Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon 2002 ~ Results and Article

It would seem almost fitting to say that today has been a day in hell… We started running at around 09h20 this morning, from the Augrabies Falls National Park – transported from the Kalahari Gateway Hotel in Kakamas.

First, a bit of background and people stuff to put you in the picture… The event is a 255km extreme marathon from the Augrabies Falls National Park to Khamkirri, a delectable getaway on the southern bank of the Orange River in the heart of grapevine country. This is the third running of the event, which previously had started from Augrabies and ended in Upington. 

The first two years saw between 10 – 12 entries. This year race director Estienne Arndt proudly welcomed 31 runners.  And… The old faces are back. There’s Bob Sitler (‘Titanium Bob’) a child psychologist from Virginia USA, Barb Sousa (‘Canadian Eskimo’), a math teacher from Winnipeg in Canada, Pieter van Heerden from Pretoria, South Africa, and Flip Jurgens, a vet from Standerton, who came first in the 2000 inaugural event. Tommy du Preez, a photographer from Pretoria - who took second place in the first year, is also back for more punishment. Deon Fawell, director of the Institute of Natural Health (INH), whose students we have massaging our weary shoulders.  Ah… dare I forget Geoff Hilton-Barber, the most inspiring man I’ve ever met.  Geoff is blind, a result of the retinitus pigmentosa, a hereditary condition. He is guided this year by his wife Carol, a woman of incredible patience. And then there’s me, Lisa, an adventure sports cameraman from Johannesburg.

Enough of the oldies… there is a flood of newbies from around the world. I’m going to group them to make remembering easier. There is my adventure racing buddies Erica, Riaan, Andy and Michelle, joined by her friend Lindsay from the Cape. There are the 3 Natal boys – self-confessed couch-potatoes, who much to my amusement are in fact carrying 500ml cartons of UltraMel custard and tinned fruit salad – to eat with the custard. I may as well mention the cans of Vienna sausages and spaghetti. Fortunately intervention by both Barb and myself helped to reduce the weight of their backpack from 23kg to 13.5kg, without water. Aaron Ngwenya, from Swaziland and Norrie Williamson, of Comrades and Runner’s World fame, are also new to the Augrabies Extreme.

The French and Belgian runners are a new addition.  They’re joined by Bruno, their interpreter. He runs along with them but is not competing. There are also other South Africans from around the country, and of course Geoff’s Bus, a band of now not-so-merry men, and woman, that he cunningly convinced to enter.

Although the runners are competing solo, a 4-person team format has been introduced. You hook up with 3 other people, give yourselves a team name and you’ve got a team. Our individual times get added and averaged to arrive at an overall team winner. I can certainly see this element making for some exciting racing and team strategy in coming years… but for now it is just good fun, My team is U4ia – as in euphoria – and Bob, Barb and Flip are my teammates.

On to today’s event…

When we set off at 09h20 the miggies (irritating little flies, cousins of the better known fruit fly) were not yet out in force and the breeze was cooling – a remnant from the cold front which has just passed through. First off we headed out around the far side of Moonrock, climbing uphill. But, even before the first watering point at 11km the heat had seriously set in. In this place there is not a tree to crawl under and you bake out there.

By the first watering point at 11km, the French and Begian chaps and Flip were far ahead having charged off from the start. From here we headed into the Orange River valley, walking though the sandy bed of a dry tributary and then over rocks above the river until exited the valley, passing through humid vineyards. The valley was a hard section, sweltering and without a breath of wind. The vineyards, although pretty, are hot and humid zones.

Just when we thought the worst was over, it was a baking uphill trek that never seemed to end. This was the reverse of the ‘I am lost’ route that Barb, Pieter and myself took last year. At least I was on familiar turf.

Then, after slogging step after step – taking serious strain, I encountered what would prove to be the second watering point. We had a quick water stop when we exited the valley, which we all thought was the second point, thus we would have only 11km to go. Well… from this stop, where I joined up with Deon we would still have another 8.6km or so to go!

Baking out there, Deon and I stopped for quick 5min rest in the shadow cast by the sparse branches of a thorn tree. This is rugged country.

Finally we made base camp 1 just after 14h00 – very tired and certainly worse for wear. 

