Comrades 2016

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  • DannirrDannirr ✭✭✭

    It is a nice drive but rural roads in SA are not very safe anymore.  I'd avoid it if I could.

  • No doubt it's a lovely drive down (I did round trips between Durban and Joburg every other weekend for almost two years while working in Johannesburg).  I would say hitting the freeway for the first time off a plane and being unprepared may be unnerving if you're not an assertive driver.  

    It's entirely customary to find someone driving up your backside while taking phone calls, indicating is not expected and if you're one of the critics of middle lane drivers here in the UK then you may be a convert in SA because slow lanes get damaged from road freight and the outside lane is an express train of vehicles  (including  taxis) mostly travelling at speeds far in excess of the limit. 

    There's also been a long history of road deaths on that route:

    http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/kwazulu-natal/road-deaths-toll-alarming-jpsa-1.1800193#.VcMVHaNwbMo

    ...however it is very scenic and I can't imagine there's many nicer ways of arriving in Durban for Comrades than passing Pietermaritzburg and then counting down the names of the various hills flying by before you arrive at the coast so if you're going to go for it then I recommend probably worth finding a quiet time to leave and just ensuring you're well rested before you do.

  • PG3PG3 ✭✭✭

    Ermm, i think I will fly to Durban then!

  • lowrezlowrez ✭✭✭

    Hi James - you won't go wrong following F2D's guide image. PG3 glad you've been persuaded to fly...I had no idea I was avoiding so much carnage last year!

    Dannirr - I have run in those ninja socks a couple of times now - still weird putting them on, almost didn't run in them at all because of the way the bit along the base of the foot where your toes attach feels, as if there is a massive ridge of material that surely will cause blisters after a few paces, but, weirdly, all that sensation disappears once trainers are on and you are out running. They are great, will run some longer distances in them before I commit to filling my sock drawer with them though.

    I have just entered Canalathon, only the 50k option, there are 75k and 100k too. Its not until 27th March next year, but I wanted something longish in the diary out there to make me focus on the build work needed. 

  • Was nice to see McHilly yesterday! Downhill finishes, don't we love them.

    I have been trying to chase up my MRI (from 2 weeks ago) just now but no-one's in. Ho hum. I'm mildly peeved (I am paying for this albeit indirectly through works Bupa) but can't work up much in the way of Entitlement Rage, it's a mildly gammy knee for heaven's sake...

  • Walking to Waterloo tonight and I saw an unmissable yellow orange combo t shirt making its way on a tall dark-haired chap (approx 5:45pm) . First one I've clocked .... anyone here perhaps?
  • May be Lorenzo?...

  • Not me - am in Borneo at the moment! Got my Comrades t-shirt with me though.

  • PoacherPoacher ✭✭✭

    Lorenzo, if you are still reading and posting about comrades while in remote Borneo then you are deffo on for the the back-to-back image - told you so...

    Mind you I'm doing just the same in Sudan so dunno what that indicates. 

  • Poacher - I'm just keeping an eye on things!! image

    No commitment at this stage and the back-to-back is still more off than on at this stage. Have managed a massive 3 miles in the last 3 weeks since being here.

  • DannirrDannirr ✭✭✭

    I'm not the fear monger type, but a friend of mine visiting SA currently from New York (but he's an expat SA) was attacked by a large group of striking miners while driving to Kruger. Gunshots were fired, car is wrecked.   I would again urge people to fly around SA whenever possible and avoid long distance driving.  

    As an expat myself, it hurts and saddens me to write that.  

  • Hi, just come across the Comrades thread. Looking for something to celebrate my 50th birthday. I was talking to some South African runners in my club so a 50 (odd) mile race seemed ideal. I did the 2005 'down' as my first ultra in 8.52 and was hooked. I had to go back to do the 'up' which took me 30 seconds longer in 2008.  Ultra running is completely different to anything else and I love it.  When training there are only 2 things to remember.  1. SLOW DOWN. my mantra is: In the first half, if you are running comfortably, you are running TOO FAST. It should feel UNCOMFORTABLY SLOW.  2. The most important thing is to FINISH. Everything else is secondary. If you 'blow up' at mile 20 in a marathon, you could walk to the finish, but 'blowing up' with 20+ miles to go is far more daunting.  I wrote a detailed article for my club's magazine for my first Comrades, which I shall upload for anyone wishing to read it. 

  • ultraD wrote (see)

    ... 'blowing up' with 20+ miles to go is far more daunting. ...

    Yep - and walking it in a bad mood really sucks image

    Would love to read the report.

