Race Report - Vaal River Trail Run

The Vaal River forms the Southern border of the Gauteng province where I stay. This is about 50km from my home and the venue for the Vaal river Trail Run was 47km from home. It was a cold drive with the temperature going down to -2°C (30F). I think it went down more before the start of the race. I arrived quite early and after I registered chose to wait inside my car.

Watching the sunrise from the warmth of my car.

There weren’t many people when I arrived and as the time went by people started arriving but I could see this would be a small race. In the end there were 94 finishers for the 20km that I ran. There were a 5km and 10km run as well but even with everyone together there weren’t many at the start.

Waiting for the start.

I saw Staci, our sandal girl, at the start and even the very cold conditions didn’t keep her out of her beloved sandals.

I started the race with Staci and ran with her up to the point where the 10km and 20km races split. She was doing the 10km so this is where we parted ways.

Away we go! Staci in the yellow top.

The first few kilometers were through open grass fields. It was a gradual down run towards the river and I mentioned that we will have a gradual up to finish with.

On our way to the river.

The 10km split came before we reached the river and I think this was a bit disappointing for some of the runners. As I got to the river I was very happy I was doing the 20km. The river early in the morning was really beautiful.

Vaal River.

Some mud hopping had to be done. I love mud!

We followed the river for some time, turning away from it at times. We ran on several different surfaces and I enjoyed that. Single track, jeep track, grass, gravel road, tar road. I enjoyed the mixture. The only bad thing, and I think this is from my point of view the only bad thing about the race, were some areas that are badly polluted. Seeing the pollution made me angry and sad at the same time. The river is so beautiful, why can’t people just leave it like that?

Off the road back onto the trail.

Trail on the river bank.

When we turned away from the river to start the return trip, we ran through some area where they were digging (mining) for something. I don’t know what they do here exactly, but although not pretty, I enjoyed running through something I don’t often do.

Not sure what they dig (mine) for here.

Previously “mined” area.

Don’t want to get stuck in there…

Steep, slippery downhill.

The run was certainly not the most scenic, but I found it interesting. The second half took us back towards the residential areas, but we still had various types of terrain and obstacles to cross.

Back towards the residential area.

Stream crossing.

Some burnt grass.

We eventually made our way back to the point where the 20km and 10km races split. We then followed the 10km route back to the finish. We were away from the river now and just outside the local neighbourhood. We still had a steam to cross and a dam to look at.

Follow the stream

Dam with Vaal University of Technology in the background.

The last part of the run was mostly through grass. There were two runners ahead of me that were very aware of me and obviously didn’t want me to catch and pass them. They were tired and kept looking back at me when they took a walk break. I smiled and thought, don’t worry, I’m not a runner like that. I don’t care if I pass you. Besides, stopping to take photos to share with my bloggy friends is way more important. Aint I nice! (insert your approval here!)

I made it back to the finish feeling good. I could feel the week’s training during the last few kilometers but overall I felt great. This was good time on the legs. I finished in 2:15 and was happy. We received a medal in the form of a key ring.

I felt happy when I finished.

Key ring “medal”.

Some giveaways.

This was certainly not the most spectacular run, but for me the course was interesting. I enjoyed the river and all the different terrain we ran on. The pollution in some places was the biggest negative for me.

Have a great week everyone!