Adventure race at Konka Camps, Magaliesburg
I did an adventure race this weekend with team mates Cobus and Gert. It was held at a pretty cool location. Most of the area was bushveld with beautiful mountains as a backdrop. The transition area was next to a river, so it was really quite idyllic.
We started off with a 3km running section and obstacle course. The run was a bit short, but quite fast, so I was happy with it not being that long.
The second leg was a 13km mountain bike section. Again, a much shorter section than I was expecting, but I wasn’t too distraught about it. The first 4-5km had a total ascent of around 300m and the most part of it was rocks. Absolutely terrible mtbing. I hated the organizers for a while there. After that I started liking them a bit more when they gave us some sweet twisty downhills with a few jumps along the way.
Finally, we did a short running and archery section. The run wasn’t anything worth writing home, but I loved the idea of combining it with the archery. The shooting was quite easy in the end and we cruised home.
Final thoughts. A pretty cool race. We finished the 17.6km race in 2:01, or something like that. We lost 30mins on cycle repairs, so I don’t really care about the finishing time. The venue was brilliant. The race too short and the first part of the mtbing very VERY frustrating. Would I do it again? Only if they get rid of some of the rocky sections and increase the distance.
Filed under: Race Report, Adventure Racing
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AR: Trail run and target shooting
The third and final leg was a short running and archery section. You ran half a kilometre and had to take a shot at a target. If you miss, you had to run a penalty lap around a rugby/football field. How cool is that!? I took a shot and luckily got the arrow quite close to the bull. So no penalty lap!! Whoop whoop. We ran back down to the finish, doing the final kilometre and archery in 6mins. Not bad.
Logbook Activity
- Type: Run
- Date: 05/17/2008
- Time: 10:53:00
- Total Time: 00:06:06.00
- Average Heart rate: 168
- Max Heart rate: 177
- Calories: 46
- Distance: 1.02 km
- Average Pace: 5:58.92/km
- Ascent: 11 m
Filed under: Run, Race Report, Adventure Racing
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AR: MTB leg
Our MTB leg was a bit disappointing… well disappointing at first. The terrain was rubbish for the first 4-5km. We had to go up very ‘technical’ hills (aka crappy terrain with WAY too many rocks) were the inclines were between 20-25%. That’s insane if you ask me. I managed to ride 2 of the 8 odd hills, but had to push my bike up the others. Really did not enjoy that at all. Didn’t see anyone else (other than Gert) who was able to ride those.
Then just as we reached the end of the ‘technical’ section, Cobus’ derailer broke off. Clean break. We spent around 30mins trying to turn his bike into a fixie. We couldn’t get him going an unfortunately he had to walk back to the start. Gert and I decided to press on though.
The rest of the MTB section was brilliant. Some twisty downhills with a bit of gravel. I managed to get the end out a couple of times. The flat sections was also great and at times we averaged around 35km/h.
We made up a lot of places but lost so much time that our total ride time was around 1:34:00. (I logged 1:01:30, purely because I want to keep track of how much time I actually spent exercising).
Logbook Activity
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 05/17/2008
- Time: 09:30:00
- Total Time: 1:01:30.00
- Average Heart rate: 158
- Max Heart rate: 190
- Calories: 602
- Distance: 12.7 km
- Average Speed: 12.39 kmph
- Max Speed: 43.6 kmph
- Ascent: 329 m
Filed under: Cycle, Mountain Biking, Race Report, Adventure Racing
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AR: Trail run and obstacle course
The first leg of our adventure race was a short trail run and an obstacle course. The run was quite cool. We crossed a river at the beginning and it was quite fun thundering through the shallow water. Our feet were a bit wet for the first kilometre, but it was well worth it.
We gunned it after the river crossing, trying to make up a few places as not to get in stuck in queues at the obstacle course. It worked quite well and we missed most of the rush. The teams were split up, with one half climbing over a high wooden structure and the other balancing over a few logs and crawling through a tunnel. I was feeling very weak in the run and we took the pace down a bit on our way back to the transition.
Logbook Activity
- Type: Run
- Date: 05/16/2008
- Time: 09:00:00
- Total Time: 00:19:32.00
- Average Heart rate: 178
- Max Heart rate: 192
- Calories: 182
- Distance: 3.2 km
- Average Pace: 6:06.23/km
Filed under: Run, Race Report, Trail Running, Adventure Racing
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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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Start of the Salomon Sprint Adventure Race Series
Adventure racing is becoming a very popular sport in South Africa. I did one event last year and it was simply brilliant. I loved it. It’s like a triathlon with amazing scenery. What more could one ask for?
This year I’ll try to complete each event in the Salomon Sprint AR Series. The first event is scheduled for next weekend and will be held in Paris in the Freestate. Yes, we have our own Paris… How weird is that? The town is located in a picturesque area next to the Vaal river, which is one of the biggest rivers in the country.
The race starts with a 5km trail run, followed by a mountain biking section of 25km. There will also be a water section, which is a surprise. Let’s hope we get to do a bit of rafting! I went rafting there before and had heaps of fun. Not as cool as the Hazyview rafting, but still very much worth the effort.
I can’t wait!
Filed under: Adventure Racing
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