Tag: Pietermaritzburg

  • Comrades 2011 digestion

    Part of perfect ultra-running is being able to run with, let’s say, ultra-efficiency for hours on end. The best I got to was maybe 6 hours on tar with hills; maybe 10 hours on a paved, flat 100-miler; and, around 14 hours on mountain trails as long as I didn’t twist an ankle or two.…

  • The big day looms big

    So why Comrades 2011, so far, hard?  Got so much before, so what come back? Partly I know: be strong for my life’s autumn; healthy for two beautiful kids; top-up my soul with moon, stars, friends, more of the riches of the running world. But one more medal holds something I can’t know ‘til it’s…

  • Runners’ Spirit

    To understand something its good to know where it comes from The body, roughly stitched from pubis to throat, lay naked in the Oshakati morgue. Our job was to put him, his boots and bloody clothes in a used coffin, screw down the lid and take him to his flight home. A conscript dead, a…

  • The Perfect Distance … part 1

    Facet 2 of what makes Comrades an ultimate run   Crossing the finish line after running ~90 km is a marvel; even if it’s running that is also walking, cursing or crawling. That feeling, that fizz and burst, makes the Comrades distance exactly right for a perfect running experience. Maybe it’s just relief. But if…