TIMELESS – Training is more often than not about putting your head down, your feet to the metal, and well… training. But on those less intense days, it’s important to look around, smell the air, remember you’re one lucky person, and take the odd snap. The back blocks of Marlborough, the Kaikoura Coast Line, training is never too much of a chore.

December 2019 – Sky high in Zimbabwe

Amongst Zimbabwe’s Eastern Highland wilderness last weekend, a few dozen runners gathered for Sky Run Zimbabwe.

Taking place in the Nyanga National Park, amongst the thick mist and mention of the six inches of rain that had been dumped over the previous couple of days, we gathered at Sky Deck Lodge and briefed about the pending mountain running adventure.

“Now, for those of you doing the 56km Ultra tomorrow, I suggest that if you can’t swim, you reconsider running, because the Pungwe River you have to cross will be high. And you will probably be swimming.”

A few people shuffled their feet and a nervous laughter filtered the room.

“Oh, and if you get lost, use your whistle, and DO NOT MOVE OFF THE TRACK. If you move off the track, and it’s misty, you WILL NOT BE FOUND by the rescue team.”

More feet shuffling and nervous laughter.

“Welcome to Sky Run Zimbabwe, have a great day, it’s awesome out there!”

In fact, the mist was minimal and the river was about waist high. But the bit about being an awesome day – that was absolutely true, ten fold.

Well – race day was the following morning and we set off from our wooden lodges at Far and Wide Outdoor Education Centre at a shade after 4am.

The first section of the Turaco trail meandered us through forest, followed by a morning sunrise over communal farmland that almost stopped us in our tracks – we were above the clouds.

For 13 hours I just loved running those farm tracks, grasslands, rocky slopes, and valleys, hiking the never ending but awesome Pungwe Gorge, summiting the 2592 peak of Mt Inyangi; Zimbabwe’s highest mountain, seeing the Nyamkombe and Nyazengu waterfalls, and replenishing with river water so pure and untouched it could only have been delivered by Poseidon himself.

Up on those brilliantly exposed ridge lines with the Chimanimani Mountains nearby, Mozambique just a skip and a hop away; it was a good day for mind wandering – the history of this place and what Zimbabwe has been through the past few decades.. if these mountains could talk.

But for this day, the current hardships of this beautiful nation had been put to the side and we are all there for one reason – to cherish those mountains, and run in the sky.

The beat of the drums at Aberfoyle Lodge marked the finish line of this incredible day, which could be heard for the final couple of kilometres.

Hands down one of the most beautiful, friendly and warm finish lines in the world.

What a day, what a place, what a race, and what great people.

Sky Run Zimbabwe, thanks heaps, you’ve got a wonderfully bright future.  

http://skyrunzim.com/

November 2019 – MAPPING OUT A SMILE –What this sport comes down to, is great people.

And when two superior Adventure Racing combos like Addicted2Adventure and Kinetic Events combine forces, you know it will be there ten fold.

Sunday’s Expedition Africa 25km Sprint Race was lekker fun.

Teaming up with my good mountain running mate Peet, we thought we’d dust off our mountain bikes and give this race at Riversands Farm Village in Midrand a bash.

The Kiwi and the Saffa, the Rugby World Cup trials and tribulations long behind us, as Team Kiwi Bok we focused on the task at hand.

Rocking up at the un-Sunday morning time of 5.30 at the venue, bikes strapped in the back of the bakkie, the energetic and fun vibe was unavoidable and the organisers and volunteers running the show were drilled.

Registration was quick; sign our life away, grab our goodie bag with a few complimentary bits and bobs for our bikes, receive our Leg 2 and 4 bike maps, then it was off to nearby T1 to place our bikes before having a few moments to study the map.

Google Maps means anyone can throw themselves into one of these races on a whim; and there were plenty of navigation key pointers both on the website leading up to the race, help on race day. In summary, no one was going to be doing too much unnecessary bundu bashing.

Plenty of music, plenty of smiles, the minutes ticked by rather quickly and it was soon a shade before 7am and time for the briefing and the hand out of our Leg 1 map.

Nearly 90 teams lined up under the start banner, soon leaving behind a storm of dust.

We tore off on Leg 1, a six kilometre run, each team donning their own method of navigating, moving, locating check points and marking them off.

A sure way of getting the heart racing, teams were soon scattered and following their own pace and chosen routes.

Mountain biking was Leg 2 and 4, a total of 17km and a similar theme of wheels and pedals and people going in various directions on their own hunt for the CPs.

The CPs were all very well laid out for the race; well matched to the map and location clues.

We were all grateful for the early start as the mercury soon began to rise.

Despite the organised chaos and sweaty foreheads, everyone was grinning from ear to ear and helping each other when needed – no one would fall off their bike without a ‘are you okay??!!’ from the passing teams.

Leg 3 was a 2km paddling leg – short and sweet with an approachable couple of CPs and just nice to mix it up and be on the water.

Back on the bikes, time for a few more CPs on more dirt roads, single tracks and a little bit of tar road.

I can thank Peet for the rather swift CP locating we enjoyed, (we only had to briefly back track once or twice). I had a couple goes at the map reading, but was not excellent. I was better at reading out the clues, and was not even super brilliant at that all of the time….!

We crossed off the 24th check point after two and a half hours, then it was a quick sprint pedal to the finish.

When stripped back, Adventure Racing can be hard work and frustrating at times. But, when it’s organised by great people who care about the teams’ enjoyment and place this as top priority, Adventure Racing is awesome, no matter what.

So yeah, thanks heaps A2A heroes Jolene and Thinus Matthysen, with the combined powers of Kinetic Events legends Heidi and Stephan Muller.

What a fabulously fun morning of adventuring it was, we had a blast. #addicted2adventure #kineticevents #with_belles_on #expafrica