Running the Fish river...the mere mortal way

On the 22nd of June +/- 50 normal people ventured into the canyon to 'run' the Fish River Canyon. There were 2 distances to choose from, 65km and 100km. Obviously I chose to do the 100km, because how bad can it be. The distance did not scare me, not even the terrain....but running in the dark was a whole different ball game. With a headlamp, GPS and a map. I had NO idea that I would be so useless in the dark and I  wasted a lot of time being 'lost' in that canyon.

ok, lets start at the beginning.

The night before the race we camped next to the canyon, WOW, what a view we had! Spectacular to say the least. We arrived at the campsite at about 3pm, so there was enough time to sort out food, kit etc that must go with on the 100km fun run the next day.

 

Mathilda

 

Tinus from AEP went through the route map step by step.....note to self: LISTEN to the race briefing. Don't think you will 'figure' it out when you get there....doesn't work like that. The minute that sun sets over the canyon, you are on your own. And it is scary.

In true Namibia style, we got treated to a meal good enough for kings. Mission: Stuff my face! and mission accomplished. I never do carbo-loading before a race...I prefer protein loading and then wash it down with some olive oil. Perfect fuel for a long day out on the trails!


The next morning we were all up early and ready to kick that canyon's ASS! The first 10km was a nice gravel road all the way to the hikers descent....and this is where the race really started. The descent into the canyon was my favourite part of the whole race. I just love technical downhills, it was touch and go a few times, but I made it into the canyon without falling on my face or breaking an ankle.

Canyon crawling

For the next few hours it was boulder hopping, rock hopping, sand shuffling and trying to find the quickest way to the next point. I ran with David for the first 40km, and it was good to have company. We got to a runnable section and all I wanted to do was go for it. It think it was the first time in hours that we there was a footpath. I felt strong, and David said I should go. If I knew that the canyon would be such a b#tch, I would have tried to move a bit quicker when the sun was still shining. Because when the darkness sets into the canyon.....I did lose my wonderful sense of humour about 10mins after it got dark.

That smile looks a bit fake!

 

 

Note to self: 100 lumens head lamp is NOT the way to go. Next time I will take a light that's got enough power to light a small country!


So, I got 'lost'. I knew that Willie was behind me somewhere, and thank goodness, I saw this light coming towards me....WILLIE!!! It's better to be 'lost' in the canyon with someone than on your own. After trekking spoor for what felt like forever, we found our way to the checkpoint where we could fill up on water.

We just got to the checkpoint, when 3 more headlamps came crawling up the single track. Right, so the furious five began the long march to Ais-Ais......I had no idea how many km's we still had to cover, but a least we were five now.  I prefer to fly solo when racing, but this time I was very happy to have some company!!

Between the five of us, we had 2 GPS's and a local. Pieter was our official GPS man! And he did a great job leading the way. Thanks meneer!!

17h41 later we saw Mathilda (the Windhoek Lager banner) and the finish line. It was a loooooooong day.

The Canyon might have won this round, but I'll be back to show her who is the boss!

This race is definitely a MUST DO for every ultra runner. The combination of terrain, navigation and running in dark made this the most brutal race I've ever done!

Be prepared for everything. If you are lucky, the Canyon will spit you out in one piece!

A BIG thank you to AEP (www.africanextremepromotions.com )for this epic event! You guys rock!!!

Namibia is nie vir sissies nie!

Until next time

Next stop Burkina!

Snow-chasers

In a few weeks time it will be me and the Fishriver Canyon in Namibia! I think I'm ready for the 15+hour stint in the canyon. It's only 100km, so I think I should be fine.....jip, lets go with fine....

I've got all the gear: kick ass Raidlight pack, the mother of all headlamps, rockhopping shoes and a GPS. Still have to get training on how to use that thing....but how difficult can it be, right?

anywoo, this past weekend was my last big push before heading to Namibia.
On Friday I did my 5hours in the Jonkershoek Reserve. Alot of single track, rock hopping and just having fun in my back yard.

Then on Friday afternoon we hit the road.....off to the Karoo for a birthday party. I knew it would be freezing cold, so I took my L3 Craft jacket for my Saturday run. Wow, what a kick ass jacket. I was cold, it was raining, but I survived. At one stage the rain was coming down so hard that I had to put on my sunglasses. It felt like needles going straight into my eyes. So I just told myself: Self, just pretend you are on a ski slope or something. But before the rain came down like there are no tomorrow, I was followed by the most spectacular rainbow. Pity I could not find the end of the rainbow to collect my pot of gold.