    Sports doc said the MRI showed degeneration in the lateral meniscus in my knee, that is, the medial (inside) one is fine and intact but there are, well, I suppose holes, in the other one! The medial one showed up as a clear black triangle and the lateral one had blobby grey marks in it : "that's fluid" she said.

    Anyway she was surprisingly optimistic ("I've known people in this state return to running ultras and marathons" in pretty much those words - I was gobsmacked) so I am being dispatched to the Fizz for rehab and in 3 months we'll see. Apparently I should also do 5h of cardio a week: this is probably a euphemism for "making and eating cake is NOT CARDIO". 

    We'll See ... I suppose.

  • Fido - depends on how you make the cake. If you dance around the kitchen, do some light reps with the flour bags, could be a whole body workout image

    Glad to hear you have an optimistic diagnosis - sounds very positive.

  • lowrezlowrez ✭✭✭

    F2D - That's good news image. No scalpel required (other than to cut the butter into the flour). What are you baking? I have a bumper crop of blackcurrants and my new diet, which is working marvellously, lost 4lbs in the past fortnight, is; no breakfast, 300ml of any soup for lunch, any amount of home baking in the evening. I suppose I am doing a lot of cardio around that too, running prior to evening cake timeimage.

    So now you have to follow Fizz's orders - which I find terribly difficult because it never involves running, good luck with it and keep us posted on progress.

    ultraD - you just described my 2015 up run almost perfectly, I would probably replace uncomfortaby slow with "effortless", I kind of transitioned from uncomfortable to effortless during my training runs, never run so slow in any event before. Where's that article? Keen to read it.

    Lorenzo - you doth protest too much image 3 miles in 3 weeks is bang on finishers training schedule for this time of year. What are you up to in Borneo? Sounds very "outdoors" bet you are getting tons of cardio in on top of that image

  • Mr KMr K ✭✭✭

    So `only` 20,000 places up for grabs then. image

    What did everyone think of the launch clip....?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=15&v=PE_tsIlsJLg

     

  • PG3PG3 ✭✭✭

    It's not the slickest made clip but I like it.

     

  • DannirrDannirr ✭✭✭

    What do you think of the Slogan?  Definitely true but not very inspirational. 

  • Bike ItBike It ✭✭✭

    I'm in it at 1:31 - Union Jack vestimage

  • lowrezlowrez ✭✭✭

    Yo Bike! When I viewed it that was one of the eye-catchers for me "Ooo! A bloke in a UJ vest!" - did not recognise you from your profile pic!

    There is a SABC news article posted on YouTube too that gives a bit more background, interview with the race director, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST2JIewOF5k

    Having seen both clips I can understand it a bit more, but I have to agree I'm not overly inspired, not sure I will rush to buy a shirt with that emblazoned across it?

  • PG3PG3 ✭✭✭

    I saw the UJ vest.  I would like to get one for next year.  Where did you get it from?  Was it comfy to run in?  56 miles of underarm chaffing could be bad...

  • lowrezlowrez ✭✭✭

    PG3, I think you'll have to be logged in to facebook for this to work: https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/343156279054176/search/?query=vest, its David Ross who sources the kit, I normally wear an "L" but found these a bit close fitting, mind you I do need to drop a few pounds!

    I was looking for some easy half marathons to run in the lead up to my qualifier on 4th Oct in Chester and ended up entering both the Scottish and English halves on discovering they run on consecutive days; Sat 19th and Sun 20th Sept! Couldn't resist a bit of synchronicity like that!

  • PG3PG3 ✭✭✭

    Lowrez, where are you based? i have a spare place going for Maidenhead at the start of sept that i cant use.  Happy to pass it on...

  • lowrezlowrez ✭✭✭

    PG3 - I'm on The Wirral, thanks for the offer but I cant make 6th Sept. image

  • Bike ItBike It ✭✭✭

    PG3 - I got my (plain) UJ vest from Foska.  As Lowrez says - David Ross organises the 'official' annual running vest with some annual customisation through FB.  I would say it is of moderate comfort. 

  • lowrezlowrez ✭✭✭

    A reminder that entries open tomorrow. The cap this year is 20,000 places. In past years these have been taken up at a steady rate, it doesn't tend to sell out on day 1. There is though a time limit to enter this year set at 30th November.

  • DannirrDannirr ✭✭✭

    Ok, I'm in.  Yippeeee.  I think.

  • lowrezlowrez ✭✭✭

    Me too, yip..yikes!

  • lowrezlowrez ✭✭✭

    One thing I wasn't sure of - last year's champion chip number? I put that in from last year's confirmation , but now I look at the chip it says racetec with a completely different number on it? 

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