Five Hills For Friday

This year’s Comrades Marathon is an up run and as I promised in my previous post, here is a short description of what lies ahead for the runners. I’ve added a few random photos of the race again.

I borrowed most of the description from the Comrades Marathon Website.

Route Description the 'up run'

The start for the up run is at sea level in the centre of the harbor city of Durban, and finishes in Pietermaritzburg at an altitude of 650m (2133ft). On the way runners encounter 5 major hills, popularly known as the “Big Five” which are briefly described in the following narrative, interspersed with other landmarks and points of interest.

Almost directly from the start outside the Durban Post Office, the ascent to Pietermaritzburg begins with a steady climb up Berea Road to the summit at Tollgate, where today there is neither toll nor gate. After a brief descent another climb takes the runners to 45th Cutting, so named after the British 45th Regiment of Foot (Sherwood Foresters)  who constructed the cutting while stationed in Natal from 1843 to 1859. The first of the “Big Five” Cowies Hill is the next landmark of note.

COWIES HILL
Coming up from Durban, Cowies is encountered approximately 14km (8.7miles) from the start and is a moderately difficult climb rising about 137m (449.5ft) in the space of 1.5 km (1 mile). Although this does not sound too difficult an obstacle so early in the race, the preceding 14 km is a relentless ascent, to an altitude of nearly 300m (984ft) at Westville, which warrants its inclusion in the “Big Five”.

FIELDS HILL
After the descent from Cowies Hill and the easy flat section of Pinetown's Old Main Road, this hill is approximately 22km (13.7miles) from Durban and rises some 213m (699ft) over a distance of 3km (1.9miles). It offers a foretaste of things to come.

BOTHA’S HILL
After breasting the crest of Field’s Hill some respite is offered by an undulating but reasonably flat section to the village of Hillcrest. After a short descent from Hillcrest, Botha’s Hill offers another challenge with a somewhat lesser altitude rise of some ± 150m (492ft), and covering a distance of 2.4km (1.5miles), but is nevertheless taxing. At the top of this hill lies a landmark well known to all veteran Comrades runners in the form of the boys of Kearsney College who have gathered in numbers outside the famous school’s gates since the beginning of Comrade’s long history, providing much appreciated support to the weary runners. Their vociferous and enthusiastic support together with refreshments and any other assistance needed has helped lift the flagging spirit of many a runner and encapsulates the school motto Carpe Diem.

In the 7km (4.3miles) stretch from the top of Botha’s to the halfway mark, there is a fairly steep but short descent known as Alverstone, which is recognisable by the radio and TV transmitting mast clearly visible on the left.

At the end of the flat section after the sharp descent, runners encounter the Wall of Honour on the right hand side of the road, overlooking the Valley of 1000 Hills. This wall was created as a permanent landmark to honour the achievements of runners who have completed the epic journey between the two cities.

Just round the corner, through the cutting is Arthur’s Seat…a niche cut into the cutting wall, which legend tells us was the spot where the famous Arthur Newton, 5 times winner of the 1920’s, used to sit for a breather while out running. Today runners are urged to pay homage to Mr. Newton with a greeting and a flower, which legend has it, ensures a great second half of the race. Some believe he sits there every year, watching the runners go by.

Not far beyond this lies Drummond, which marks halfway, and is immediately followed by the fourth “Big Five” hill, Inchanga.

Inchanga
Immediately after reaching the welcome milestone of the halfway mark, runners are confronted with this monster. It winds relentlessly for 2,5km (1.6miles) and also rises some 150m (492ft) in altitude, but at this stage of the race seems far more difficult than the preceding hills.

The descent of some 2km (1.2miles) is more gentle and is a welcome relief. The bottom of the Inchanga descent is marked by Mayats Store on the right.

The route now follows a generally flat and slightly undulating landscape through the tiny villages of Cato Ridge and Camperdown and passing the Ethembeni School for Handicapped Children who line the route with enthusiastic support for the runners. Harrison Flats lies just before Cato Ridge and is an uninspiring flat section of approx 2.5km (1.6miles), which to the leg-weary runner seems endless.

