
Beautiful winding road up ahead.
Running with the smell of freshly turned soil in the air.
A nice bit of downhill before the next uphill.
This is the life!
The gravel road stretch between farms was really special – tranquil and serene.
Running in an environment like this is good for your body and soul.
The little bits of shade was on the cold side for me.
At the end of the out-and-back stretch is a water station with friendly volunteers.
The weather couldn’t have been more perfect (at least for most people).
This is a lovely event – one we would definitely keep on the calendar in future.
Classic rural New Zealand.
A lovely bunch of volunteers at the final water station – sure to put a smile on anybody’s face!
With roads and scenery like this, one can carry on all day long.
On the last 1.5km stretch back on the sealed road, with the finish in sight.
Sausage sizzle and a small Lindauer bubbly on the house, we opted for a beer and sausage while waiting for prize-giving to start. Hot-cross buns with cheese and coffee shortened the trip back home.

Taihape is a bit of a drive for us, but we needed the training and truth be told, if we tried to run back-to-back 21’s on our own, it probably wouldn’t have happened. Besides it’s so much more fun doing events, even if you are last and run most of the way on your own. You have support along the route and get to run on new roads, giving your mind and body a bit of a break from your usual training paths. Plus you support a local community, so why not? Continue reading →

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Bush Harriers Hansells 5k run/walk series – Pahiatua

Date: 11 March 2015
Distance: 5km
Time: 29.51

Stadium Pahiatua is the headquarters for the Bush Harriers’s events.
The handful of runners at the start of the 5km fun run.
I thought it might rain, but the weather turned out perfect.
Some artwork en route.
A scenic rural small-town course.
Impressive clouds added to the scenery.
We’re starting to catch some of the walkers who started 10 minutes earlier.
Course map.

At our previous running of this event (2014), I couldn’t believe the average running speed. Where are all the slow runners? Well no surprises therefore to be just about last again. I find it very amusing that running is taken so seriously (even at a fun run). It is seemingly not something you do for fun, at an easy pace, just enjoying the fact that you’re out there being active.

We were prepared this time. In fact, I’ve made peace with being last at every event I enter into. So incase anybody worries about being last – don’t. I’ll always be the tail-end-Charles. 🙂

It is probably not worth the 28km drive across the hill to Pahiatua for this, but still nice to run in a different environment. As was the case last time, I again walked away with a spot prize! Bananas. Very practical and always useful.

 

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Round the Vines

Date: 15 March 2015

Distance: 21.1km

Time: 2:13:43

Us two at the start in the town square.
Fancy dress was the order of the day.
Me and some ape hanging around in the gutter shortly before the start. 🙂
Running through vineyards and on quiet small town roads is just awesome.
One of the musicians. He played some good ol’ rockers to help keep our pace up.
Couldn’t believe the weather. Another perfect day in the Wairarapa.
The private farms and vineyards are normally closed to the public.
Having a laugh with fellow participants who we met at the campsite the night before.
Just follow the grapes.
Festive drink stations with at least wine, water, watermelon and grapes.
More entertainment en route.
Even the stretches on the larger roads were virtually traffic-free.
The themed drink stations were so much fun. The nurses and doctors at this water point (Shortland Street) was giving sustenance by squirting wine with a syringe down the suffering “patients” throat. 😀
More music to add to the festivities.
These youngsters waiting for the first few speedsters in the 10km event to come through before taking off on the last 3 or so kilometres.
Running around the vineyards next to shelter belts.
Gerry on another loop around the vines.
The barn band providing lots of entertainment on the route.
Gerry not holding back on the tastings.
But with such a spread, who can resist.
A band on the school grounds about 1.5km before the finish.
“Welcome home darling, the roast is in the oven. Have a glass of wine.” The Desperate Housewives drinks station was my favourite.
The largest number of participants is surely in the 10km walk?
Nice to see there’s still some hippies around!
Lifesavers from “Baywatch”.
And four wine barrels.
Band at the square keeping everybody entertained throughout the morning.
Sausage sizzle and a glass of wine to finish off a great event.
Prize-giving where it was mentioned that the event drew some 1500 participants.

This event is an absolute MUST on every runner, walker, crawler or otherwise breathing person’s calendar. It is the biggest jollification around with everybody dressing up and getting into the spirit of things, from the marshals to the drink stations, ushers and organisers. Words cannot describe the fun that is the Round the Vines. Continue reading →