Playing in the mud. Grown-ups only!
Man what a weekend!! Whoooha!! I did an adventure race in the Freestate (South Africa) this weekend and had the time of my life!!!
The event started at 9am. It was overcast and the weather was mild. Absolutely perfect conditions for racing. The first section was a short 1.5km trail run next to Vaal river embankment. We returned to the starting position and jumped on our bikes. We cycled into a nature reserve and had the most awesome single tracks that featured a good combination of hill climbs and downhills.
Halfway through the cycling leg, two black wildebeest came thundering over the trail at full speed. They passed right behind us and disappeared into the growth. Unfortunately I didn’t see them, but apparently it was quite a close call.
Right after this we went down a very steep and rocky slope. I took a bad line and ended up in a very rocky technical section. I went flying of my bike and basically jumped right over my handlebars. My bike popped up behind me and ended up upside down. Luckily I managed to stay on my feet. Falling there would’ve hurt like crazy.
Jacques (one of my team mates) got a snakebite (mtb lingo for a puncture on a rocky section) on the downhill and we struggled a bit with dodgy spare tubes and pumps. After a second tube, we set off again and the heavens opened up. It was poring down on us for another 3-4km. It was a pretty flat section so we gunned it all the way! We had mud up to our ears. You struggle to see with all the dirt and rain in your eyes, but I didn’t care. I tore up those tracks!
We reached another trail running section where we ran/hiked up a hill with an ascent of around 100m. From the top, we had a spectacular view of the entire nature reserve. Unfortunately one can’t really stop too long to appreciate the view. This trail running section was quite tricky since it was went and there was a lot of rocks and loose mud around. The downhill section was a much easier run and we averaged around 13-14km/h. Great fun! The total distance was roughly 3km.
When we got back to our bikes it turned out that Jacques had another puncture. His tire went completely flat during our run. We borrowed some patches from another team, patched the tube and was on our way again. The last 5km mtb section was very flat and again we burned through the mud. Man I love that!! It looked like I had a mud bath!
We got back into our running gear and ran up the embankment again. The last leg was a water surprise, and it turned out to be ride down the river on a tube. We jumped into the Vaal and drifted down the river. We went over a few rocks and some of my friends went home with a few cuts and bruises. After 300m or so, we got out and ran a half km through slippery mud up to the finish.
What a race! The atmosphere was great and not serious at all. Everyone was just out there having fun. You would hear someone screaming and shouting for joy every now and again. Quite weird to see grown-ups turn into kids again.
Our time was 2:29, but we must have lost at least 25-30mins on the punctures. The winning team did the course in 1:30, so I’m quite pleased with our time. Time aside, I can’t remember having this much fun since being a kid. It appears that adults can still have fun playing the mud after all!
A shot of our team after the race. Wet, dirty, happy.
From left to right: Me, my friend Jacques and my AR buddy Cobus.
Some random people at the tubing section. Smiles all round.
A view of the river we tubed down.
My bike!
Logbook Activity
- Type: Other
- Date: 03/15/2008
- Time: 09:00:00
- Total Time: 2:29:10.00
- Calories: 1700
Filed under: Run, Cycle, Mountain Biking, Race Report, Trail Running, Adventure Racing |
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