A number of runners were already in, the day’s stage having been won by Flip (Go U4ia Go!). Throughout the afternoon, runners have been pouring in, Geoff & Carol arriving in song just after 18h00.  Barb has had a rough day and the Natal-custard boys are not looking happy. Leslie from Geoff’s Bus is out and Darren will be continuing tomorrow without his backpack.

We’ve now spent the afternoon passed out on the sandy ground, drinking as much water as we can, elevating out feet and being attended to by the physiotherapists, who have been massaging our tired shoulders and legs. 

The spirit and camaraderie that makes is race so special is here as usual. Incoming runners are cheered in and while we lazy around resting, there’s chatter, bantering and a lot of laughing.

As I sign off, I wanted to make a quick mention of the angelic medical/watering point ladies who are also back for more guts and glory. There’s Adri, Carmen and Gilly who care of painful feet and are our moral support and encouragement along the route. 

My couscous, tuna and dehydrated supper awaits… So, till tomorrow, when I crawl in after the 44km leg… goodnight.

While I was running/walking today I was thinking of loads of things I’d forgotten to mention yesterday. Foremost was the weight of our backpacks. I’d neglected this crucial piece of information that for 6 hours today was weighing - not on my mind, but on my back, hips and shoulders.

The whole gig with this event is that the competitors have to be 100% self-sufficient. Only water and tents are provided. This means that we have to carry all our food and goodies for the entire 7 days. Bear in mind that we’re covering over 30km on every day – so we need to eat.

The crunch here is that as the race progresses so your pack gets lighter, a factor that affects your race strategy. Do you take it easy in the beginning while you pack is most heavy or wait until later when your pack is lighter before making your move? Then again, later on your feet are likely to be trashed so you can’t make your move even if you wanted to.

Before I delve into deeper race elements, a bit on today’s route…

Considering it hit 44°C yesterday, anything less would feel comparatively cooler. We set off from base camp around 06h20 when it was still cool and running on the flats and downs was do-able. [I speak only for myself here. Flip and the French chaps ran the whole way!] We hit the first watering point at 5km; a top-up to make sure that we would have enough water to get to the next watering point. 

The route was an interesting one along jeep track initially – this place is a popular 4x4 destination – and then sort of cross-country with track and riverbeds added. One thing that deserves exceptional mention is the sand. The competitors have a special mantra, ‘We like sand. Sand is our friend. We like sand. Sand is our friend.’ Only problem is that we speak the words but certainly don’t feel them.

I’d been walking/running with Bob in the morning but lost him once I decided to chill out and walk – the temperature was climbing. At the second watering point I met up with Pieter, with whom I’d spent quite a bit of time last year. We walked hard, averaging around 6.5km/h. This sounds slow, but in these conditions it is pretty good going. 

Three km from the third and last watering point we hit dirt road – a blessing after the soft sand through which we’d been trekking for hours. With about 4km to go we spotted a distant farmhouse, the location of our overnight camp. It was already 12h30 and out on the flat open road it was baking. As Pieter and I were walking in we thanked each other for the company and I confessed that having him with me kept me from finding a tree to lie down under for a while. He confessed that as we were walking along the road he had been thinking the exact same thing. It is probably a good thing then that there wasn’t a tree or a spot of shade in sight so we’d had to keep going. 

We checked in at 12h54, cheered in by the faster troops who were already lounging in the shade of the tree. Pieter and I quickly got in the queue for massages and foot washes (Chrissie is an absolute angel!). A very pleasurable first was ice, which Tommy’s wife Petro kindly organized.

Today’s champ was again Flip who finished at 09h50 – a phenomenal achievement. Alain Charlier was second at 10h24 and then Aaron Ngwenya at 10h29.

Today was seen a number of blister casualties. Most of the runners have one or two minor ones, few have feet that are starting to deteriorate. Andy Masters gets today’s blister prize. He has classic trench foot, unusual in these hot, dry conditions and more commonly seen at events where the athletes are running in rain or through rivers. This skin on this right little toe is going to come off like a sock – a condition I have had the displeasure of enduring, but not half as bad as ol’ Andy. I took some pictures on my digital camera which I’ll ask Estienne to post after the event.