The next morning we were greeted by the following site. All the dry river bed, were not dry no more. We had to cross 5 'dry' river beds to get to the main road. But never fear when men are near. The convoy of cars left the farm for the next mission.....we are going to get us some snow!

 

 

Right, the first part of the day was already action filled to the max.....but that was not the end of it.
a Few of us decided to go to Sutherland to go and get us some snow. Snow is not something that we see everyday and it is not really something that we are very familiar with. In my mind, we will get to Sutherland, look at the snow(that is lying next to the road, not on the road)
Anyway, about 40km from Sutherland we saw the first snow. Everyone SUPER excited, taking pictures etc....right....we are going to Sutherland!!!!!

HA, so we thought!

Within minutes we were in deep shit, O I mean deep snow. I did not handle this being stuck in the snow business very well. We could not move forward, and really struggled to turn the bakkie around. We knew we could not go any futher, we had to turn around. Don't think I've ever been so scared. But like before, never fear when men and a 4x4 are near. The guys managed to get us out of the snow, and we were on our way back to Cape Town.

A real cooler box

Note to self: Buy a bakkie with 4x4.

2nd note to self: Never loose respect for nature.

3rd note to self: Snow is over rated.

Antarctica training
 

What a crazy adventure filled weekend!!!!

ps. I prefer deserts. HOT ones.

JMC Extreme-ing

Yesterday, me and half of the Western Cape's trail runners spend the morning in the Jonkershoek Mountains in Stellenbosch. OK, well, some spend a bit less time than others in the mountain. I was one of the few/many...de-bate-a-ble...that spend a bit more time going up and down the mountain.

The route was different than last year, more single tracks and a few km's longer. By the time I got to Swartboskloof(a mother of a climb to the top) I was already tired. and was already a few bruises richer. Nice!

What's the saying...."chick dig scars"

Half way up the climb, I was already over this whole race. The 20km road run I did the day before was propably not the best idea. But according to my program I had to do 2h. So, I did my two hours.
Then the mind games started....I did NOT feel like going all the way to the top, I did NOT feel like running 2h on the mountain, I just did NOT feel like running.

But I told myself "Self, just get to the top, and if you don't feel like running anymore, just stop, rock hop down the mountain and go home"

Oooh, but when will I be able to make up the missing hours in my training, I just don't have extra time to make up for missing training hours.

Once I got to the top, I ate something, and walked a bit. Wow, its SO beautiful up there, that I decided to carry on running. I am really glad I did. The best part of running on the mountain, is for every up there is a DOWN. and I LOVE the technical downhills. It was touch and go quite a few times, and if I did fall on the downhills, it would have been nasty.

Even though this was not my best race, I was confident in the downhills, and to me that is all that counts at the moment. I used my fancy new Inov8 Trailrocs....and they ROCKED!!

The Fish River challenge starts with a steep decent into the canyon...people better stay out of my way when I decent into that canyon.

Ok, back to the JMC.

I finished the race in a spectacular time of 5h19......hahahhaaha.....the guys who won the race, did the course in 3h!!

One day when I grow up I will also run that fast.

Now I'm just wondering.....if it took me 5h19 to run/crawl 35km....how long will the 100km in the canyon take me....O sh#t. I will have to take enough food for the midnight feast I will be having in the canyon. by myself.

me, smiling, before I realised there is a detour coming up.
 

65 days to go

I'm not sure how this happened....65 days to go to The Fishriver Challenge!!!!!!!

Training up to know has been a bit of a bumpy road.
First: sprained ankle
Second: Broken toe

I think my toe might still be broken, or something like that, but that is not going to stop me from training.

My visits to the Physio/Chiro is just a bit more frequent than other years. I believe, everything can be fixed. So just fix it!

anywoo, on a lighter note.

I'm at that point where excitement and fear are running next to each other, holding hands.
Suddenly there is so much to do!!!!!
Booking flights, booking accomodation, ordering new kit....wooohoo. O, and do we LOVE new kit.
My new shoes should be here next week. I'm sticking to my faithful friend - Roclite 268 from Inov8.
I must say, it is by far the best shoe I've ever run with. From the word go, I've never had ANY problems with those shoes. Love them love them love them.

