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jar - When I first heard Shosholoza a year ago I misheard “Wen' Uyabaleka” – true meaning “You are running away” – as “When we are together”. It doesn't matter how many times I hear it, that's what I sing every time. When I was running down that road on Sunday 29th May I sang that to myself, joyously, many times knowing you and everyone else on this thread were further downstream doing your damnedest to achieve your goals. It was one of several mantras and thoughts that kept me going all day. I wouldn't have got home without all of you helping me throughout the day.
It was wonderful to meet you and shake your hand at breakfast. Thanks for your real kudos, that is a rare thing, you have mine in return for sticking with your task all the way to the finish despite your adversity on the day, absolutely the right thing to do and kept you in the game for a shot at a recognised finish and a verified time.
Hi lowrez, I'll send you the high-res versions of those pics (and a few others very similar) by WeTransfer later today.
As for identifying people in the pics - I'm afraid I don't know who everyone is either - I didn't always manage to match name/face/RW name.
As for your story... getting back on track after near-disaster, persevering and doing what it takes to get back on track, is noteworthy. And you never know when remembering YOUR story might not be the one that gets someone else through a difficult situation at a later date.
Thanks Debra - maybe everyone could take a look and identify themselves - or maybe not if they don't fancy revealing who they are. I don't have them to hand right now but will take a look later for which ones I am in.
Thanks for your perspective of my day - another angle I never thought of
Lowrez I thought i had already said this but honestly, your race was amazing. I have a 3 friends inspirational/never give up/be tough races that i think about when things get tough, i know have 4.
If anyone is interested, below is my race report.
Race report – Comrades Ultra marathon – 56 hilly miles, billed as the ‘Ultimate Human Race’
So I have wanted to run Comrades Ultra marathon for YEARS. I cant remember exactly how many years but a very long time. I remember the first hearing about this race in 2002 (Sean Brett it was you btw), it sounded nuts and at the time I was running 5 and 10k, no way would I run 56 miles/90k, that was for crazy people blessed with good running genes. Fast forward a few years, a few ironman finishes and I find that I quite like long stuff. I thought, hmm, I reckon I can do this Comrades thing.. I targeted my 40th birthday year, trading a spa weekend or a weekend in the sun for a week in Durban. I managed to recruit a friend (Lex) for the journey. It wasn’t exactly a hard sell was it Alexia? ;-)
Training started properly in Jan. Cold and dark, lots of my runs in the week started at 5am. Pretty tough going. My body didn’t really want to sign up for this race and I had various niggles and injuries that really made me wonder if I was going to make the start line. Lots of physio, massage and following a running plan that was significantly less miles than most others doing Comrades helped me through. Somehow I made it to the end of May looking like I could make the start line. I clocked 1000k of training (from Jan) just before the race which is often talked about as a good minimum for a ‘just get round’ finish. I was ready, kind of… I had ran 2 x 30milers and 2 marathons as preparation and definitely not enough hills. I am always the one that opts for the pancake flat races. I was totally out of my comfort zone with Comrades being only 1% flat. I prefer a 1% hills race really.
I flew over to Durban on the Tuesday night which gave me a good few days to relax and get ready before Sunday’s race. I stayed in the main race hotel as I was going to be on my own until Vic and Lex appeared on Friday which was a great decision. I had forgotten how much fun doing a race abroad is. Everyone was super friendly and there were plenty of organised events to pass the time.
I didn’t enjoy the sitting around and waiting on the day before the race. Lots of nervous faces around the hotel and everyone just wanting to get on with it, or maybe just get it over and done with. I went to bed at 6pm on the Saturday night as the alarm was set for 1.30am hoping to get some sleep. I didn’t feel really nervous but even watching dodgy RomComs didn’t send me off to sleep, so I must have been. The alarm goes and Lex and I set off for breakfast. I always love a 2am breakfast. Then we set off for the ‘official comrades bus’ to take us to the start line. We board the bus about 3am, the start is a 5.30am so I feel relaxed that we have plenty of time. Unfortunately we board the second worst bus in all of Durban (our friend was on the worst one which was even slower and later than ours). Each time there is a hill (there are lots in Durban), all the other buses coming flying past us and our bus struggled to get up in 2nd gear. Our bus also appeared to be swaying. I have been on a good few dodgy buses having backpacked around Asia but this one scared me. No seatbelts to reassure me either. Lex and I started to worry that we weren’t going to survive the journey there. The guy we were with, Chris, sleeps thr
Loving it so far pg3 - and thanks for the reassurance (again
) my head is all over the place still - what does this race do to your brain?