This afternoon and tomorrow morning and noon are lazy times in preparation for the ‘Longest Day’, a 77km run. Last year the long run was on day 6, when our packs were considerably lighter. This year the long run is on day 3. I am definitely going to feel not-so-good when I complete this section. The slower group will start at 13h00 and the faster group at 15h00, running through the night. I’m going to the 3pm group ‘cos the last thing I want is to be out in the sun in the afternoon at the beginning of the leg. My strategy is to chill a bit while it’s hot and then to make up time in the cool of night.

To look forward to is camp 3, on the southern bank of the Orange where we can swim and cool down, enjoying our rest day. So, till then…

I’m out. This 77km overnight leg was a demon from hell. But I’ll get to this shortly…

I’ve been battling to eat this trip, a problem I have never had before. It’s a kind of combination of being tired, restless and hot – just not feeling like getting anything in. Following the writing of my day 2 report on Monday night I joined the rest of the troops preparing dinner and generally settling in for the night. I battled through dinner of couscous, rehydrated vegetables and tuna; and headed off to the tent where I hooked up with Tommy, Bob, Pieter and Flip to chat before shut-eye. The moon was up – silver and sparkly – beaming down on the wide dry river bed in which we were camped for the night.

I had a tent to myself and instead of sleeping out in the sand like I had the previous night I opted to stay in the tent – away from the oft mentioned scorpions that frequent these parts.

I woke around 6am to the sound of ‘the shovel’ being dragged around and the chattering of voices. To fill you in on ‘the shovel’… Since ablution facilities in these parts are few and far between, we abide to the rules of eco awareness and like cats, dig holes. Barry and Fred, our campsite set-uppers, had also kindly provided a portable toilet seat, which those who used it said to be most acceptable and made for a great seat from which to view the most spectacular Monday night sunset. The shovel is part of the package and stands upright in the sand in the middle of the camp – kind of like Excalibur, only without the rock and the sword.

A true bush baby, I rolled over and went back to sleep until about 8:30am. It was a cool, overcast morning, contrary to everything I’ve ever experienced in this place.

Anyway… we all spent an incredibly lazy morning lying on groundsheets under the main tree, talking, dozing, eating and tending to feet. We even had the pleasure of very light rainfall – a couple of drops here and there. My first thought was of Sting and his song ‘Desert Rain’ until I remembered it was actually called ‘Desert Rose’ and the whole romantic image was shattered. I also kept hoping that there wasn’t any rainfall upstream because I didn’t relish the thought of a flash-flood whipping through our riverbed campsite.

The blisters at the end of day two were nothing near as bad as those last year after our stint up the Molopo river valley, but feet were starting to become tender. As I mentioned in my last report, Andy Masters had the prize for bad feet and I doubted he would start the next leg… well, if mine looked like that I wouldn’t have been going anywhere.

It was decided that we would have a staggered start, designed so that the gaps between the watering points for the first and last people would not be so huge. The slowest would start first. Geoff’s Bus was first off – with Andy in tow. Then Pieter and myself with Herbert followed by Riaan and Erica, Deon, Norrie, Lindsay, Bob, the fast French and Belgian men – I’m starting to learn everyone’s names, with Flip right at the end; the fastest horse in the stables.

Within 15mins, Pieter and I caught Andy hobbling along. My words to him were, ‘Mr Masters, if I can give you one piece of advice, it would be to get to the watering point and get your feet up for a few days’. He listened and at the pool here at Augrabies this afternoon he said that that was probably the best advice he could have gotten. I don’t know how he managed to even walk out of camp, much less 3km. Also while at the pool, Andy looks down at his really swollen and blistered feet and in bewilderment says, ‘I have never, never, never in my life had feet like this even in all my army years and year of running.’ He shakes his head and has another swig of his lemon Bicardi Breezer…

Back to the race itself…we hit a top-up watering point around 3km to get us through to the next one at 8km. This was quite a nice, but rugged section through a winding dry riverbed (are you noticing a common theme here yet?). Here Pieter and I caught up with Geoff, who was being guided by Nick and were just about to leave, and Lee and Darren who had just arrived. Chrissie was checking out Lee’s huge heel blister. He had elastoplasts stuck over it and the blister had swollen up again. To get at it the plaster had to be removed, an act that brought about much swearing and cursing and which ripped off the entire blister roof revealing a raw underside. A few sprays of methiolate had him squealing. No wonder the stuff has been taken off the market!