Approximately 19km (11.8miles) from Pietermaritzburg is the highest point on the route (870m/2854ft) at a point known as Umlaas Road. This point is unremarkable as is not reached by any noticeable hill, and is largely unnoticed by most runners. A landmark is a concrete water tower which is visible on the other side of the freeway which passes near the route on the right at that point.

Polly Shorts
This is the ultimate in heartbreak hills. It lies in wait 80km (50miles) away from Durban and is often the make or break point for even the top contenders.  The climb is 1.8km (1.1miles) in length with the summit at an altitude of 737m (2418ft), a rise of nearly 100m (328ft) and while this is 133m (436ft) less than the highest point on the course, it is a formidable obstacle to any runner with two back-to-back standard marathons behind him.

Polly shorts is the last of the “Big Five” hills on the up run. Don’t be fooled though, there are many nameless hills between the five big ones. Never under estimate the route of the Comrades. The finish of the up run is nearly a kilometer higher than the start.

So it is nearly time for me to take on this challenge. A week from now I'll be in Durban already. In the mean time I'm keeping myself sane with some short taper runs.

Have a super weekend everyone!

What is all this Comrades fuss about?

I’ve been writing about my Comrades training for a long time now and finally moved into tapering this week. But just what is all this Comrades fuss about? Over the next few weeks I will share some information about this great race.

The Comrades Marathon is the biggest ultra in the world with 14400 finishers last year, but it is much more than that. It is a race with many traditions and a part of South Africa’s history.

Here in South Africa everyone knows about the Comrades. If people hear you’re a runner there is only one question you get asked in South Africa…do you run Comrades? If you answer yes, they admire you. If you answer no, they think you’re a liar because if you don’t run Comrades you aren’t a runner. It’s as plain and simple as that.

The South African road running calendar is planned around Comrades. Marathons and ultras leading up to the end of May with shorter races after Comrades. A survey once showed that as much as 70% of South African road runners only run because of the Comrades. Just as you hear all this talk about Boston qualify in the USA, you hear about Comrades qualify in South Africa.

The race is very tough. It is about 89km (55 miles) long and run over a brutal course between the cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg. The direction changes each year, making it either an up or a down run. 2011 is an up run, Durban to Pietermaritzburg.

There is a strict 12 hour cutoff and the bulk of the runners finish the race in the last 30 minutes. At exactly 12 hours a race official stands with his back to the runners trying to reach the finish and fires a gun. That is it. Many runners have missed the cutoff with 1 second. 12:00:01 means no medal, no finishing time…DNF.

The 12 hour cutoff is gun time, there is no chip time. I will lose about 12 to 15 minutes at the start because I start close to the back. I work out my race schedule with 11:45 available to finish. The winners run between 5:20 and 5:30. This is when I hope to be at the halfway point.

The spirit of the Comrades is unlike any race or anything you will ever experience. It is truly unbelievable. I can’t describe it, you have to experience it. This is why the Comrades is known as The Ultimate Human Race…because of the spirit that makes the Comrades Marathon the fantastic event it is. I hope one day you can come and experience it.

Next post: Profile and description of the up run.

Have a super weekend everyone!

Randburg Harriers Half Marathon Report

The Randburg Harriers Half Marathon has traditionally been the last half marathon before Comrades for runners in the Johannesburg area. Last year the race was moved to 1 October, but this year it was back in its original spot on the calendar.


The race was pretty much uneventful and my main goal was to stay comfortable and be sure I have no injuries or niggles at the end. This was the goal for most runners as nearly all Comrades runners in Gauteng do this race.

Ready to race.

Waiting at the start.

One highlight of the race was running with one of my all time heroes and idol, Bruce Fordyce (the Comrades king) for about 2km. He disappeared towards the front of the race after that. This is one thing I love about running. You often get to rub shoulders with the elite. If you don’t know Bruce you can read my post about him here.