This forum editor is very quirky, it'll let you add in miles of text but on your first save it'll chop it just like above. Usually when you put your cursor back over it, at the base an edit button should appear - you have about 40 minutes or so to go back in on that before it locks up for good. Give that a click and you can get back in and then add the rest in. Or if it doesn't do that - as I have found on occasion, just do another post and start where it chopped you.
Looking forward to the rest of your story
Debra - just downloaded the files you sent - that camera of yours is amazing! Very hirez! Thanks!
Jetline have finished compiling the photos - you can download your lot for 529 ZAR - I've got 30 odd - less than a quid per shot - their arm has been bitten right off! Well pleased
I particularly like my 3rd green arm!
lowrez: love the extra arm!
Not my good camera - larger, heavier to carry and more likely to make me a target for thieves, even though it's not great by modern standards (only a bridge camera, not SLR). But the little one does have a five-times optical zoom, so still better than a phone's camera. (The better one has a 40x zoom, takes more photos more quickly and would have coped much better with the low light levels towards the end in the stadium).
Thanks Debra, that is one happy chap! I recall standing there for a second in that "pose" so aware that inside 2 minutes the big piece of drama was going to happen... really pleased I actually got into that prime spot and they got the shot of the day for me.
Your "not good" camera has done an amazing job for us all this year, so many great pictures, brilliant memories. Thanks for doing that
Will post the rest later today when not on my phone. Lowrez that photo is brilliant
ok trying again
Warning - this is long....
Race report – Comrades Ultra marathon – 56 hilly miles, billed as the ‘Ultimate Human Race’
So I have wanted to run Comrades Ultra marathon for YEARS. I cant remember exactly how many years but a very long time. I remember the first hearing about this race in 2002 (Sean Brett it was you btw), it sounded nuts and at the time I was running 5 and 10k, no way would I run 56 miles/90k, that was for crazy people blessed with good running genes. Fast forward a few years, a few ironman finishes and I find that I quite like long stuff. I thought, hmm, I reckon I can do this Comrades thing.. I targeted my 40th birthday year, trading a spa weekend or a weekend in the sun for a week in Durban. I managed to recruit a friend (Lex) for the journey. It wasn’t exactly a hard sell was it Alexia? ;-)
Training started properly in Jan. Cold and dark, lots of my runs in the week started at 5am. Pretty tough going. My body didn’t really want to sign up for this race and I had various niggles and injuries that really made me wonder if I was going to make the start line. Lots of physio, massage and following a running plan that was significantly less miles than most others doing Comrades helped me through. Somehow I made it to the end of May looking like I could make the start line. I clocked 1000k of training (from Jan) just before the race which is often talked about as a good minimum for a ‘just get round’ finish. I was ready, kind of… I had ran 2 x 30milers and 2 marathons as preparation and definitely not enough hills. I am always the one that opts for the pancake flat races. I was totally out of my comfort zone with Comrades being only 1% flat. I prefer a 1% hills race really.
I flew over to Durban on the Tuesday night which gave me a good few days to relax and get ready before Sunday’s race. I stayed in the main race hotel as I was going to be on my own until Vic and Lex appeared on Friday which was a great decision. I had forgotten how much fun doing a race abroad is. Everyone was super friendly and there were plenty of organised events to pass the time.