Again we were off, heading into the hills to the second watering point at 22km. When we arrived there I’d decided that enough was enough. My feet were getting very tender and when they get like this the going is generally only downhill. And with another 60km to go, I was not keen. I decided that I was out and took shelter behind the vehicle – another quick bought of rain. I sent Pieter off with a dried fruit bar and Geoff with my extra energy bar.

I heard too that Barb was out. We’d overtaken her before the top-up point and she’d looked ok. But by the first one she really wasn’t feeling great and had been battling with her tummy the past few days and also hadn’t been able to eat. She’d tried going out without her pack, which Tommy had found and thinking she’d left it behind, had carried till he caught her. She realized that that was it for her and went back to the watering point.

I think it was also here that the Belgian, Fernand, also bowed out.

At this point Flip came flying through looking absolutely amazing. He’s started almost an hour and a half after us and was just blazing. He was like this the whole night completing the 77km leg at around 23h30, Tuesday night.

Then Erica came along, battling with a sore knee after having taken a bad step on a rock on day 1. She tried to talk me into going but I really wasn’t keen. Off she went. Then Tommy came along and the look in his eyes made me strap on my trail shoes and head out again with him and Bob. This would be a watering point to watering point night.

While I was running – and we ran a lot – I got to thinking about this whole withdraw thing. No-one likes to withdraw but sometime you’ve got to cut your losses and walk out. There are always other events and other times. Battling angels and devils on your shoulder is not fun, particularly when you want to keep going but the other reasons and tells you that going on is going to start doing some damage. I’m not sure which one won, but there I was running towards checkpoint 3.

I guess it is sometimes worse if you’ve done the event before because you know that you’ve done it before, so doing it again shouldn’t be an issue. Yet you also know that the last thing you want it to be on your feet and walking for the next 10hours. It’s the walking that kills you, not the running. And I did not want to be on my feet for that long. Been there, done that and I have the t-shirt and the trophy.

In any case… on route to watering point 3 we were overtaken by Aaron, from Swaziland, who should have passed us ages before but as it turned out had taken a wrong turn right in the beginning and had taken a 40min detour! This also went for Belgium's Alain who - when he finally caught up with us - was looking very much worse for wear. Stopping to clear sand from our shoes, Deon caught up and headed into the watering point with us.

At the transition I told a very concerned Tommy to go ahead with Bob. The two of them were looking so strong. Deon and I would continue together. I think I must quickly mention a little about the route here…

When Estienne had told me before the event that much of the route would be on roads I was somewhat disappointed. I like the off-road bundu bashing stuff. Even though I’ve been in this area a few times now I always picture the roads as these wide corrugated dirt roads. Wrong! I keep forgetting that a majority are just deep, deep, deep soft sand that just never ends. We avoid as much as we can by heading off road parallel to the road but in many cases that isn’t much better. It is incredibly hard going.

Deon and I trekked through to the 4^th watering point, chatting along the way. Running was near impossible because of the sand and I was becoming an unhappy puppy. By the 5^th watering point around 52km I decided that was it for me. I was out. I wished Deon well, waved him goodbye, put my feet up and snuggled down to wait for Lee, Darren and Hebert.

My blisters are not bad, I’ve got my management strategy all sorted. What is an issue are my tenderized feet. Same as last year. We’ve been discussing (Andy, Barb and myself) about the best preparation for this event. Running is one thing but you’ve got to run on sand, in your trail shoes regularly and also walk in the sand for hours. Either this or you need to have Flip’s strength to be able to run all the way with a 12kg backpack weighing down.

Of special mention is little Michelle. She is tiny, weighing in at 49kg. She’s been carrying almost a quarter of her own body weight! She had an absolutely storming night leaving her race companion Alistair in her dust. Geoff and Nick were also charging – so much so that I didn’t see them from watering point 2. I kept catching Norrie and Lindsay in the watering points and they were in good spirits as usual but I believe quite knackered when they got in.

Lee and Darren were super troopers. Darren said he would definitely not continue. Not sure about Lee. Maybe not. His feet are in a severe state. He is cultivating blisters on blisters and is rapidly running out of real estate on which to grow them. I gave him my walking stick which certainly helped to relieve some of his agony.

