Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon

Article 2009 / Day 1 ~ by Colleen Jacka

KAEM - the great equaliser

What do an oil painter, a director, a draughtsman, a builder and a student have in common? They are just a handful of the myriad of professions that congregated on the starting line of the 10^th Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon (KAEM) this year. And, by the time they finish this epic event – they will have more in common than they currently realize.

Because they will become a part of the very special group of people that can call the Kalahari their turf; that can say they forgot about what separates them in their day to day lives, and share an accomplishment that will set them apart from the average road or even trail runner.

Now in its tenth year, the KAEM, attracted a record field of trail runners with some counting their trip to the northern Cape as an extreme experience in itself. Bruce Grant, for example, took a mammoth 36 hours of air travel to reach South Africa and many of the other athletes from around the globe will also have endured travel challenges to face the desert that borders South Africa and Namibia.

But you’ve got to be impressed by the two South Africans who, although they live less than a nine-hour car journey away, took seven days to travel from Cape Town to Augrabies! Marc Smith and Deon Rossouw tackled the distance on foot, running up to 110 kilometres a day to arrive just in time to pack their backpacks for the self-sufficiency tester of the trail running that characterises the KAEM.

They’ve been running to raise funds under the banner of Endure 4 a Child for two charities aimed at assisting children with very specific needs in South Africa. As a parent dealing with the challenges of raising a child with autism, Marc is raising funds for the Growth through Knowledge School (Autism Western Cape), which aims to cater for these children in their formative learning years. The other beneficiary of their funds will be the Horizon Trust – an organisation founded by a group of parents with intellectually impaired children. They aim to provide a permanent home and an outdoor lifestyle for young people with mental disabilities.

In fact a number of charities stand to benefit from the staging of this extreme marathon as many of the runners have identified specific causes to motivate their progress through the desert. From landmine victims to cancer research, a school, aids orphans and even wildlife – it seems that many runners run carry more than a backpack in the desert as they saddle up big hearts.

The race is on

But while the race brings out the philanthrope in some – it also brings out the competitive spirit of runners as they pit themselves against the desert, their own weaknesses and of course each other. A record field, of course, means that the line-up has dished up a good helping of serious contenders eager to claim the overall title of arguably South Africa’s toughest trail running race.

With just 28 kilometres separating them from the finish line, day one saw some competitive racing from the top contenders where new-comer to the race, Dirk Cloete challenged one of the event’s stalwarts, Bruce Arnett to a duel in the desert.

Just a few seconds separated the two at the end of the day as they crossed the line virtually neck and neck to set the scene for what could end up being one of the most exciting races yet in the Kalahari. That puts two South Africans in the lead at the end of day one with Rhodri Darch of the UK just five minutes behind.

Interestingly rounding out the top ten runners at the end of the day were the two overall leading ladies. Although displaying a somewhat less competitive spirit, they crossed the line simultaneously and seem to have struck up a good running partnership that may also prove interesting as the race progresses and the competitive spirit takes hold of one or both of them.

It’s Mimi Anderson of the UK and South African, Jo Mackenzie that have claimed the top positions. Both are respected trail and endurance runners and their prowess on the first day shows that both are well trained for this event.

With the top 13 runners finishing day one in less than three hours, it seems that the cooler weather currently being dished up is ensuring a blistering pace at the start of this very long race. That’s bound to suit most as the South Africans begin to start to acclimatise to warmer weather having endured a cold winter; and many of the foreigners lack the experience of constant scorching heat!

So with one day behind them and the runners looking fairly comfortable on their feet, the question of differences starts to become less important. Everyone’s equal under those blue gazebos as they snuggle up to the desert and rest up to tackle another day of the KAEM on day two.