Om Die Dam 50km Ultra Marathon Preview

Saturday I will be running the Om Die Dam 50km Ultra Marathon at the Hartbeespoort Dam in the North West province of South Africa. “Om Die Dam” translates to “Around The Dam” and that is exactly what this race does…it runs around the dam.

It is one of South Africa’s biggest ultra marathons with more than 7000 runners. It is a tough run with some very tough hills and usually very warm. I haven’t run a 50km race on the road for a long time now so I’m really looking forward to it. My goal is a comfortable finish, ready to continue normal training the week after. There is a generous 7 hour cutoff so no need to hurry and damage the body. I will rather spend some valuable training time on my legs, while enjoying one of the better ultras around.

Below the race description from the South African Runner’s Guide:

Which one, oh which is the most beautiful, which the hardest? Om-die-Dam is a difficult race, let us be clear about that. But it is also a beautiful race. Compared to many other famous ultras, it is often the one that sets the benchmark.

The race starts off in an easy and orderly fashion as it leaves suburban Hartbeespoort and goes alongside the dam for the opening few kilometres. A run through the tunnel is always punctuated with wolf-whistles and cat-calls. This adds to the atmosphere of bonhomie and does little to detract from the magnificence of the triumphant arch-like structure that straddles the dam wall.

The first item on the agenda for today is to climb the opening of several challenging hills. Commando Nek comes early on in the race and, while nuggety, it should pose little difficulty. It was on this nek that Boer General De la Rey positioned his commandos, effectively cutting off Rustenburg from Pretoria.

Once over Commando’s it is relatively easy going as you cross the long bridge over Hartbeespoort Dam. This is a very beautiful stretch, with the sun rising and reflecting with a dramatic splash on the calm water below.

Next comes the long and steady climb through Broederstroom, past Pelindaba. The African Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone Treaty, known as the "Pelindaba Treaty" was adopted here. This section of the race can be very hot and the organisers go out of their way to lay on excellent water tables that offer all sorts of refreshments, such as fruit, ice lollies and even miniature wors rolls!

The race earns its reputation as a tough customer at Saartjiesnek. Around the 36-kilometre mark lies this punishing two kilometre or so monster. Each great ultra possesses a legendary hill. It is at this point on Om-die-Dam where reputations are made or broken. Shoulder in and run, let Saartjie make you the hero today. The top of Saartjies has its own reward, for glittering below is the most breathtaking and panoramic view of Hartbeespoort Dam.

Some of the final stretches are quite easy. Beware the sting in the scorpion’s tail, this one is brutal and can reduce even the strongest to a walk. A cautionary note – the event is run in March and in the North West it can get very hot at this time, so drink plenty of fluid on the route.

Om Die Dam Ultra Marathon

Have a great week everyone!

Vaal Marathon Race Report

I finally had time to complete my race report for the Vaal Marathon I ran this past Sunday, so here it is.

I wrote in my online training log at Buckeyeoutdoors.com “another day, another marathon, another 04:59”. I suppose that pretty much sums up the Vaal marathon for me. It was another long training run for me in my Comrades buildup and I did what was needed.

The mornings are getting cooler and darker here in South Africa so with a 6AM start the sun was still hiding when we were waiting for the start.

The Vaal marathon is a very popular Comrades qualifier because it is a relatively flat marathon and many runners have run their best marathon times here. I find it a hard work marathon with not many hills but also not many downhills to relax on. Having said that it is certainly not flat all the way.

My race went well without any incidents up to about 24km when I started experiencing a stiff feeling in my upper back. This became quite severe at times and I was thinking it must be because I changed work sites and have been sitting at a different desk with a different chair the past two weeks. (I confirmed this on Monday morning as the spasm returned when I sat in a certain position at my desk)

At 27km my back was forcing me to walk at times and we also reached a water point with no water left. This was not great at all and I decided to take it very slow to the next water table at 30km to see if they had water and then decide on my plan. It was dry and warm by now and I was not looking forward to a tough run without water.

 Dry and warm by now.

My progress was really slow between 27km and 30km and I kept stretching my back, trying to work out the spasm I was dealing with. There were quite a lot of runners taking some strain.

  

All runners were certainly not taking some strain! At about 32km I saw Staci (Sandal Girl) coming from behind. She was smiling and clearly having a ball. She was on her way to a great new best time and Comrades qualifier! I joined her for a few strides and gave her some encouragement saying she was doing great and will easily make her goal of a sub 5 hour run. I also said she must just make sure she stays ahead of me and then she would be fine.

Staci (Sandal Girl) on her way to a 4:48 Comrades qualifier. Way to go Staci!

After this I just kept going and slowly got rid of the back spasm. I just relaxed and enjoyed running another marathon. The last 8km runs next to the Vaal River which forms the southern border of Gauteng, the province I live in.

 Vaal River

During the last few kilometers I really experienced lots of incredible emotions from the runners around me. There was the woman running with her husband cycling next to her. At 40km she just stopped and burst into tears, she was close to her limit. I became aware of how desperate the runners around me were to qualify for Comrades. Emmotions were running high all around me.

This guy in yellow was pep talking the lady in pink from 30km onwards. He kept on repeating, "keep going, never quit, keep going, never quit". She did and finished in 04:59 to qualify.

There were also these two runners trying to help a totally finished runner to make the 5 hour qualifying cutoff. I don’t know if she made it.

In the last kilometer I passed 3 runners at different places standing next to the road vomiting. All of these things made me realize again how tough a marathon is and how much I should keep on appreciating the fact that I am able to do this.

My final time was 04:59:13, nearly the same as my 04:59:10 three weeks ago. (3 seconds difference!) It shows you it helps to have experience to pace you through to the end, even more so on a not 100% perfect day.

Nice medal.

With my favorite recovery drink after the race...chocolate milk!

A good run overall with my Comrades training 100% on track. As I said to a friend afterwards, "I’m not training to run a good marathon time, I’m training to run a comfortable Comrades on 29 May".

Happy training everyone!

"I Just Felt Like Running" virtual 5km race report.

I’ve never run a 5km race so I was excited to get a chance to do a virtual 5km. Thanks to Jeff (Detroit Runner) for hosting this virtual race. I planned my week’s training so that I could fit in a 5km on Saturday. I used it as a warmup fo my Sunday marathon.

It was a beautiful morning with perfect running conditions. I loved the fact that I could walk to the start while viewing these…

…and these.

I had plenty of fans to support me and give me some personal attention before the start.

I decided to take it easy as I did not want to push too hard the day before a marathon. My aim was to run under 30 mins for the 5km while staying comfortable the whole way. I ran a 2.5km loop from my house twice for the 5km.

My final time 29:09. That’s more than fast enough for this ultra runner.

The fans were very happy for me and excited that I had such a good run.

Have a great week everyone! Oh, and yes, the marathon went well too. Report will follow later this week.