Frenchman Gerard was also not in good condition last night. At the 4^th stop he slept for an hour, continuing on until I saw him at the 5^th stop. Chrissie, our medical foot-washing angel kept him company for these 10km’s. I heard this morning that he’d made the last stop and had slowly continued all the way to the end. Amazing spirit!

Also, before I forget… Carol… Geoff’s wife. While I was lying on the ground feet up at the 5^th stop Carol came in and was determined to continue though her feet were in an absolute state. She headed out and I think went about 500m before turning back. She’s here now with us and her feet are bad.

One point on this all… and one which Pieter and I were discussing yesterday....

This race is not just 33km here, 36km there… this is a hard race and unlike anything else. It is not even something I could adequately describe to you in words or even with photographs or video footage. Pieter said that he was ragged for months by his running club buddies… ‘How could you possibly run 33km in 7hrs?’ ha-ha-ha-ha.

He has three running buddies here this time around and they’re toast. These are also all guys who specialize in 100milers and these 180km endurance runs. Doing that 1000km thing each year is a piece of cake to them.

So, when I’m writing about this one dropping out after the second day and this one on the third, don’t underestimate these runners. Each one has put their hearts and energy into moving through incredibly tough terrain in unbearably hot conditions. Those that make it all the way through have got what it takes – determination and good feet.

I’m off to Kakamas with the gang of the hobbling bandits. My reward after 120-odd kilometers and the resulting sore feet is a holiday for a few days. Until I fly back to Johannesburg on Saturday night I’ll visit my buddie, Gawie from Khamkirri (the race end point), get on the Orange river to paddle and indulge in some television watching. I’ll continue to report from the field but won’t be out there myself. Depending on how I feel on Saturday, I may run the final leg.

A final thought… I think what really scared me last night was that even if I made the next 25km to finish that stage, there were still three more equally grueling days to go… and I’ve been through the Molopo gorge before (day 6). My heart is with the remaining runners whose numbers will be somewhat reduced at the end of the rest day today and even more so tomorrow.

Rigormortus had set in by the early morning call at 4:00 that rebounded off the Orange River Valley. Runners stumbled from their tented hotel, with the intent of a 5:00 start. Plans met with varying degrees of success as stiffness, blisters, and Augrabies war wounds restricted the normal functions.  In groups the field headed off on another 40km Augrabies adventure. The first 8km required a retrace of the last leg of the mind-boggling and body challenging 77km of the previous day. It was an opportunity to see the vineyards, and scenery along the banks of the Orange. As the moon gave way to daylight the local community woke with suitable encouragement to the small clusters of runners making their way towards the river crossing.

Those of fleet foot were well on their way – Flip, Alain, Aaron, and Tommy pushing to the front.  The battle between Erica and the diminutive and deceptive Michelle was heating up.  Could Michelle capitalize on her sterling performance on the long run?  Perhaps her slower starting the first day and the prospect of only a 40km leg would prove too short for her.

As the final knots of runners left the camp the leaders were well down the road. Aaron, Daniel and Alien moved with such speed that they missed the markers to the river turn – there were no tears, no anger and no excuses, just the result of tiredness and mental fatigue. The corner had been well marked, but perhaps they were moving too fast to recognize just how much distance they had covered.  – It was after all one of the easiest sections that had been experienced in the race to date.

As they retraced their steps the last of the competitive runners were hitting the crossing. Johan Nel, Peter and the Toyota crew were over the crossing and Daniel had to wait for the 'Tripping Trio' of Lindsay, Lee and Norrie, who were clearly on something closely resembling laughing gas!

Geoff and his trusty horse had begun his move and galloped along the route and was soon at the crossing.

The contrast between the two riverbanks was stunning. With 20km of wide and open road behind them, the challenge ahead was a climb unto the plateau an altitude change of some 400m on 4 x 4 track. Scattered cloud cover held the temperatures to something close to reasonable as the trail of runners edged their ways up the rocky paths. The mountain outline presented an awesome contrast on the deep crisp blue sky as they looked up. It was as if they had reached the top of the World when they crested out at the ridge. If one was to imagine an environment for the quietly spoken Bob, this was it. Somehow it simply suited his image- wide open spaces, surrounded by the harsh sculptured rock, with a crystal clear sky that was now sending the temperatures soaring, and an undulating, weaving and bobbing trail with a sole runner ‘loping’ along in the direction of a green clump in the proximity of the overnight oasis.

