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

Monday 9 January 2012

2012 New Years Race

Hi everyone! I wish you all the best for 2012. Sorry for being MIA for so long, but life is crazy at the moment with our wedding just a few days away.

Running is going well and I ran my first 2012 race on 2 January. I ran the New Year’s race at the Pretoria Botanical Gardens and had a very good time. Everyone was in great spirit and we all were just there to enjoy our first race of the year.

A few pics from the race:

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Lovely venue for a race.

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Starting my first race for 2012.

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There we go!

We started inside the botanical gardens and ran to a gate at the top of the gardens. We then went out onto the road and ran around the outside of the gardens. It was a lovely, warm morning and everyone was in a very good mood at the beginning of the new year.

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I ran with some good friends. Here is Samuel (green) and Anthony (Red).

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I ran my butt off to get this photo of Anthony from the front. Usually I just see his back for a short while. I won’t mention the 80km he ran at the year to year race that finished the day before.

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Samuel and Emmy, a good friend that is running her first marathon at the end of January.

This area of Pretoria is very hilly and we were soon reminded of this as we made our way around the top part of the gardens.

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Proof that the fast guys also walk sometimes.

There are a few places in Pretoria where the roads are made from concrete and not the normal tar roads we have around the country. The reason is that on hot days the tar melts and run down the steep hills. So if you find concrete roads you know there is a very steep hill to get over.

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Spot the runner… no, only walking here…

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Going down. I prefer a steep uphill above a steep downhill like this.

We made our way right around the gardens and entered again at the same gate where we went out earlier. The gardens are really beautiful at this time of the year. We finished with a 2.5km loop through the botanical gardens.

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Lovely place to run.

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A last sting in the tail. More walking.

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Finish!

I enjoyed the run a lot and was glad to do my first 2012 race. I was happy to receive my first medal for the year.

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With that done I am now focusing more on my wedding that happens this Saturday (14 Jan). I will start my build-up for the longer runs of the year on 20 January. For now I’m just keeping a strong base.

Happy running everyone! May you all achieve great goals this year.

29 comments:

Christi said...

First congrats on the wedding. Second congrats on your first 2012 race. I wish you the best in the coming year.

Kate Geisen said...

OK, how did I miss that you were getting married?? Congratulations, what a wonderful reason for being MIA!! I was just thinking about you yesterday wondering how things were going and noticed you'd posted a run on DM, but I've been busily going back in time to record what gear I used for different runs/rides. I've made it back to May!

Anyway, your pictures from this race were beautiful. It's so nice to see some green when we're surrounded by brown all over right now.

Again, congratulations and much happiness, my friend!

Indi said...

Wishing you and your bride-to-be a lifetime of happiness and miles and miles of joy, love and wonderful memories!!

Enjoy your very special day!

Average Woman Runner said...

Wishing the greatest happiness on Jan 14!

Marlene said...

Congratulations on your first race of the year - looks like a good one. What a beautiful venue/course!

Good luck and all the best for your wedding!

Abby @ Have Dental Floss, Will Travel said...

Enjoy the weekend, Johann, I hope you'll post some pictures of the big day!

Ewa said...

Thanks for finding some time to post.
You are starting your 2012 on a high note. Loved the part of the race through botanical gardens, wow!

Best wishes of happiness to you and your wife to be. Hope we'll get to see lots of pictures from your wedding.

Mike said...

Congratulations Johann on your wedding!! A great way to start the new year.

Liz said...

Looks like a lovely venue for a race. Congratulations and have a fantastic wedding!

HappyTrails said...

Wedding? Guess I missed something but CONGRATULATIONS! (Much more important than running blogs in the grand scheme of things)

Robin said...

You are off to a great start! Happy New Year!

ajh said...

Did I miss something? Wedding? I guessed something like this was happening but wow! A huge congratulations! How exciting!

Char said...

Your wedding's come up so quickly! How's the dog training going? (the training that involves them making a little extra space on the bed for an extra human)

ultra collie said...

all the best to you and the future mrs johann..hope you have a great day!

Karien P. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Karien P. said...

Many, many blessings for your wedding next weekend and wishing you a happy, blessed future together!

Lauren said...

A wedding! How exciting. I wish I was there to see it. Congratulations. And thumbs up on your race and pics too!!

Amy said...

Looks like a beautiful race. What a great way to start the year!

Wishing you a wonderful wedding and marriage!

Black Knight said...

Double congrats!
It looks like a crowded and a very tough race: a good way to start the year.

Jill said...

Oh, you're going to have a blast going up Pikes Peak since you love uphill running :). Congrats on your first race of the year, always feels good to get that checked off. And have an absolute blast at the wedding this weekend....I'm so very happy for you!

Lesley Looper said...

A race AND a wedding? What an awesome way to start 2012! Congrats (especially on the wedding)!

Tina @GottaRunNow said...

Congrats on the medal! Wishing you the best!

Amy said...

I find that so interesting about the road melting!!!

All my beste wensen for your wedding this weekend - I hope it is a joyful day and that you both have many years of happiness together ahead of you!

Lindsay said...

Happy new Year johann! That's interesting about the tar roads. Not sure I'd run in heat that melts roadways!! Wishing you many safe, speedy miles in 2012 :)

Raina said...

I didn't realize you were getting married so soon! I bet you are looking forward to that :)

Have a great 2012 and LOVELY race pics as always, but they do stir up a song we sang in grade school "Marching through Pretoria"

Raina said...

I guess that's "To " and not "Through"

Mark said...

Nice pics, man the weather looks great!

XLMIC said...

What a lovely place for a race! And why is it that killer hills never photograph as imposingly as they look in real life?

Huge congrats on your upcoming nuptials! Wishing you and your beloved every joy married life has to offer :)

Mark said...

Looks like quite a spectacular setting for a race, very beautiful.