Sabie Xperience - Stage 2 Report

Hi everyone and Happy 2013! Unbelievable!

December was crazy and I’ve even been to another race. Great fun, but unfortunately my wife, Anette got really sick with Rheumatic Fever and I ran only 60km at the 48 hour circuit race. Her health is now my first priority.  Anette is slowly getting better and we are planning a huge year.

Sabie Xperience Stage 2 – The Night Stage

With Stage 1 in the bag we took the kids for some waterfall spotting after we showered and cleaned up. Really, really beautiful! After this we went for pancakes at the local pancake specialists…yummy!

Rohann, me, Roberto and Carla at the Bridal Veil Falls - Sabie Mpumalanga.

Time to carbo load for stage 2.

While we were enjoying some awesome pancakes and sandwiches the heavens opened! I really mean the heavens opened. The streets literally turned into rivers. It was one of the biggest rain storms I’ve ever experienced…monsoon type stuff! Stage 2 was going to be very wet and very muddy! This would add to the fun of running a night stage.

Wet and muddy - the "road" at the start.

Driving to the start we saw the road we would be running on to get to the trails was under water. Fun was waiting for sure! It was very muddy everywhere and difficult to find any dry spots.

Waiting for the race briefing of the night run.

Nervous?

This didn’t dampen the spirit of the brave night runners. There was a sense of excitement in the air as we waited for the race briefing and start. Headlamps added to the feeling of anticipation. The stage was set for a very special run.

Ready to start.

All the runners ran the same night stage which meant I could stay with Anette the whole way. This was great! We started and immediately had to be careful of our footing in the mud and water. It was very wet and slippery.

Stage 2 under way!

About 300m after the start and after a bit of careful mud running we had to run on the road for about 200 meters. It was like running in a river! The muddy water was flowing strong.

Anette tackles the water!

Go with the flow...literally!

Somewhere while running in the water we crossed the Sabie River as well. It was not possible to distinguish between the road and river!

Running in the road!

No way around this...

Then we were on the trails and it was night and dark and wet and muddy…but magic! I think we were in fairy land!

Out of the water onto the trails.

The stage was 11km and our goal was just to make the 2 hour 30 minute cutoff. I planned to run the stage with Anette from the moment I entered the race. This was one of the reasons we both signed up. :D

Very slippery!

At first I followed Anette and let her set the pace, running next to her where the trail allowed. It was very slippery! The sun beetles were still going on and at every now and then we would pass a chorus of frogs. The rain certainly brought the frogs out.

Magical trails at night!

It was great to be on the trails at night. I must do this more often. Being out there with Anette made it even more special. She was running her longest distance ever and that as stage 2 of the race! She was very concerned that we would miss the cutoff and then I would miss out on my race as well. This made her run a massive 11 minute negative split in the end.

More trail magic!

As we progressed Anette got faster and faster. She made me run in the front during the second half and pushed harder and harder. Progress was slower than normal with all the mud and water but at least we didn't fall…

Wet the whole way.

That was until we were about 100 meters from the finish. There was a huge pool of muddy water and Anette chose to just run through it. We were far too wet and dirty by now to run around anything. That’s when it happened…100 meters from the finish I tried to get closer to Anette to shine my light for her to see even better. I slipped and took a dive in the mud! At least I kept my upper body above the water more or less.

Not pretty and covered with mud we finished in 02:06, well inside the 02:30 cutoff and Anette’s longest run ever! I was so proud of her! Stage 2 was in the bag!

Muddy runner sat here...

Tired, wet and muddy we made our way to our chalet, ready for some good sleep before the next morning’s last stage. We had 10 hours before the start of the 3^rd stage.

Stage 3 report to follow…

Sabie Xperience Trail Race Report – Stage 1

The story of this race starts with me thinking I will not be able to run. Yes, on Friday evening I was still about 80% sure I won’t be able to run. I was flat on my back, literally, the whole Friday, with a weird stomach bug. Anette stayed positive and assured me it was a 24 hour bug and that I would be ready to run on Sunday morning. She was right!

I felt better and better through Saturday and by the time we arrived in Sabie I was about 88% myself again.

Sabie is a beautiful town in the eastern lowveld of Mpumalanga, one of the most beautiful provinces of South Africa. The town is a favorite tourist destination and one of the main hubs of the wood and paper industry of the country. It is surrounded by plantation after plantation of pine and blue-gum trees. It was between these trees that we ran most of the race.

Sabie

Stage 1

The morning started with registration and packet pickup and judging by the quality of this we were looking forward to a first class event. Everything was perfect and this eased the nerves of those who were a bit worried about what to expect.

Beautiful venue!

Registration and the best goody bag I've ever received!

I was entered for the pro race (16km, 11km, 18km) and Anette for the lite race (8km, 11km, 11km)…her first stage race. I will let her tell her own story, but believe me, she did great!

Ready for stage 1. Me with new sun prevention cap.

After some standing around the race briefing was done and we were ready to start stage 1. I was very excited…stage races are growing on me very fast. I think they are my new favorite type of race.