There were no real surprises in the finishing order, and Alain, Aaron and Daniel made up much of their lost distance as the runners reported one by one to the natural warm baths.  The opportunity of a soak, clean up, and one of the earliest finishes of the race so far, was not lost on the runners.  Spirits were high as the Augrabies ‘warriors’ gathered to share the post-run banter, with fleeting but reserved thoughts of a finish. There were ‘only’ two days left and for a moment it seemed almost easy, but in the next second the recognition of Fridays challenge of 10km of soft sand running in the Molopo river valley, of rock-hopping along the Orange, and a 10km 4x4 trail brought back the respect and reality that things were by no means over – tomorrow was still another day.  Time to keep the mind in the current day.

An open sided entertainment area and a flat concrete slab appeared an attractive sleeping spot for many of the runners, particularly after the mud baked river valley of the previous night.  Nothing could have been further from the truth as the 50% who opted for the tent accommodation had considerably better sleep than those who quickly recognized that the human body with its curves, and bony protrudences was not designed for hard flat surfaces – even if you did carry a lightweight mattress.  Sleep, had now joined edible delicacies, cold drinks, clean clothes, and fresh shoes as just another of those desirable items which were simply not on the agenda.

The only true reality is that tomorrow is another day and true to form Friday unfolded like most in Augrabies with a clear moonlight sky that purely confirmed that it would be another scorcher. The slightly later start ensured a full turnout as the warriors awaited the ‘go’ and sped off to thrash their way through 2m high reeds, boulders, pools of muddy waters like demons in search of gold. The only gold to be found was the soft shoe shuffle of 10kms of soft golden river sand.  To the left - to the right - down the middle – the tacking to and fro delivered the same answer – There was only one way and that was to gently pad your way down the river bed in search of red and white markers and hopefully a sign to indicate the exit point which would eventually take them out of the sand beds.

Backpacks were by now considerably lighter, as the weight had been ‘eaten’ away with each day, and there were thoughts that perhaps the feet would not sink as deep into the sand – more Augrabies fallacies!

This was one of Geoff’s finest days. Marking under the guidance of Deon, he overhauled Michelle, Gerard, and others before reaching the first water point at 10km in 1 hour 40 minutes, he was on the ‘hunt’ for heads and changed his lead horse, allowing Deon to bolt ahead. Deon was getting stronger and stronger with each day.

Flip had covered the river bed in 1 hour, but like most found the second section somewhat more challenging, taking 1 hour 44 minutes to go over the ‘koppie’ into the rocky descent which would take him down to the river.  Rock hopping for 1.5km had all been in the plan, but the 6km gradual soft sand climb back up to the plateau had not been expected, nor mentally prepared for.  This was a mind and leg sapping section that would frustrate many.

Erica made good progress and put the ladies section beyond doubt, and up front Alain Nigel and Aaron continued the dice for daily honours.  The surprise of the day came from Riaan who had spent most of the days accompanying Erica and in particular kept her moving in the 77km leg. Now released, he proved a mighty force, storming over the section with his adventure racing style and showing that he could be a real competitor if he focused on his own race.

The final river section and climb out to the plateau were directly opposite the river section of the first day, and it only served to emphasise that Augrabies Extreme was nearing completion. A final 3km section of 4 x 4 trail brought the runners to their final overnight camp, but the distinct lack of shade meant 6 hours of scorching heat, which would sap any energy that remained.

Attempts to lighten the back packs prior to the long run, meant that for many the food rations for the day were minimal and by now one could sense that many were allowing themselves the luxury of the dreams that they would turn into a reality at the finish in less than 24 hours time.  For once there was a joy at finding a section of soft sand, even if it was only to be able to get a comfortable sleeping position, and as the sun set and a gentle breeze blew over the grasses one of the many things that united the Augrabies Warriors was that – Tomorrow may be another day, but it would also be the last day of the survival they call the ‘Augrabies Extreme Marathon’.  The anticipation of success was tempered with the surefire knowledge that friendships and a kindred spirit would also be lost when the celebrations were over on Saturday.  Next week would also be another week, but somehow nothing would be the same.

Why do Augrabies Extreme? Number 1 – The scenery is Awesome – Seeing is believing – To See it you need to run it – to run it you need to Believe it! – So seeing is Believing!

