Published in Sept-Nov 2009 issue of SA Mountain Sport
"It's the first time we're having a Friday night race briefing in 21 years!"
Race Director Darrell Raubenheimer grins broadly - the kind of smile that is charming, but sets off internal alarm bells that life is about to become more difficult. As we queue in the freezing temperatures of Rhodes village, Darrell spiritedly tells of the deep snow on top which makes the upper reaches of the trail run impossible to get to by car or foot. So for the second time in its history, the Rhodes trail run is to be re-routed.
And that essentially is the debut race briefing of one of SA's most adventurous ultramarathons. The Liberty Health Rhodes Trail Run is fifty-odd kilometres of rock and gravel in one of the coldest parts of South Africa. Each July, 320 athletes take to the mountains, weaving through the heights of the Eastern Cape's top peaks, before descending from the ski slopes of Tiffindell back into the Settler village of Rhodes.
In the pub after thebriefing, the talk is of the waiting list of at least five years, to secure an invitation to run. Mandy - who is planning her seventh summit by tackling Everest next year - secured her invitation with some creative eavesdropping in her bike shop and a bold approach to the injured runner who was moaning he couldn't do it. And here she is, seemingly more excited about the snowy paths at the top of Mavis Back than tackling the Hillary Step. The excitement and camaraderie is infectious and as the sherry flows, war stories of hypothermia, frozen energy bars, and broken egos become more flamboyant.
This is my second year in Rhodes, to marshal and cheer on those mad enough to take on this challenge. On race day we head out into the pre-dawn cold, helping set up a water point and navigating the trout-filled rivers for some dramatic action shots.
The leaders reach us inside an hour from race start. The thermometer has barely had a chance to move from its -6°C and their shoes and shirts are frozen from sweat and river crossings. Our water point can only offer slushy Pepsi and Energade, and chocolate would just break teeth. Runners stream across the river, slithering over the rocks, or wrapping their feet in plastic to protect them from the cold.
From here we can only watch as people scramble up the rocky 1:3 climb up Mavis Bank, to torturous running in knee-deep snow, before the quad-killing descent from Tiffindell to town.
Only the winter brown betrays that this is a South African landscape and not the upper slopes of the Cairngorms. The surrounding mountains are all named after Britain's high points - Skiddaw, Ben Macdhui, Snowdon, but at 3000m, ours are a lot higher.
I cycle up to the top to cheer folk home. Trevor Toerien is running easily with a 20-minute lead on first-timer Cas van Aardenne, and crosses the finish line in an effortless 4h 30m.Erina du Toit leads the women in at 5h 40m.
The finish line is festive - there are kebabs, burgers, curries, soup, pancakes and of course, sherry. Ironically those sporting the most relaxed smiles are the people I'd spotted en route swearing loudly, vowing never to do the race again.
Stories are swopped, with the most dramatic being Marina van Deventer who broke her ankle in the snowy drifts of the top ridge. The guy running immediately behind her, an orthopaedic surgeon from Middelburg, helped her. With a splint made of twigs and a space blanket, they slithered down the mountain and off to hospital, cheerfully waving off the medics.
The next morning is marked by the thunder of 4X4's warming up for the journey home. This year its our car that won't go, and there's smug waving from the Land Rover owners as they sail past to tarred roads and warmer temperatures.
By midday, the village is cleared of interlopers and is settling back into its relaxed routine. Packed and ready to go, its almost as if I've done the race myself.
If I put my name down now, I may just manage it in five years.
Race Stats:
326 entries
292 finishers
temperature early morning -10°C
official start temperature -6°C
Results
Men :
1 - Trevor Toerien 4h30:50
2 - Cas van Aardene 4h51:24
3 - Mike de Villiers 4h51:27
Ladies :
1 - Erina du Toit 5h40:29
2 - Melanie van Rooyen 5h47:18
3 - Christine Claasen 5h57:48