Race briefing.

Ready to start.

With little hoohaa the countdown was done and we were on our way. The field was quite small with this being the first time the race was held. Runners sped off into the distance very quickly, leaving me and a few back of the packers in their dust.

About 500m into the race we had a water crossing…these seem to follow me around where ever I race. I love water crossings and don’t mind wet shoes so I was happy and feeling great as I completed my first kilometer of the stage.

Water crossing. I love water crossings!

We ran along a dirt road for a while and the field spread out very quickly. By the time we turned onto the single trails there were not many runners close to me.

Dirt road for the first 2km.

Onto the trails!

The trails were fantastic and we were in the pine forest soon. Running between the trees was unreal and I definitely felt some magic. The magic stayed with me for the whole stage.

Into the forest!

Magic between the trees...

There was a water/check point at 3km and after this I didn’t see another runner for the rest of the stage. I was in runner’s heaven and the forest/plantation was spectacular. There is something very special about running or just being among the trees like that.

The trails were all runable and we followed some forest roads every now and then. There were two climbs of note in stage one. I certainly felt them, but they were very manageable. The spirit of the race was to give runners the chance to complete the event but still keep the relaxed holiday feeling at the same time. Perfect for December!

In the second half we got a glimpse of some waterfalls in the distance, trademark of Sabie. It was beautiful!

This is a beautiful place to run indeed!

As we turned back towards the finish we followed the Sabie river. The trail on the river bank is great and I was really feeling super. I was very happy that the stomach bug did not influence my first stage in any way.

Trail along the river.

About 2km from the finish we ran into the Merry Pebbles resort. It was packed with campers as there was a very big mountain bike race happening at the same time as our race. Everyone was super friendly. We ran on the outer boundary of the resort and once through the resort it was only 500m to the finish.

Merry Pebbles Resort.

Trout fishing in the Sabie river.

Anette was waiting for me, having completed her first stage feeling strong as well. I crossed the line with a smile and was looking forward to stage 2 that evening. Stage 1 was a perfect run for me.

Friendly RD at the finish.

Stage 1 completed!

I am enjoying a great holiday and had a wonderful Christmas with my family. Stage 2 will follow soon.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays everyone!

Some Elephants and a Stage Trail Race

We are not many running bloggers in South Africa and that goes for the rest of Africa as well. I know one of the things I love most about the blog world is seeing and learning things from other parts of the world. I think I'm correct when I say all bloggers are like that. We love to share and enjoy what others share.

So I hope you enjoy these photos from South Africa. They were taken at Glen Afric during the yearend function of my company last week.

Close encounter.

I loved touching "Three" the mother.

"Three" in the water.

Mother with her two daughters.

Fun in the water!

Let me tell you...

I’m getting ready for this weekend’s Sabie X Trail Race. This stage race takes place in Sabie, Mpumalanga. It is a 2 day, 3 stage race.

Sunday morning 16km, Sunday evening 11km, Monday morning 18km = total 45km.

Sabie is a beautiful town in the Eastern Lowveld of South Africa in the province of Mpumalanga. There are numerous waterfalls in the area. I think I can look forward to another beautiful race I can share with you all.

The beautiful town of Sabie.

Did you know Blog is the short for Weblog? I didn't!

Happy running everyone!

10km A Day Challenge or rather 70km Per Week...

I am still proceeding with the 10km per day challenge and I have reached the halfway point already...can't believe it!

I changed the name to the "70km Per Week Challenge" because that is what I'm actually doing. It's going well although there were a week or two with very low mileage. At least there is less km to go than km done! As you can see I am still averaging 70km per week.

Weeks done: 26 
Weeks to go: 26 
Km done: 1840 
Km to go: 1810 
Ave per week done: 70.77
Ave per week required: 69.62 

Week 1: 84
Week 2: 80
Week 3: 83
Week 4: 69
Week 5: 56
Week 6: 54
Week 7: 80
Week 8: 71
Week 9: 80
Week 10: 86
Week 11: 89
Week 12: 70
Week 13: 60
Week 14: 55
Week 15: 49
Week 16: 76
Week 17: 79
Week 18: 87
Week 19: 81
Week 20: 63
Week 21: 84
Week 22: 29
Week 23: 80
Week 24: 43
Week 25: 78
Week 26: 74

26 weeks done!

Happy training everyone!

Summer Trails = Green Trails!

Summer is here and that also means our rain season is here. That means my favorite tails are getting greener and greener by the day. Beautiful and awesome!

I went for a trail run on Saturday and can you believe it...I forgot my camera! I took a few pics with my phone but my phone's camera is really very bad.

Anyway, I had a great run and enjoyed the green, lush trails that were still dry and shades of brown when I ran there the previous time.

There were also lots of other colors to be seen...

I also saw lots of this yellow parasite plant, growing and feeding on the plants in the area. I think this is an alien and hope they will get rid of it soon. It looks like Dodder to me.

The trails are beautiful now and there are also hundreds of birds and other wild life to be seen. I will not forget my camera when I do my trail run this Saturday.

Have a great week everyone!