The final countdown – For a week many had looked down on ‘a big blister with a foot on’ and this morning at the crow of Geoff’s whistle they found that in fact the blisters were minimal compared with the feet and feat of  the Augrabies to date. The dawn cracked fearlessly – ahead 4km of gradual climb on  a mix of sand and hardpack road, four more kilometers of track to the gate and then a 12km stretch of country road to Kamkiri (???)  It even sounded achievable as the runners were set off in staggered start with the objective of having them all finish within the same hour. Even now this would incite the competitive elements in the Augrabies warriors – No one was going to catch them and lo-behold any runner that they saw on the horizon within their running ability.

First off was the diminutive ‘leprichorn’ Michelle in her green and white OMAM outfit – a tough little cookie who belies many of the images she portrays.  With her Gerard the tough as nails Frenchman. They had a special mission to unlock the gate and carry the key to the finish. If  they were passed in the first section there would be a hold up in progress. With a 5:00 am start they had the cool of dawn to push the pace.   Alister and Herbie  followed 15 minutes later, then the ever motivating Geoff ‘HB’ on a 40 minute handicap, followed by the quietest man in the camp Johan E 10 minutes later. HB had quietly been contemplating his move over the final 2 days and the terrain would suit him – it was his turn to show the form and strength that perhaps could have been. But here is a man that carried more than a backpack through the event. He carried the inspiration and answer for many of he worriers when they faced he question ‘why?’ – he was the ultimate fatigue-buster – he provides the example of ‘why-not’.

The not so intrepid, not so serious, not so sane? – Trio – cracked a 6:00am start, and to their own version of chariots of fire Lee, Lindsay and Norrie headed off into the sunrise, but with a spring in the step that suggested this was not going to be as long a day as normal. Soon the laughter had crested the first hill and was swallowed by the first undulation.

Peter, Daniel and leading lady Erica were next a further 10 minutes adrift, as the more competitive end of the field started to toe the start line.  Johan, Deon, Tommie ‘the tank engine’ and the cool calm Bob headed home at 6:20, Aaron ‘crocodile’ Ngwenya took his final bite at 6:50 with the long striding adventurer Riaan. For Aaron it had been a challenging event. One week previously he had been ‘armed’ with Chelsea buns and a few snacks, with last minute advice and assistance allowing him to reach something nearer his true potential with a more balanced approached to his sustenance. He did nothing to disappoint the ‘investors’, quite the opposite he would be one of the absolute stars of the event, who despite two off route ‘long cuts’  would finish second overall. Nigel, Alain and then the indefatigable Flip would set off at 5 minute intervals. With 2 hours and 10 minutes of a disadvantage just how much time and places could the Standerton Vet claw back over the 20.3km leg?

No quarter was asked – and no quarter given as the warriors headed home – Life was good. The trio were a different today, same jokes, but fewer and further between, and a look in their eyes that something had to be satisfied.

HB was in ‘motor mode’ and all pitied the ‘horse of the day’ – HB was going like a Boeing and either the horse kept up or would die. This was a case of the blind leading the ‘buggered’

As the kilometers melted away the emotions rose, all those reasons for continuing flood back, all the promises made in the mind-blowing turmoil of energy-sapped desolation, all the visions of family and friends – the mind and emotion overhauls any and all pain or suffering as the runners charge into the finish. Handshakes are few and far between, Bear hugs, and the choking of tears is the order of the day. Results seem meaningless as warrior greets warrior, the greater goal has been achieved. Already and air of anti-climax is seeping into the group, the realistaion that tomorrow will not only be a new day, but a different day – it will be a day when something is ‘stolen’ from their lives – that the friends and camaraderie generated will not be there, that the it will dissolve into each warriors sole as a ‘feeling’, a memory and a life changing experience. It had been a special 7 days, it had challenged the body, it challenged the mind, and the warriors survived, and they came through the valleys richer, stronger, and more prepared to move up the next mountain in the exploration of life.

Reasons to do Augrabies Extreme Number 2 --Augrabies Extreme gives new meaning to when your mother asked you – “Did you wash behind your ears?”

Number 3 - Augrabies Extreme – the ideal opportunity to see whether you suit a beard, without having to explain to the boss that you are just back from a night on the tiles!