Warning: long and rambling race report ahead. Read at your own peril.
Last month I ran (and hobbled) the Old Mutual Om-Die-Dam 50km ultra. For those outside sunny South Africa (ha! no frozen fingers for *us*!) this literally means "around the dam", and is run (surprisingly) around the Haartebeespoort Dam, about 2 hours drive from Johannesburg and Pretoria.
It's a pretty highly rated run, with a large field. I spent the night before at a B&B 10km from the start, so that I could get some sleep (I have 4 kids under 4 years old). The start went well, and I bounced over the dam barrage as the sun rose, feeling cheerful. First hill was around 5km, and I did a bit of strategic walking. Just after the hill, I met a friend who was aiming for a 5:30 finish, which suited me well. We stuck together until about 35km, when I realise that she was running too fast for me.
This section started with a slight downhill, followed by a long slow climb through the hamlet of Broederstroom. This was where I waved Wendi goodbye, and went back to my own race. By now, alas, the damage had been done. "Fly now and pay later" used to be the airlines' refrain, and boy, did I pay! A slow 3 km to the foot of Saartjie's Nek (pass), the biggest hill of the race, at 38km. A long, slow grind, more walking than running, brought me to the top, and another long, slow grind brought me back to the bottom again.
By now there was 8km to go, and my legs were like lead. I alternated walking and running, including a cruel 1km uphill to the stadium, to finish in 5:41, more than 25 minutes behind my friend (friend?), sore and still, and barely able to drive home.
Three weeks later, I had a choice of two ultras, and picked the Loskop race on something of a whim. This is a point-to-point course, run between the town of Middleburg and the Loskop dam. Once again, I spent the night in a B&B near the start, before setting out in the chill morning air.
The first 2 km or so was through the industrial area, which is not terribly exciting, and then we were out into the thornveld. The local authorities did the race organisers proud, with a total road closure.
The major industry in the area, apart from coal mining, appears to be game farming. All along the route we were met with game-viewing vehicles pulled up at the entrances to the farms, with paying guests viewing a slightly different sort of game. Luckily, none of them seemed to be in a hunting mood!
The first 22km was a gentle uphill, just the thing to get going. I had forgotten my watch and pacing chart at home, so decided to run a comfortable race, and not worry about pace. I bumped into Wendi at about 5km, wished her an enjoyable race, and dropped back to safety :-).
From 22km to about 35km is pretty flat, and was a really enjoyable run. Whenever my legs felt a bit tight, I would stride out and push the pace for a few hundred metres, before dropping back to my LSD pace. I got a pleasant surprise when I passed the 30km mark and heard someone tell their running partner that we had been on the road for just under 3 hours.
35km brought the start of the infamous Buggers Hill. I started running for 3 telephone poles, walking for one, until a couple from Randburg Harriers passed me, making rude retorts about RAC (my club). I couldn't leave this be, so fell in with them to trot over the hill and down the back. The hilll itself is not very high, but the back is something else again. 3.5km of *very* steep downhill, losing all the altitude gained from the start and quite a bit more besides. We got into a nice rythm, just rolling down with no impact.
At the foot of the hill, I stuck with them for another kilometre or so, before waving them goodbye and dropping back. 4km from the finish I encountered the last, and by far the nastiest, hill. It is 2km long, and pretty steep. After 46km, this is murder on the legs. I was about 1/2 way up, when I was run over by the 5-hour "bus", so fell in with them until the top. The bus driver stopped to wait for some friends, and sent everyone else on their way, with instructions not to stop for anything short of a heart attack.
I wasn't sure whether we were on track for 5 hours anyway (there had been a few comments about 5:15 in the bus), and didn't really care. The last 2km was mostly downhill, with a bit of a rollercoaster towards the end. I slowed down as we approached the entrance to the resort at the finish, when the bus driver passed me again. I tried to keep up, but the final 500m was a *very* steep downhill switchback, and I couldn't make most of the corners. I put in a creditable sprint, though, and managed 5:00:10, which pleased me no end.
My finishing time was just the cherry on the top, however. I enjoyed myself for the entire race, and until the last hill felt as though I could just keep on running all day. The organisation was phenomenal, water tables were well stocked, and manned by cheerful volunteers. The weather was near-ideal -- a balmy autumn morning leading into a hot afternoot (but not the skin-sizzling sun that we got three weeks before). The total road closure was a real bonus -- until you've experienced South African drivers, you have no conception of what fear is. I just don't know whether it's worse as a pedestrian or as a passenger!
A great race, and highly recommended. I'll definitely be back next year.