My new backpack....I need to make up my mind this week which one to order. It will be one of the smaller Raidlight packs. I prefer the bottle system to the bladder. It is just alot quicker to re-fill when you are on the go. And I think I will be ON THE GO in the Fish. I don't want to be stuck in that canyon to long. It gets dark, very dark in there you know!

and because of the darkness situation, the organisers strongly advise to run with a GPS. Now my dear friends, for someone that can barely do 'left' and 'right'....now I have to do North/West/East/South.
So my training for the Fish will consist of running, Xfit and GPSfit.....hahhaaha.

10 Weeks to go!!!!

Can't wait!!!

the year of 2013

It took me a whole month to get into the year of 2013, and now, after 31 days, I can say, I AM feeling it.
You know that feeling where you know something fantastic is going to happen, but you have no idea what!
Now that's what I'm talking about.
Not the fear of the unknown, but the thrill of the unknown.

The 2 weeks of January was horrible, I could not decide what races to do this year. I was actually going a bit crazy. Gobi was an option, but bloody hell, the money! Where will I get the money.
Then I just breathed in and out, and chillax about the whole Gobi adventure.

So things started to happen.

Last year I came across 'Fish River Canyon Ultra' in Namibia(www.africanextremepromotions.com) 100km. one day. in the canyon.
Right, 2013 will be year of the Fish.

And I need my yearly Namibia fix!

This will be my first 100km event and I am super excited about it. I know I will be able to run the 100km in one day, but exactly how long that one day will be, I have NO idea.
The cut-off for the race is 24hrs.....now really, do I want to be running/boulder hopping/crawling for 24hrs....NO, I don't think so.

#from the website#
"The full 96km distance must only be undertaken by seasoned ultra distance runners, with experience in crossing, in parts, extremely difficult terrain as well as the likelihood of completing the course after dark. Event date is considered to coincide with full moons, nonetheless the canyon can be an imposing place after dark and requires athletes with sound judgement."

.....o my shattered nerves!

My new training plan kicks in on Monday, and then, good bye social life, hello mountains!

And this is how I kick start the year of 2013.

With a new goal.

Running the Fishriver Canyon.

NOW my year can start!

Plotting and Planning!

The post Sahara depression comes and goes. Today it is one of the 'goes' days. Why? Because there are stuff happening....and I want to be part of it.
And I'm GOING to be part of it.

2012 was a fantastic racing year. From NDC in March to Sahara Race in October. But what's next....can't wait for life to happen. I'm going to make it happen.

OK, so now I have to decide what race/races I'll be doing next year. Like everything in life, unfortunately, money talks. Money makes the world go round. Can't some money come round my way. All I want to do is run in deserts. That's not to much to ask for. Anyway.

Plotting and planning for 2013.

China??

Cameroon??

Namibia??

Watch this space for my 2013 adventures!

A very important part of training, is resting! and that is what I'll be doing until the end of the year.
and trying out that thing called 'a social life'! hahahaha. When I start my training again in 2013, it will be all systems go. There is a desert out there with my name on it!

the west

Sahara Race 2012

a Year and a half ago I did my first desert race - The Namib Desert Challenge. I went into the race, with no idea what to expect. I left the race with a feeling of belonging. I belong in the desert. The vast open spaces, the silence, the heat and the sand.

And so the addiction started.

Warren Muldoon, an American competitor, convinced me to enter the Sahara Race in Egypt.
Game on! Why not.

250km through the Sahara Desert, me and my 8.5kg backpack. One set of clothing, and alot of food!

The NDC Crew

October 2012......the wait.....and then finally the time came. On my way to Egypt for the Sahara Race 2012.
I got on the plane, super excited and super nervous. I had absolutely no idea of the adventure that awaits!!!

Hello Egypt!

I'm going to fast forward to the day we left for the desert.

4 busses with 134 competitors hit the dodgy Cairo roads.....don't think I'll go back to Egypt for a holiday(hahahah).
4 hours later we were in the desert, WOW - POWERFULLLLLLLL

The first campsite was next to a lake, that's one thing I can give to the Racing the planet team. Every campsite was on the most amazing spots. As for the CP's.....lets go with hide and seek...

Our village in the middle of nowhere

Khonsu - my home for the next 7 days. We were such a crazy cool bunch in that tent. Out tent was quite messy, hahahha - 2 Korean boys, 2 Japanese boys, 2 Japanese girls, me, Timo, Warren and Willem. It was a rather tight fit, very cosy! My sleeping partners on my left and right, was Timo and Juni.

