RUNNING THE K2C CHALLENGE: JOGGING, WALKING, CRAWLING AND ROUGH SLIDING THE MARIEPSKOP MOUNTAINS

By Lazaro Sibaya 

It has been a very amazing and tough experience participating in the Kruger2Canyon Challenge organised by a partnership between KZN Trail Running, Lowveld Trail Running and the K2C Biosphere.

Self-confidence and pride from having just finished my 3^rd Comrades Marathon, were the driving forces to do this trail run, but guess what – wrong assumption. With only 26 days after finishing the Comrades Marathon up run in June, I thought that I am fit enough to conquer a trial run. One thing that never crossed my mind is that I was doing a trail run for the first time, up the mountain with the highest point that is 2 times higher than the comrades’!

On the 6^th of July after 20 minutes from the start, I had already fallen 2-3 times, sweating and breathing heavily. “What am I doing here actually? Is the climbing going to become severely worse? What about cramps that my thigh muscles are starting to develop? But I’m a champ ‘moes’, 3x consecutive Comrades medals? No... I will make it!”, I was asking myself these questions whilst wiping sweat off my face and took a deep breath that motivated me to continue as the so-called champ.

I felt so privileged to see the 3 different vegetation types that are found in the area, including the endemic tree species. At some point the pain was wiped off temporarily as I propped my body against the unique tall trees without even being concerned about strong-muscled passers-by. I was filled with shock when I got to the first table, located at about 10km away from the start point, in 2 hours’ time. “Me, 10km in 2 hours? No, something is not right here!”, I was talking to myself while devouring whatever I could and carried enough food for the road.

When I got to relatively flat areas and down slopes, I thought I would just slide through, but that was the opposite as my legs trembled of fatigue. Patience and perseverance played a big role that led me to the second table. The steepest climb followed immediately after the table. I found myself reversing (while walking) instead of moving forward at some point. Fortunately, runners support one another and in this case one advised me to pick a stick to walk with. My walking speed improved and it worked very well in steep slopes as well. From that experience I am going to by myself a walking stick that I will use in life and in all trail runs.

The day was long. Amazing viewpoints were encountered towards the finish. I felt like an eagle when looking down the landscape, feeling the strong cold winds whilst walking (no longer running) along the unique rock chain. Crawling and sliding down towards the finish was exhilarating. Enthusiasm was revived and quite a number of runners who were very relaxed were passed. The celebration in my heart was huge at the finish, as 42Km were done and dusted. But the question remained: what about day 2, will I manage?

The night of the 6^th was not merciful. There was pain all over my legs and limping was the only walking style.

                   

But because I wanted to get my reward, I pushed myself to ignore the pain. 28Km is an average distance for a professional runner, but with 42km mountain climb pain, it felt like a killer. The first 5km were very tough and rough. After 10km the muscles were smooth and the pain was just light. Running through a big 4 Game Reserve, encountering elephant dungs and rhino mittens has been a remarkable experience. I finished the race with joy and a big smile in the face. I received my reward, a unique trophy. I felt like a hero. I compared the challenge with Comrades marathon and concluded that comrades are not that tough.

I would like to congratulate the Winners in the following categories: Nelspruit local, Johardt van Heerden put in record-smashing performances on both days of the Ultra course, finishing the two days in a combined time of 6:54:44, some 110min under the previous record for this race! Second man Jacques Buys also put in an incredible performance, finishing in 7:24:23 – also 70min under the previous record. Jack Davis rounded out the podium in 8:55:59. The ladies race was a one-horse affair, with Karine Bezuidenhout (ex-pupil of Laerskool Mariepskop) bettering her own previous record on this course to finish in 8:48:49, placing her third overall! Second and third places went to Ritza Fouche and Karien Booyse in 9:57:22 and 10:12:11, respectively.

Marathon Results (Men):

1^st Roger Mortlock 5:13:42

2^nd Wano Katjiri 5:50:33

3^rd Francois Steyn 6:06:31

Marathon Results (Women):

1^st Megan Loftie-Eaton 6:55:07

2^nd Karin Joubert 7:04:26

3^rd Mary Pieterse 7:08:32

The Full results are available on www.kruger2canyonchallenge.co.za

“We are grateful for the opportunity to raise funds for the K2C Restoration efforts on Mariepskop”, Nick Theron of the K2C said.