I didn’t enjoy the sitting around and waiting on the day before the race. Lots of nervous faces around the hotel and everyone just wanting to get on with it, or maybe just get it over and done with. I went to bed at 6pm on the Saturday night as the alarm was set for 1.30am hoping to get some sleep. I didn’t feel really nervous but even watching dodgy RomComs didn’t send me off to sleep, so I must have been. The alarm goes and Lex and I set off for breakfast. I always love a 2am breakfast. Then we set off for the ‘official comrades bus’ to take us to the start line. We board the bus about 3am, the start is a 5.30am so I feel relaxed that we have plenty of time. Unfortunately we board the second worst bus in all of Durban (our friend was on the worst one which was even slower and later than ours). Each time there is a hill (there are lots in Durban), all the other buses coming flying past us and our bus struggled to get up in 2nd gear. Our bus also appeared to be swaying. I have been on a good few dodgy buses having backpacked around Asia but this one scared me. No seatbelts to reassure me either. Lex and I started to worry that we weren’t going to survive the journey there. The guy we were with, Chris, sleeps through all of our stresses and looks totally relaxed, as we look like rabbits in headlights. Then we get to the tollgate and our bus driver, driving the official comrades bus, has no money for the toll! WTF
I thought about my friend from South Africa, Tanya Hunt, and laugh knowing that she will like this story and tell me that its no surprise, and just to be glad that there was actually a bus to get on. We got through the toll as one of the runners had money and then it appears that our driver didnt know the way. It’s now getting quite close to race start. I like to be there nice and early and it appears that wont be happening today. At this point I would have taken just getting there as a real bonus. The same lady that paid the toll directed the bus driver and we managed to get there. Bag drop and quick toilet stop and by the time we got to the pens, they were rammed full. We squeezed our way in then and its time for the national anthem, Shalooza and Chariots of fire. I had seen many clips of this before but it was an amazing experience as I hoped it would be and I did have a little blub (or maybe that was the thought of the 56 miles to come). Clip below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_PT4jjvOds
Then it's race time. Lex and I say bye to each other. Provided we had our expected races, I wouldnt see her again until the end. Now I had been told about what an amazing race it was, how you would feel the spirit of the Comrades on the race etc etc and the first half for me was just not enjoyable. Never uncomfortable or horribly tough/wanting to quit, just me, some running, some walking up hills and keeping a very close eye on the time and the kilometres to go sign. With hindsight, I wish I had loosened up, chatted and enjoyed the race but I didn’t, it was just slow running, some walking and lots of drinking. I passed half way in 5h35 ish and according to my many pace bands I was on track for 11 hours finish. I never placed a target on this race and finishing was the only goal I had so things were looking good. Past half way and there was a monster hill, I cant even remember it’s name, you hear all these legendary hill names before the race but on the day I think I just referred to them all as ‘you f*cker’. Comrades is just hills and hills and then some more hills. This hill was never ending, but I was in reasonable spirits as I had plenty of time in hand, the views were amazing but I still wasn’t loving it (or hating it). At this point everything changed. I saw a pace group (called a bus in South Africa and ‘buses’ are a very big part of racing in SA) moving at a slightly slower, but similar pace to me. It looked like fun. The guys at the front were singing. I had heard all about these buses before but I felt that an sub-11 hour bus would be too fast and a sub- 12 hour bus would be cutting it too fine. I asked which finish time this bus was aiming for and no one knew, but it looked like too much fun to resist so I joined in. I can honestly say that this was the most fun I have ever had in a race. The ‘bus drivers’ (the guys and lady leading the group) were awesome. Everyone in our bus kept turning to each other and saying ‘this is a great bus’. The crowds love a bus and we were constantly greeted with massive cheers, like we were leading the race. Going through the Nedbank green mile was awesome and one of our bus drivers was given a tambourine which meant we had music and singing. The bus was moving quite slowly and taking lots of walking breaks both up and down the
The bus drivers guided us all very sensibly down the huge hill at Winston park and fields hill. It would have been easy to try and go for it down this hill but my quads would not have been happy with me. However, I had this nagging feeling that I could go faster but I was enjoying myself too much. Eventually I saw 15k to go and I figured that I had one shot at this race and I wanted to see what was left in the tank so I got off the bus and ran on my own. About 3k later I realised that the tank wasn’t as full as I once thought and I slowed up! The trudged on and I can honestly say that the last 7k felt so far. I kept an eye on the time and I had more than 10mins per k to get round in time so I took it super easy. If I had pressed on and blown/cramped up, I would never have forgiven myself so I adopted a run 2 lamposts, walk 1, oh and then treat yourself to another ‘1’, then think about running again. Each hill you come across feels like a mountain, up or down, neither are fun. At this point I became some kind of Comrades reference point. So many people around me didn’t have a watch or any idea of cut offs. I was fully geeked up with 2 watches, 3 regular pace bands, 2 pace bands with details of the course gradient and a pull out of all the cut off times. There was no way I was going to not finish due to lack of information. Everyone kept asking me if we were ok for time and they looked so relieved when I told them that we had time in hand.