Khonsu Fleamarket - Miki, Yoko, Timo and Willem

I love those kids to bits! Juni, was my favourite. He called me his ' Sahara mommy ', because I was always looking after them. Making sure that they eat etc. They only finished between 5 and 7pm everyday. And they finished and started every day with bit fat smiles. Juni is doing the 4 deserts grand Slam this year!!!! So super cool!

My kids

The day started any time from 4am!!! I got up at 5am ish, coffee, breakfast and then getting ready for the day. Every morning Juni will ask me "What time is it?" I will reply "5am" Juni "see you tomorrow" Covering his head, and back to sleep.  And suddenly it was 6:30 and time for the race breefing. Alina with her load speaker, explaining what is waiting for us in the desert.....the stages was described as moderate, difficult, moderate/difficult.....well my idea of moderate was definitaly not her idea of moderate.

The type of sand varied the whole time, so you keep on adjusting your running style. Or shall I say, shuffle style. And when tired. Walk. There were alot of walking involved.
The whole course where mark with pink flags, running one flag, walk one flag. "Just move forward Westie"

From 9am that thing, called the sun aka the one eyed devil, had no mercy. Like N.O.
All you can do is to try and block out the heat. And now and then there would be a bit of a breeze, heaven!

I couldn't do any heat training for the race, because the Cape Town winter was wet and cold.
But I knew I would be able to handle the heat, I grew up in the Northern Cape. And believe me, December in the Kalahari is no joke. My sister said to me before I left 'You will be OK, you've got Kalahari sand in your blood'

I ran my own race everyday. Just me, myself and I. When I started running everyday, I felt good. The legs took about and hour just to keep going again, and then I was fine. Flag to Flag. Checkpoint to Checkpoint.

Between every checkpoint there was a halfway marker, that really helped alot. Check check, water fine. Go.

At every CP you were greeted by the friendly voluteers. Cheering you on and filling up water bottles.
I didn't dare sit down for a bit of a rest, I was to scared I won't be able to get up again. hahahaha.

and then, suddenly - HOME! I was rather relieved everyday to see the campsite.

first things first. Back to the tent. Recovery Time!

My recovery consisted of the following:
Getting a camp chair.
Shoes off.
Socks off.
Feet on chair.
Hammer Recoverite with Pepto Pro
BCAA's
60g Parmesan cheese.
and Bob's your uncle.

Dinner time.....anytime from 4:30 was a good time to have dinner. But then madam still had to make her bowl...you cut a 1.5l water bottle in half. A cup and a bowl!
The one evening Timo asked me "when shall we go for dinner", and his next question was "have you made your bowl yet" Now that's what I call a wingman!

Lunch is served, desert style!

Dinner time

Next time I will definitaly take a bigger variety of food. I had Cottage Pie EVERY evening. At least it tasted good. Adding some olive oil for extra Calories. the Italian style!

Khonsu Fleamarket.....the best flea market in the Sahara.
Warren got rid of food on a daily bases....he's pack was to heavy.
We didn't mind at all.....cliff bars, freeze dried meals, gels! I'll take it!!
But you have to be quick - I was quick! very quick.
Left over chicken and rice. Thank you Warren!

The long march - 12h46 of running/walking/crawling. It's all about the long march, and I still had some energy left. The previous day I ran a bit to hard, so I could feel that the legs were not to happy. But its the last day, and I knew I would finish this race. Come hell of high water.
The day feel like of a bit of a blur at the moment. I had no idea how long the 87km will take to complete.
At CP6 - the over night and hot water point - I had some tea and marched on. Liz was manning the CP, and it was so nice to see her face! She had to pull out of the race, doctors orders....Liz, there are still alot of deserts out there. And I can hear them calling us....Liiiiizzzzzzz.....Kriiiissssss.

At CP7 I got the good news.....only 28km's left. I had to fight back the tears. Can't start crying now, still 28k's to go girl.

only 28km to go!!

Tony did a quick kit check - red flashing light + head lamp. Tick. Right ready for the running in the dark. I've never ran in the dark before, it was not as scary as I thought it would be. I could see red flashing lights in front of me, and the route was marked with glow sticks. So all good, no need for a panick atttack!

The last CP before camp, I saw my favourite Frenchie....Max! It was so good to see his face. Max was the man in charge of the Cybertent. He did not sleep alot!

Wow, the finish line.....there are no words. That feeling of accomplishment is what make us come back for more. Tears of joy was streaming down my face. Fuckit, I did it!


I miss the desert and its people. ALOT.

New friends for life!

until next time!

Thanks Eqypt!

Greg, me, Liz

 

my wingman