The training programme for Comrades dictate that one ran 261km in the month of January – a tall order. I have managed to ran 235km injury free in January, …it was tough! Racing Kudus (15km), Dischem (21.1km) and Johnson Crane (42.2km) wit various training runs over 5 weeks…This week finally got the better of mean…with only a 5km walk so far :-).

Whoever said running Johnson Crane as a qualifier was easy…was obvious not a novice! The race was tough..so many flat sections -you really had to work hard. The last 5km’s was just a killer! 

I learnt a lot about marathon racing in this race though. I tested my new fueling strategy and it flippen worked! Also drank my salt tablets and NO cramps. So, my next race I will definitely push a bit harder. I was a bit paranoid about cramps going into this race (all in the mind) but now I am much more confident that my training strategy will pay off. It’s all these little things that count in making you perform better the next time….

Not sure why I was so scared to run this race. It was awesome! Everything was just great…from the goodie bag to being seeded in a batch that was not the last! 

From the start I gave it 110% effort. I new the race was going to be tough with about 8km of hills but somehow I managed to keep my pace. The 18th km finally got to ALL of us (at least all of the back of the pack runners)…EVERYONE was WALKING.

At the 21st kilometer as I was running onto the field I suddenly got a cramp in my left calf, My whole foot just became numb and I had to literally stand still. Flip! So close. I could have ran a PB on this difficult course, but it was not meant to be…Somehow I managed to run slowly to the finish. Nevertheless, one of my my best half marathons to date! I will be back in 2013…