My legs started to feel decidedly shaky on the last few ks and I was glad I had taken it easy. As I went under the 1k banner to go, which turned out not to be a one k banner to go, just a random banner which was actually being prevented from falling down and blocking the race route by 2 guys holding it up, relief came over me. I was going really slowly by this point. I walked to the stadium but once I got in, I ran. They make you run right around the stadium so you keep thinking that the finish line is round the corner and its not. Eventually I got there, 11h45 after starting and I collected my medal. I had written ‘lifetime ambition’ on my arm to remind myself of this when it got tough and now I had done it. Relief was the overwhelming feeling, that and that my legs were fecked. There wasn’t ever a moment where I didn’t think I wouldn’t finish, but it was really tough. 56 hilly miles in 27 degrees is one of the toughest things I have ever done. Actually the heat didn’t bother me but it makes it sound harder J Lex, Vic and I met up at the end and we listened to the heart breaking sound of the final cut off gun. I watched it later on tv and its just awful. I cant imagine slogging out all that distance, getting through all the prior cut offs, to come away without a finish medal. Anyone would be justified in shedding a few tears of self pity.
In summary am so grateful that I got to experience this iconic race. Where else can you run that far with 16,000 other people? This race is a massive deal in SA and rightly so, it’s awesome, epic and frickin tough. A big thanks to Steve for looking after the kids to allow me to train and travel over to SA. These endurance races are never easy on partners and require plenty of understanding. Also a big thanks to all the friends who cheered me on virtually on race day and gave me so much encouragement in the build up. Reporting back a non finish would have been gutting so I am glad I got to share good news.
Would I recommend Comrades? Absolutely 100%. If you like running marathons or ultras, give this race a go. The feeling of knowing that you have conquered Comrades is a great one. I won’t be trying to get my Green number though.
Brilliant, just brilliant. Thanks for sharing and bask in the glory of your achievement for months to come
PG3 - that was an immensely enjoyable read
I laughed out loud so many times - those hills right after Drummond are killers aren't they, Botha's Hill is the famous one, but there are a heap of nameless "‘you f*cker’s" out there. Isn't it crazy calling this a "down run"? That is a great clip of Shosholoza - brings tears to my eyes every time.
Well done on conquering this first go - you are a very intelligent runner with great awareness - in my opinion this is the tougher of the pair and you executed a great run. Brilliant!
PG3 - a great race report - you had me hooked after the first installment cliff hanger yesterday - anxiously checking back to see when we'd get the next installment... Really enjoyed reading your account of the race.
PG3: great race (and pre-race) report. That bus journey would have had be tense as anything and a nervous wreck by the time I arrived.
It's my one-year anniversary of breaking my ankle. Achievements during the past year included completing two official marathons and one hilly 34-mile trail ultra as well as a few parkruns, a couple of cross-country races and a number of 20+ mile training runs, even if Comrades was a bust. Next weekend (eight weeks post pelvic stress fracture) I will begin working back into running. Hopefully I'll be there for Comrades 2017...
Really enjoyed reading your race report PG3. You have made me realise how lucky I was to have a relaxing lift to the start in the good company of Jock, Debra and Terry, we chattered all the way there. A big thank you To Terry and Debra (our drivers).
