Comrades 2016

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  • lowrezlowrez ✭✭✭

    Wow! I have never seen "glove socks" like that before. I am definitely going to give those a go, will take away the conundrum of whether it is the sock or the shoe causing the friction - thanks Dannirr 

  • Well, I said it before the Up Run (my first Comrades), I said it immediately afterwards and I am now re-iterating it officially.  I'm in for 2016.  Now who's going to help me persuade Lorenzo?

  • marty74marty74 ✭✭✭

    Loving the photo. I am sure you would get great support from The africans wearing that during the race next yearimage

    And i am sure once the entries open, Lorenzo wont be able to stay away. Its quite addictive plus of course you are not a true Comrade until you have run both directionsimage (At least that's what everyone says)

  • lowrezlowrez ✭✭✭

    52 minutes is long enough in that kit marty! Made for a very jolly 10k though.

    Lorenzo just think how neat a pair of Bill Rowans will look next to a back-to-back!

    Am I right in understanding you only ever get one go at a back-to-back medal? Only awarded to successful sophomores?

  • lowrez wrote (see)

    justanothrrnr - physio advised me to only stretch after a running session when muscles are warm, sounds like you are stretching "from cold"? Or do you do a warm-up prior to stretching? Not sure if I am doing the knee thing correctly but I can touch a wall with my knee from a lot farther back than 5cm (2 inches). What are you foam rolling to get the flexibility back into?.

    Lowrez, sorry for such a delayed response, only just recovering from a 40th celebration over the weekend  (i think well earned)

    I would support your physio's advice, in my case it's only the lower legs when in training and even then its after I've done the eccentric drops so feels flexible enough already.  I don't normally risk injury and this doesn't feel risky to me (touch wood).

    Foam roll hams, quads,itb, hips, calves/soleus mostly...after shorter stuff mainly when I can feel its been hard or when I can feel sensitive areas developing over time.  I have spent quite a bit on sports massage too (preparing for Comrades especially) and that has definitely played its part

    Found a good sports massage therapist in Durban if you ever need one.  At R300 ph I felt slightly strangely uneasy paying in £££ 

     

  • lowrezlowrez ✭✭✭

    justanothrrnr - good find, that is about half what I pay per session back in the UK! There are always exceptions to rules - like you I have a "cold stretch" that I use whenever I need it, to focus on my hams. That too doesn't seem to break anything even though I am not warmed up. I also have this neat little "rolling pin" type roller that I use when I am fully warmed up post run on the "hamstring origin" and glute areas to assist with the quite forceful stretch I need to get on for those bits. I never thought I would have to become so "expert" at "listening" to my legs and understanding how to cope with the ravages of ultra training when I simply set out to "run long". I think age might be a factor too; when I were a nipper I never had to do any of this ridiculously choreographed cool-down routine, now if I miss just one element there will be a price to pay! Although, like with many events, I did nothing of that after the Comrades finish and hardly suffered at all in the following days; there was something strangely therapeutic about spending 12 hours on my feet? 

  • Aaaaaargh! Just made a HUGE mistake and noticed that this thread had been set up......

     

    .... and I've bookmarked it.

     

    Just go a few months to convince myself that running this again and securing a back-to-back, becoming a true Comrade and all the glory that that entails is a bad idea. 

    Can anyone help me with that?!!

  • Mr KMr K ✭✭✭
    Nope, don't look at me.
  • Slow DuckSlow Duck ✭✭✭
    *walks by whistling...*
  • DannirrDannirr ✭✭✭

    How did Expedia make a booking at The Hilton without me looking....?

  • lowrezlowrez ✭✭✭

    * doesn't look up from reading Bob de la Motte's autobiography... *

  • lowrezlowrez ✭✭✭

    Must be a "buy two get one free" automatic offer!

  • PoacherPoacher ✭✭✭

    Well having scraped round for a back to back with a badly disintegrating body, that should be it. Done & dusted. Finito. Never again. But all I want to do is go back for no.3 and try to perform a lot better. Hope to see you all there.... 

  • I'll definitely be back for number 7. Still never got this down run right so hopefully next year is the year.

    zulu, if you are heading back to Durbs, I'm sure we will bump into each other on the local running scene. Drop me a mail at warrenkidgell@yahoo.com if you are keen for me to put you in touch with any of the running gurus here or if you are just keen to go for a run with some company when you make it back to Durban.

  • Bike ItBike It ✭✭✭

    At my first Comrades in 2012 I crossed the line and a man with a gun asked me 'So Martin, will we see you next year.  I said 'No way - this is much too hard'.  He said 'give it 2 weeks and you'll want to come back'

    It didn't take 2 weeks - maybe 4 - but I did want to enter.  The suffering of the final stages was forgotten and the euphoria remained.

    In 2013 I was better prepared for a race than ever before.  32C heat and catching tonsilitus 42 hours before the race ended my hopes of a second Bill Rowen and I collapsed with 4km to go and walked home.

