A
month or so ago I saw this race advertised and the idea of running though the
tunnel excited me...
Roll
on to Saturday and I found myself on the start line chatting to Chantel about
who our competition was... Not many trail races have big prises but the money
on offer here had brought out the big guns.
It
was going to be a fast race with only about 2 the 20ish km on 'real' trail. I
started fast but that didn't help as the top guys still pulled away. 2 of them
40+ guys... I hadn't seen Nicholas and hoped his new baby had kept him up all
night. .. But no such luck for me he soon caught up.
With
1km down we turned off the tar and headed up through the farms. Nic was never
far ahead so I kept racing hoping he or one of the other two would crack and I
could move into 3rd.
Smile for the camera |
We
were now under the bridge that takes the cars to their tunnel. While the cars had
a gentle climb we didn't... I closed the gap to 10m but as we reached the top
he pulled ahead and entered the tunnel 30sec ahead of me.
I
turned my headlamp on, but after 100m the tunnel has emergency lights so I
turned it off...
in the tunnel |
It's
not every day you get to run in a tunnel, let alone one about 4km long. .. With
Nic 30sec ahead and the next runner 30sec behind I was very alone! It was quiet
with only the sound of my feet. It was the longest 4km I've ever run... but
there was light at the end of the tunnel!
The
eyes adjusted and I headed to the water table looking for the right turn, but
the race turned left and I was caught off guard! Left took us down to the river
and it should have been fun to head down the steep bank, but I hit it
away from the path and... the ground was loose and my foot gave way!
If Chris had got there earlier he would have caught me in action! |
I could have come off a lot worse! |
I
hit the ground hard and slid the next 2-3meters down... With nothing broken I
got up covered in sand and blood! Both knees and my right hand, but
neither of those bothered me it was my hip that was sore.
I
stopped in the river to wash my hands before heading on. I had to walk this and
was overtaken by the leading lady (a top roadie) who had been chasing me.
I
needed the flat of the tunnel to get back into my running. This was easier
going than the first crossing... it must have been the oncoming headlights of
the 1000+ field that were still heading out. Or it could have been the fact that you climb 35m going
through from the Paarl side!
I
closed the gap catching Bulewa and passing her I set about chasing Nic who was
atill just out of reach. The tunnel is downhill on the way back so it was no
surprise that I was through quicker and if I was counting right Nic was still
only 30 sec head!
More
trail a little steep single track to take us back down to the farms and the
road to the finish.
I
couldn't run this my hip wasn't working and Damian who has been running well
took me on this section and sped off.
I
tried to chase but couldn't run any faster. I watched as he caught Nic and the
two of them raced to the end... Nic had lots of speed left in his legs to
finish 8th and take 3th old man. With Damian between us I finished 10th and 4th
old man.
Stop the watch we're finished |
Garmin
told me I had run for 83:43 which I had but the 15.9km was closer to 20.5km as
we lost a lot of signal in the tunnel. ..