Great write up PG3
Here is mine (I`ll edit it later when I`ve sorted my video out)
http://abloggerstalebymrk.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/comrades-alarm-bells-going-off.html
Mr K! Wonderful report! Can't believe you almost (oops spoiler!) Tell us more about breakfast, did you manage to work it in? What did you have in the end?
You were on your back-to-back too! What a great day! So glad I got to shake your hand and have a brief chat the following day.
Debra - could I also have hires versions of the Mugg&Bean group photos please?
Great report Mr K, really enjoyed reading that and well done.
Dumb question - is Hideo = Slow Duck?
Yes, that's the great man, PG3.
Great write-up, Mr K.
arghh, only realised this reading Mr K's report
lowrez: yes of course; I will try to remember to send them this evening.
Only just back from South Africa. Took a well earned holiday after the race and did the usual touristy things, some days at Kruger, back to Port Elizabeth, along the garden route, wine region and Capetown. Saw Ireland's historic rugby win against the Springboks. Truly wonderful trip. I've put on 4kgs with all those steaks, and tried Ostrich, Impala, Kudu etc washed down with some quality SA wines at a fraction of the price we pay in the UK. Not sure flying out that Monday morning after the race was such a good idea as almost had to be winched into my seat.
I've loved reading all the reports of everyone from the Silver medals to the epic account of Lowrez with the cut-offs snapping at his heels all the way. My experience was somewhere in between. Almost 1 hour longer than my top target and all those mathematical fomulae went out of the window at half way with the Bill Rowan bus gliding by. 2.5 times recent marathon time proved to be too ambitious for me.
Highlights for me were the bus tour and visit to the Ethembeni school. All the valuable advice from the Ambassadors and from our very own Slow Duck. I had a nice chat with Lambkin about our plans for the race. As I was staying out in Uhmlanga I was missing some of the Comrades vibe but the Expo got me in the groove and another highlight was the chance to have a short chat with Lindsey Parry. I had been following his schedule as close as I could. But, not enough hills I fear or strength work given the state of my quads! The meal organised by JAR on the Friday was great and the chance to meet a few more from this forum. I trotted up to do the Uhmlanga Park Run on the Saturday morning. Smaller field of about 470 there but fun all the same. It does get quite congested at the start and a lot of dodging required.
The race was a battle as it was for most in the second half and the notion that you can make up on time on the downhill sections was a bit of a fantasy or even science fiction. With that in mind I had enforced walking breaks but that gave me the chance to take in the surroundings and appreciate the support for my blue international number and shouts of encouragement and welcomes to South Africa. Seeing all the children from Ethembeni school lined on both sides of the road was special having seen them on the Friday, and I high fived the entire left hand side. I've never taken on so much fluid and it was water and coke at every station in the 2nd half. I took a liking to the salty oranges and the popsicles being handed out by the crowd. I did get a good laugh as I was approaching the stadium on one of my walking stints and pretended to break into a sprint but my sunglasses came off the hat and I could hardly bend down to pick them up. The final lap in the stadium is something to be long remembered together with the elation and relief of finishing. I was happy with the Bronze but like my school report, I have a feeling of must do better (next time).
See you on the other side, meaning the Comrades 2017 page. As I write this I intend to go for my 1/5 green or back to back. It's sort of sad that some of you do not plan to be there in 2017 but I guess that's life and it will be good to welcome some new faces. I'm talking like an experienced hand but at least I'll have progressed from 0 to 1 medal and running the Up seems to be an entirely different experience.
So PG3, not a green number but maybe a back to back?!
John 1946 - you were top 50 in your age group which was fantastic. I hope you consider giving it another go sometime.
Debra - great news on your injury update. Enjoy your slow recovery.
Has anyone started running again yet ?
This week I have done 2 x 10k slow trots on flat ground legs feel ok, will run/swim every other day till July 1st then Berlin Marathon training starts proper.
Love reading all the reports takes you back to the full day again and again.
SBA, yeah I have .. I am doing a half ironman in July and a full in November so already out swimming, cycling and running. Running is finally pain free ...
Love all the reports as well, a real mixed bag of emotions as I read them.