    It nearly ended my running career too as I got periostitus (inflammation of the surface of the bone) and it took me 18 months to get running again.  I couldn't run the 2014 race due to this. Lack of training and lack of consistency reduced my speed substantially.

    In the 2015 race I was happy to finish.  Eaten by the 11:30 hour bus, I tempo ran from the Lion Park turn, including running some of Little Pollies and Big Pollies and ran exactly how I should have run in 2013 off the top of Pollies.  The demons of 2013 were buried as I came home to get a bronze with time to spare.

    Comrades is much more than a race.  It tugs at your heart strings and lets your human spirit soar.

    See you all in 2016

  • John1946John1946 ✭✭✭

    Well, I suppose I wouldn't be lurking if I wasn't thinking about it...

  • Lorenzo mate. You cannot and must not allow anyone to influence you. Saying that...

    JOIN US! JOIN US! JOIN US! JOIN US! JOIN US! JOIN US! JOIN US! JOIN US!

    image
  • I stayed at the City Lodge Hotel this year.  I've just tried to book a room for next year and it's showing as sold out.  I didn't book until January for this year's race so I'm very surprised that it's fully booked already for next year.  Can anyone recommend any other reasonably priced options close to the finish line and expo?

  • DannirrDannirr ✭✭✭

    I booked at the Hilton again.  Did not get the special price I had this year, but in the grand scheme of things, the extra cost is not significant.

  • Agreed to run this next year while in the pub with some SA mates last week. Never been further than a marathon before.....

    may well give it a go if I can get the leave.

  • lowrezlowrez ✭✭✭

    Poacher - Lights will guide you home, and ignite your bones, and Comrades will fix you. - good to see you will be back image

    John1946 - You have sealed your fate; it only takes one lurk; we shall reel you in!

    Dubai - You're definitely curious, don't be dubious, join us.

    Hotels already filling up? I didn't book until I'd got my entry for last year, that would have been January this year?

    Anybody looked at flights yet? F2D; you set out well late last year didn't you? With only days to go? Had you already boked flights or did you pick them up in those final days? Were the prices still OK?    

  • I think it might be that City Lodge aren't taking bookings that far in advance, rather than that they're full. Try again in a few weeks?

  • Lowrez I'm definitely more than curious, hopefully be joining next year. I'm sure I'll have lots of questions!

  • I recently started running again after several years break.  There are some club events that I want to do, just because I always did them, but the only real event that captures my imagination is Comrades.  Starting at 24lbs overweight and struggling to get under 41 mins for 10k, in training, I am truly thinking that I would love to do Comrades next year.  I guess I am going to need a qualifying time and a bit of luck getting an entry. 

    I realize most people would probably consider I've left it a bit late, particularly as I'm not keen on taking over 7 hours, but I would love to run next year as it's 40 years since my dad came second to Allan Robb. 

    Does anybody have any opinions on a suitable qualification race in November/December in the UK?

  • Becca7Becca7 ✭✭✭
    City Lodge doesn't seem to be full. I looked yesterday. Might return there, rather than to the Hilton.



    Ross - sounds like you are a good runner and Comrades will be a good challenge. Saxon Shore have events in November/December that might be suitable. Good options in Spain at those times too
  • Bike ItBike It ✭✭✭

    Well Ross if you are 24lb overweight and can still get 41min for 10k, then you'll be a lot faster than most of us.  It sounds like you are genetically gifted though so probably you have the potential for the time you mention if you can shift that weight and do the training.

    You don't need any luck getting an entry - you just need to pay.  Entry will open in September.  There is an initial burst of entrants and then it slows down and closes in November.

    As for qualifiers, then Comrades accepts pretty much any official organised marathon for internationals.  I don't really have any suggestions for a qualifier though in the period you mention as I'm based in SA now.

  • Yeah, my idea of overweight may be a little different from a lot of peoples'.  I am comparing with race weight at 25.  I did a 35 miler back then in 4 hours, but that was only off 12 weeks training.  If I'm doing Comrades I'm going to have to give it a bit more than that.  I like the suggestion of Spain for a marathon in winter, got to get it past the missus bot time wise and money wise though, I've got 2 year old twins so neither time nor money are entirely my own.

     

  • John1946 - think you may be the chap I walked up little Polly's with - we were discussing how hard the 'ups' were,  how sore the 'downs' were and how deeply unpleasant the flat felt image

    Re: booking late flights in both cases in 2014/2015 I booked my flights in May and paid no more than £660 incl the domestic flight Jhb to Durban (tthis year/direct via Dubai last year).  I noticed on skyscanner that as long you set the return leg after the half-term break then prices remain very reasonable.   Its a good option if you find yourself being a borderline injury case.

  • I made a promise earlier this year to my family telling them after getting my B2B that I would be taking a break in 2016 from Comrades. 

     

    How do I tell them...

     

     

  • DannirrDannirr ✭✭✭

    justanotherrnr - you tell them the way I did after breaking the same promise:  "want to go on safari?"

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