Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon

Article 2009 / Day 2 ~ by Colleen Jacka

KAEM – two pair trumps the desert

The dealer surveys the table and dishes out the cards. Some players are quick to grab theirs – eager to see what fate has dealt them. Others merely curl up a corner and know how the hand will be played. But one thing’s for sure everyone’s hoping for an ace.

And the desert, as the dealer, delivers. It’s a beautiful ace and everyone benefits. The weather is still uncharacteristically mild and it’s a card that most will be happy with.

Yet, the scene has been set for a tough tussle amongst the top runners – creating a betting vibe amongst the crew who are eager to speculate about who is going to reveal a loaded hand.

At the top of the betting log we have Dirk Cloete and Bruce Arnett. Both runners have specific strengths that make the betting man eager to lay down the wager. Dirk is a seasoned roadrunner with many miles in his legs and certainly possessing a mental strength that might make even the most conservative gambler comfortable to open his wallet.

On the other hand, Bruce knows this place. He’s been here before; he’s won here before and in fact has never been beaten in the desert. Those are good odds for anyone keen on a wager.

There are other previous winners here this year, but the smart gambler may do well to be more conservative about backing them for a win.  Flip Jurgens was the inaugural winner of this race, but he’s not here on a similar mission and Marc Smith, a winner in 2005, is playing a completely different game this year. He’s already revealed his full hand and it’s not about winning the draw – but about strengthing the pot of funds he is raising for his chosen charities.

At this stage the odds look good for a third overall for Rhodri Darch – an E-commerce development specialist from the UK who is rekindling his love of the outdoors. His PB in a marathon was in Barcelona this spring where he ran a 2:46. Add to that a couple of ultra marathons and multi-day events and the man certainly has the credentials to stack up a good hand.

Amongst the ladies it’s Mimi Anderson and Jo Mackenzie that should interest the punters. They’ve already struck up an easy running partnership and seem to be enjoying the pairing as each motivates the other. Mimi is, of course, a previous ladies’ winner in the desert and, with many miles of successful endurance running in her legs, is an obvious runner to back.

Jo also knows this race and, although not a winner previously, is proving to be more than a capable running partner for Mimi. It’s a tough choice between these two ladies.

Dealing up variety

The desert shuffles the deck and deals. It’s a 34-kilometre day with a few challenges to make the race interesting. Today’s varied course offered up bit of everything from loose stony surfaces to soft sand and challenging climbs. It’s no match, however for the top running pair of Bruce and Dirk who seem to be pacing each other and at ease with the cards they hold.  Both are waiting for the other to reveal his mark – that sign that shows where his weakness lies.

But there’s no sign of weakness from either. These are runners that seem quite able to keep up their poker faces. They’re not going to give an inch and as the day progresses it becomes apparent that for them it’s going to be about seconds and not minutes when they cross that line today.

Every second counts and every move seems to be about strategy. Each is egging the other on to commit more and more to the pot. The man who takes the overall hand aims to make sure that the table is loaded.

And at the moment the race seems driven by these two men. They are dominating a race that has traditionally dealt a less competitively driven atmosphere.

For the most part, however, Day Two has been uneventful though.

Today it was Tjaart van der Walt who brought the day to a close. He was the last man into camp having spent just over eight hours on the course. He says he’s been running for over thirty years and sees the KAEM as an opportunity to get in touch with the basics of life, which he lists as food, water, shelter and rest.

So the day ends off with two pairs trumping the desert. The two kings – Dirk and Bruce – are an unlikely pairing that will be keen to split in future dealings. On the other hand, the queens in this pack – Jo and Mimi – seem to be a comfortable pair.

Desert deals a difficult hand

Just as the runners were settling into the camp, the desert stepped up the game just a little and dealt a difficult hand for both organisers and runners. An unfortunate misunderstanding resulted in a confrontation with a local community that saw the decision made to relocate the runners’ camp.

Operating with the assistance of crewmembers the runners were moved to a new location and, to the credit of the Extreme Marathons’ team, a completely new route was mapped out overnight to ensure that the runners could be accommodated without incident on Day 3.

While it’s a difficult hand for some, it may prove a good hand for others as Day 3 will now become a far shorter and easier route that will help the competitors save their legs for the 82km stage on Day 4.