Read the reports by Caroline Brawner, Zirk Botha and Jan Heenop
If
youve been following the exploits of Team Energy, the adventure race team
with 2 FHAC members, then youll know that they have moved from a last place
finish in their first race to two recent second place finishes. Finally, Team Energy is #1!!!
The
team decided on rather short notice to participate in the Swartberg Challenge,
advertised as a 200 km race. Training
was minimal: Jean-Paul had his nose
to the grindstone working on his PhD, Caroline avoided the cold, wet outdoors
altogether while on holiday in the UK, and Trevor Ball of Adventure Village was
inundated with work during his peak season.
The newest member of the team, Zirk Botha who has organised many
adventure races, was the only one in fine form.
By
now, most of you whove read about our previous races know how important
seconds are in a race. Dougie
Rossouw, who has provided much support and good humour in past races, was all
signed upuntil about 2 days before. Dougie
Hey (a Crag runner) has been either a participant or racer in all our races so
we were terribly disappointed when we learned he also had other commitments.
Dougies ability to fix anything as well as to help with navigation
would be sorely missed. Fortunately Zirk was able to twist the arm of Lindsay, his
girlfriend, to support us. She had
done it before and knew it was not a job for the faint heartedthus her
reluctance! Trevor also managed to
threaten, beg or otherwise cajole two people associated with his businesstwo
young novices who had great spirit but not a clue what they were in for.
Perhaps
not an auspicious start but Team Energy never takes its racing too seriously;
placing is great but having a good time out there in the beautiful South African
veld is the main priority. We
loaded up the two bakkies on Friday, 1 Feb and headed to Ladismith, leaving the
moderating sea breezes of the Cape for the searing heat of the Karoo.
Saturday
morning at 4 am, when Im sure even the hardest core FHAC runner was still in
bed, Team Energy hit the trail with the first leg of the racea quick 10 km
bike ride. At the transition, we
hopped off the bikes and, barely 5 minutes later, were running down a dirt jeep
track. Many of the teams opted for
the route along the road but Team Energy has always relied on stealth to achieve
success. We pride ourselves on
finding routes that others dont and, as a result, getting ahead of faster
teams by using brains instead of our rather aged brawn.
We are always the geriatric team, with an average age of 40, and must
face the fact that we simply dont have the speed of younger teams.
But our experience, navigation and pacing have regularly placed us ahead
of young bucks who burn themselves out.
However,
this race proved disappointing in that there were few navigational choices.
In fact, in this first running leg we learned the hard way that this was
not a race with shortcuts. In
several attempts to find alternative routes, we found ourselves passing the same
team over and over and over again. It
actually became a jokeexcept that we were the butt of it.
At the transition, Trevor practically went into a state of depression
when we learned we had slipped into last place!
Our
seconds quickly provided us with our energy milkshakes, refilled our bladders
(no, DJ, not our kidneys!) and sent us on our way on bikes up Seweweekspoort.
This 20 km ride took us slowly but surely up through a kloof with
stunning geologic displays. The guys took turns pushing Caroline along on her bike.
This system worked very wellCaroline pumps the pedals just as hard as
ever but she goes a lot faster with those helping hands.
We managed to pass one team in this way and Trevors spirits began to
improve. The steep walls of the kloof provided shade till
nearly the topthe last real shade we would see till the sun set.
Soon
after emerging into the full force of the sunalready cooking at 9 amwe met
our seconds again. The usual
routine of milkshakes, bladders, change of clothes except this time Trevor
wanted a cup of tea. He doesnt
strike one as an English gentleman but it must be somewhere in his bloodline.
The seconds complied without comment or complaint.
During the first transition, Simone was heard to utter Therere too
many things going on! as she got 4 different instructions from 4 different
racers, but the seconds quickly adapted to the mayhem that reigns during
transitions. They admitted that
sometimes, just after we left, they stood quietly for a moment in a state of
shock as they observed the chaos that was left around them.
What had happened to the boxes, clothes and food they had laid out so
neatly for us?
Armed
with PF 30 sunscreen, we headed over hill and dale before descending into Hell.
I kid you notthis long hidden valley is called Die Hel.
But first we had to get down into it via The Ladder.
Think Platteklip Gorge but with smaller, looser rocks in the trail.
This is the same route as the Moonlight Hell run so our team knew that we
would be rewarded at the bottom with a cool stream.
Typically, Jean-Paul submerged himself entirely to cool off.
This was quite a trick since the stream averaged only about 10
centimetres deep. Just think of a
Labrador retriever cooling off in a stream and youll have the picture.
It took great mental effort to pull ourselves away from that little piece
of paradise to face the unrelenting heat of Hell.
We even managed to pass another team during this endeavor.
