Yesterday morning at 5:15 a cab picked me up to take me to the 6 AM start of the Two Oceans half marathon in Newlands, just a few miles from my house. On a complete whim, Nick, never registering for the race and never having run over six miles, decided to illegally join the run. This was not a difficult task, considering there were 14,000 other half marathon participants (the other 9000 of the 23,000 total ran the ultra--more on that later). Here we are at 5:30 in the morning, looking less than attractive.
The race start was insane. Since I didn't provide a mile time, I was placed in the final seeding, which meant that I didn't start until about five minutes after the cannon (Yes it was a cannon, not a gun) went off. The crowds were insane and it was difficult to set a pace for about the first 4 or 5 mile because there were so many runners! I ended up running the first 5 miles at an 10:30 mile pace, which is significantly slower than what I'm comfortable with, simply because it was impossible to move through the crowd. By mile 6 I was able to make my way through them and increase my pace.
The race took us from Newlands to Claremont towards Wynberg (VINEEEEBERG!!) and Constantia. The mountain views were incredible. From miles 7 to 8, the course went straight up hill. I was getting a little bit tired at this point but thanks to the many refreshment stations I had a constant supply of powerade and water sachets, even though I accidentally squirted powerade directly in my eye around mile 9. At the top of the hill we had a beautiful view of the sunrise over the Southern Suburbs all the way to the Cape Flats.
The last 4 miles followed Rhodes Drive to Kirstenbosch and eventually to UCT's upper campus, where the race ended. I completed the race in about 2:15, which was slower than I expected, but I know that the slower pace was definitely due to the crowds. While it was little slower than projected, it allowed me to be mostly comfortable the entire race, although I was pretty tired by the last mile. The crowd encouragement was beautiful all along the course and running toward the finish line with so many spectators was a complete adrenaline rush. Nick and I found each other at the finish line, grabbed water (and a Diet Coke for me--sometimes it is just the most refreshing thing ever) and retrieved my backpack from the bag drop for some photo opportunities.
happy happy happy to be done with beautiful UCT in the background--the only difference between us is that I had a number and he didn't...he still got a medal though!
check out 82 year old oupa (grandpa in Afrikaans)! He definitely had a lekker run and finished not far behind us!
if you look closely you can see my Afghanistan registration
We chilled for a while and waited for the ultra marathoners to come in. THIS was the most incredible part of the entire day. The first ultra runner finished in around 3 hours 10 minutes. UNBELIEVABLE. 36 miles! In barely over 3 hours. The ultra followed the same southbound course as us, but instead of turning back to UCT, the ultra went all the way to Muizenburg to Simon's Town, across the peninsula to Hout Bay and Chapman's peak, then back towards UCT. I cannot fathom how one does this. We had an amazing view from the top of the footbridge over the finish line and got to see the winner make his way to the finish.
here he comes...
VROOOOOOOOM
I love this picture--I think it captures the energy of the race so well
the first lady to come in. She's Russian and has run the race with her twin sister for the past eight or nine years. One of them wins for the women each year.
Yesterday was undoubtedly one of the most incredible days I've had in Cape Town. The positive energy of both the runners and the spectators was so contagious. My race was amazing and so much fun, but it was definitely watching the end of the ultra marathon that made the day. The dedication and strength of those runners blows my mind. I know I'll be back for another Two Oceans some day...maybe I'll even be crossing the finish line as an ultra marathoner then!
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