I ran two great races last weekend, one trail run and one off-road/road race. I loved them both and am really enjoying the vibe being back into races.
Saturday saw my dad and I travel to Pretoria, to the Voortrekker Monument, “a monument that would stand a thousand years to describe the history and the meaning of the Great Trek to its descendants. It can be seen from almost any location in the city, as it is seated on a hilltop.”
It was really cold and my toes were bright red at the start!
There were a couple of announcements made by the race organiser and a prayer said by the local minister before the highlight of the race (at least for me) when the 4 Harvard aircraft flew in and overhead.
The cannon fired, and gave us a huge fright (many people jumped in surprise) and the race began. We ran onto tar for about a kilometre then onto jeep track.
From here, the climbing started and didn’t seem to end right until the finish.
We ran on lots of different terrain
We ran thru’ the fort
Back to the base of the monument past the Remembrance Gardens
To the steps of the monument where there was a very festive “Boeremusiek” band playing – great motivation to get you up the stairs at this stage of the race (500m before the end of both the 10.5km and 25km runs)
Around the monument
And finally to the finish line
I had been chatting to the guys on the left of this photo along the course. As we neared the finish line, they commented that they couldn’t be beaten by a girl in sandals so I paused to take the photo and let them finish before me 
We received a cool medal at the finish but most importantly we got a well-earned square of fudge, which obviously didn’t last long enough to be photographed.
I went back to the monument steps to offer support to those still climbing the steps and to see the 25km runners, including my dad, who was very tired at this stage
I loved the history involved in this race, the route, the camaraderie and humour on the track and of course, the fudge and will definitely be back next year, maybe even to do the 25km
3 comments:
Great report and photos Staci! Well done with your run! This is one of my favorite races and I was sad to miss it this year. It is a difficult route but one of the best races around. Next year I won't miss it and you will do the 25km with me.
Really great photos. They make you feel like you're almost there - without any of the sweating and panting.
Great photos for sure! Reminds me of our trip to S.A/Kenya again.
Have you ever been to the Namibian desert and do they have any races there 8)
Thanks for commenting on my blog..go ahead and haiku-quote me if you'd like 8)
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