Bruce Fordyce (in green).

Legs and feet of a legend.

Any run in Randburg is tough. There are always some testing hills to negotiate and this race is no exception. It is also a double lapper with a 10km race included and the 2^nd lap has a few extra hills thrown in where the 1.1km for the half marathon is added.


There are some testing hills throughout this race...

I relaxed during this run and never pushed. I remained comfortable the whole way. That was all I wanted to do for my last race before Comrades. I finished feeling good. I know my legs need some rest after all the hard training and that will happen during the next few weeks.

The finish at the Randburg sports grounds.

The medal…yes, Run Days are Fun Days!

Next up…Comrades! I’ll do some pre-race posts in the next few weeks.


Happy running everyone!

Two Very Special People

Today I dedicate my post to my wonderful parents. They celebrated their 57^th anniversary on 1 May. They are my heroes and the two most special people in the world. Congratulations on 57 wonderful years. Thank you for the wonderful example you set to all of us. Lots and lots of love to both of you!


I’m running a 10km club run with breakfast on Saturday and the Randburg Harriers Half Marathon on Sunday.


Have a super weekend everyone!

Colgate 32km Race Report

On Sunday, 1 May, I ran the Colgate 32km (20 Mile) race at the Boksburg stadium east of Johannesburg. This was my last longish run before the Comrades Marathon on 29 May. It was a cold and misty morning in Boksburg.

Early at the stadium, cold and misty.

The race started at 6:30 and everyone was cold. There was a big field as a 15km race was held at the same time. We ran two laps with a little extra loop on the second lap to make up the extra 2 kilometers for 32. The first lap was with the 15km runners.

Shortly after the start.

I found a few friends and we all started together. After two kilometers I found myself running with my old friends, Seugnét and Anita. They were also there for their last longish run before Comrades. This was great and I decided to hang with them for as long as possible. This became the entire race in the end as we ran and finished together, chatting all the way.

Seugnét and Anita.

The mist stayed with us longer than I thought it would and there were a few places where the wind was quite cold at times.

Misty and quite cool all the way.

The first lap (15km) went by very quickly and I was feeling good and comfortable. I could feel I ran 100km the previous weekend. My legs felt a bit tired on the hills and my feet were a bit tender at the bottom. This is something I always feel after very long runs or races…tenderness under my feet. It is usually more uncomfortable than my sore legs.

To the stadium…lap 1 done!

We left Anita in charge as she was clearly the strongest between the three of us. I had a very tough 100km Easter training run in my legs and Seugnét was just back from a week’s holiday with no running and all the wrong eating and drinking that came with that. On the second lap Anita started pulling away on the hills, but she always waited for us to catch up again. Anita has numerous 100 mile and 6 day races under her belt, including some 1^st lady finishes. She is always very strong.

Anita pulling away on the hills. Some sun at last.

The second lap added a 2km loop and here we found the only pretty street of the whole route. The race runs between some factories and other not so cool looking areas so this was a nice change. We stopped and took some photos in the pretty street.

Only pretty street of the whole 32km.

With about 6km to go my legs were getting tired and I just followed Anita who was looking stronger and stronger. I was actually glad Seugnét was taking a bit of strain as well. Bad me!

Following Anita.

29km done! How does someone look so good after 29km?

Finally we turned in towards the stadium again and there was 1km to go!

The last kilometer went by quickly and then we ran into the stadium…

…on the track…

...to the finish!

Happy!

This was a great run with great friends! The last long haul before Comrades is over. Now I can start to cut back and relax for a few weeks. The hard work has been done.

We received a medal, t-shirt and goody bag with a few Colgate items.

A very well organized race that will always see me back. Talking about back…Anita is running her 19^th Comrades this year and made me promise to be there next year when she runs number 20. I did, so I am already committed to next year’s Comrades as well!