"I'd rather be seen on my bicycle than on a park run" - Quote from the dark side

Monday 15 November 2010

Good Trail Run Including The Black Night Virtual Race

Yesterday I did my last hard run before the Sani Stagger Marathon on 27 November. I ran 18km (11.16 miles) on trails as the Sani is an off-road marathon. I decided this was the perfect run to include the Black Night Virtual Race.


The virtual race rules stated that I had to wear something black. My trail shoes are black and I also went with black running shorts and my black hydration pack. I didn’t wear a black shirt as I’m experimenting with different shirts for different times of the day for my ultra run on 8 January. I also think it is safer to have a few colors visible when running on trails. My personal photographer, my 9 year old son Rohann, accompanied me on this outing.

Ready to go!
And I'm off!

It was quite a warm morning and the temperature was 22°C (71.6F) when I started at 07:00 and 30°C (86F) by the time I finished. The first few km was easy trail next to a stream. Once I crossed the stream this changed very quickly into a very steep, technical climb.

Easy trail to start with.
View from the climb. The above trail can be seen next to the stream below.
The trail becomes beautiful towards the top and the green summer colors are starting to show. Not many people take on this climb and there were parts where the trail was not visible at all. Luckily I’ve been here many times and I had no problem to find my way.

Beautiful trail towards the top.

Spot the trail...

When I reached the summit I was feeling great. I love running at the top of this hill. It is always beautiful and the views are spectacular.

Trail on top...lovely!
Beautiful view.

The trail to get down is very rocky and technical and I took my time getting to the bottom. I don’t want to risk injury at this stage and definitely not on a training run.

Rocky trail down.

Rohann was waiting close to the bottom and took this photo to prove that I was really running the virtual race as he put it.


I crossed the stream again and was back on the open trail. Here Rohann joined me for about 2km. It was warm by now, but running here with Rohann was awesome. I was having a lovely virtual race and getting in some good training at the same time.

I crossed the stream twice.
With Rohann on the trail…what can be better?!

The trail from here is absolutely perfect with some really beautiful parts...



Rohann asked: How long is the virtual race?” “Oh my, I think it is 10km, I better finish it now.” So Rohann dashed ahead and drew the finish line in the ground. He cheered as I crossed the line to finish the Black Night Virtual Race! My 10km was done somewhere in the middle of my 18km run. Looking at my average pace for this run I estimate my time to be about 01:14 for the 10km. Then again, it included the very tough climb and might even be slower. I don't use Garmins or any other fancy gadgets, I just estimate.


This was really fun! Thanks to Stefano, The Black Night, for giving me the opportunity to run in his race. I had a few more kilometers to go to finish my 18km and felt really good when I reached the end. This was a good run.

Confirmation of a good morning on the trails.

Have a fantastic week everyone and be sure to sign up for the Black Night’s Virtual Race.

30 comments:

Julie said...

Way to go Johann and Rohann!! Nice job on finishing Stefano's Virtual Race:) You had a gorgeous course that looks challenging too. I love how green everything is and that stream is so peaceful looking. You had a great day that you were able to share with your son! It sounds like he had a good time too:)

Great race report with lovely pictures!

Have a frantastic week Johann!

Jennifer said...

Fun post Johann! And good for you running with your kid, sounds like he loved it. Good luck as you prepare and finish training for the next ultra. Cheers!

Jon said...

You ALWAYS have the most amazing trail runs!

I am jealous of the scenery you have!

HappyTrails said...

Nice run - very swell to run with your kids. Dirty socks and legs are always a sign of a good day on the trails. Hope you are feeling great ahead of your big race. Have a great week Johann!

Unknown said...

How awesome! and great photos. :-)

KovasP said...

Trail running with your son, how awesome is that!

LMC said...

Great post! I loved the pics. The pic with you and your son, accompanied by your joyful words about running with him, just made me smile! It is also refreshing to see so much green and almost feel the warmth, particularly since it's getting cold around here. Thanks for sharing!

Indi said...

Great work on the virtual race! that trail looks wonderful. The one I run on all the time is pretty technical and lots of rocks, roots and tree limbs. Be nice to run a trail like this one!!

Chris K said...

Wow, that is so cute. What a fantastic post Johann. I think I would be worried that I'd get lost during one of your runs. I wonder if you see wild animals like hippos, elephants, or giraffes :-) I wouldn't put it past you.

The Green Girl said...

Aw, Rohann was such a faithful friend to not only make sure this was documented in pictures but also dash ahead and draw the finish line.

Congratulations on your Black Night Virtual Race!

misszippy said...

What a great training partner you have in Rohann! Great job--you are ready to go for the big day!

Ewa said...

Fun post. You have a great running partner there.
Not running with a Garmin? Now that is impressive. I always feel I need it even if only to find my way back :)

judy said...

Beautiful photos! It looks like you have a perfect base for your upcoming marathon. Good job!

Black Knight said...

Thank you very much for entering the virtual race and the mention. I like the finish line! Glad you can run with your son. Great pictures of a wonderful Country.

Big Daddy Diesel said...

I love the views you get to run thru

Heather said...

You have your very own photographer, how cool! sounds like a fun run with your son! I may have to sign up for the virtual race too. The views you have there are lovely.

Molly said...

I love your finish line!! I had my own battle today. : )

Zaneta @ Runner's Luck said...

wow... what beautiful sights you had out on your run!! just beautiful!! :D
Love the finish line! lol... made me chuckle!

ajh said...

I love how Rohann got into this race with you in many ways! That must have made it very special. I always laugh when you talk about summer coming (whatever the opposite of us is at the time). It is a little surreal to do all this communicating with people from all over the world and experience opposite seasons as well as other great stuff!

Colin Hayes said...

Looks like a fun day, and good time with your son, too. Beautiful trails!

ultra collie said...

nice your lad gets out with you johann!
and i envy your dry trails right now

Unknown said...

I think I'm starting to recognize some of those trails of yours, gorgeous pictures and I enjoyed the picture of you and Rohann!
Love the black socks, those are my favorite. I love coming home with black socks and a dirt line, it makes me feel so tough :) !

Adrienne said...

Dad and son running together= Awesome! Beautiful pictures. Good luck on your upcoming marathon.

Char said...

You're such a famous runner you have your own personal photographer. Thanks to Rohann for all the beautiful pictures. He did a great job.

Amy said...

Gorgeous scenery and how great your son enjoys running with you (I am still trying to get one of my three boys to come along with me, to no avail)!

DRog said...

VERY warm morning! and as always great pics....of course that finish line takes the cake

D

Karen said...

Congratulations on running the virtual Race. Your trails look great. I'm a trail runner here in Australia but did my virtual race in a road run.

Christina said...

I love the finish line drawn in the dirt. I also love all the photo's. You've motivated me to run my virtual race on the trail and take pictures along the way.

Anonymous said...

Your photos are great - what a lovely place to run, it's so green. It's also great that you enjoy the scenery - stopping to take pictures. Lovely to run with your son.

Quinton J said...

I love this post for one million reasons! But the #1 reason is that photo of you and Rohann. Nothing…absolutely nothing can be better.

You also mentioned the word ‘trail’ many times throughout this post – but half of the photos show nothing remotely close to a trail. Your off-the-beatin’-path tendencies are inspiring in running and in life.

Keep shining.

...P.S. I don’t even want to ask how you convinced a wildebeest to take that photo of you two.