A
long trudge (no thought of running in that heat despite the nearly level jeep
track) to the Nature Conservation station where we refilled our bladders and
drenched ourselves from the tap. Caroline took great pleasure in using the one
proper sit-down toilet of the whole race!
It
was rather a shock to be advised not to drink the water in the 8 km kloof we
were about to enterthe Gamkas River had many big pools but they were
stagnant. We hadnt planned on
this and soon found ourselves rationing our fluid intakenot a good thing.
The riverbed was either small stones or big boulders that necessitated
much rock hopping. All the rocks
were white which reflected the heat back up; we were being broiled from both
above and below. It was midday and the rocks were so hot that our feet were
being seared inside our shoes. If
ever we wanted Hell to freeze over, it was today!
Despite the suffering, we did occasionally note the incredible geologic
formationsand thought maybe it would be nice to come back here in the dead of
winter.
We
passed another team that took an extreme approach to cooling off.
While we mostly went for the keep-pouring-water-over-yourself method,
they opted for the full swimseveral times. Some of the pools were indeed very tempting but that method
was deemed too time consuming so we trudged on.
We were ecstatic to finally see, in the distance, a huge dam wall.
It wasnt just knowing we would soon be finished this most
uncomfortable leg of the race, it was also because we were at the point of
drinking the last of our liquid. And, remember, when youve got nothing to drink, you also
cant eat so our energy reserves were getting very low.
However,
our joy was shortlived as we arrived at the bottom of the wall only to discover
that we would have to jumar up about 50 metres of it. Jumaring is reverse abseilingand we had no energy left to
make this seemingly Herculean effort. We
complained bitterly that the race organiser must have been out of his mind to
expect us to do this in our current condition.
On the good side, we were in the shadow of the wall so we at least cooled
down a bit. And we knew we would
get water when we reached the top so up we went. Three of our team had not done jumaring before and it took a
little while before we got the hang of itit was actually quite fun and the
dam wall was a perfect location for it. Though
the water at the top was practically hot, it still went down like ambrosia.
We
then discovered we had another 1 kay walk in the hot sun to get to our
kayaks. However, we were rewarded
for our efforts: the marshals there gave us an ice-cold bottle of Coke.
It was manna from Heaven (and we didnt have to pay R100 this time!)
A quick dip in the dam to cool us down then a fast paddle to a buoy where
we clicked our passport. The bungee
that controlled the rudder on Jean-Pauls and Zirks kayak broke so they had
a bit of a mission steering their boat. But,
since it was a mere 10 km paddle, no one took serious strain. The paddle ended in a long wade through the muddy shallows
where Zirk managed to stab his foot on a submerged stickthis after he had had
a thorn go through his shoe and into his foot earlier. We did a short abseil and then the boats had to be
transported to the transition pointa good half klick away.
Now we understood why the organiser had said K2s would be penalised 30
minutesit wasnt that they were so much faster on the water, it was that
they were so much lighter to carry. Caroline
is always the designated paddle and backpack carrier (since the kayaks weigh
more than she does) while the men had to hoist the boats on to their shoulders
for the slog through the sand. Fortunately,
one second was permitted to assist so poor Duncan had to make the trip twice.
This
was our longest transition as it was our dinner stop; it was here we learned a
bit about what the seconds had gone through.
Our seconds had had better maps than the others apparently and took a
quicker route to this transition point. However,
they got here so quickly that no one was here yetno marshals and no other
secondsso they feared they were in the wrong place.
After more than an hour of going in circles and checking maps and
instructions, they returned to find the marshals had finally arrived.
And, if that wasnt enough fun, all the frantic racing around on
washboard roads had finally cracked the bike rack.
Both Jean-Pauls and Carolines bikes had come tumbling off and their
front wheels were damaged. This was
serious dj vuon the way to the Quest last year, Trevor had backed up the
bakkie and damaged both Jean-Pauls and Carolines front wheels!
Both times Trevors bike was fine; from now on, his bike is being put
outermost on the rack!
Anyway,
the gods were clearly smiling on us because another team that we know well
(formerly Land Rover, now Edge) had had to pull out because one of their members
was sick. While the other three
continued on (unofficially now), Pieter generously loaned us his front wheel.
On previous races, we had taken a spare bike but on this one it just
hadnt worked out. That was a
close callwell always have a spare from now on!
We
were on our bikes before it got dark and soon passed another team that seemed to
be struggling in the sandy, washboard road surface. There were only two serious challenges on this leg: its
length of 65 kms and a tricky bit of navigating in and around the riverbed.
Once again, the super lights that Caroline purchased for a small fortune
in the US last year proved their worth. Between
the lights and Jean-Pauls navigation, we nearly zipped through the tricky
bits that we are certain other teams spent considerable time struggling through. We encountered a team of two at this point and had no qualms
about them following us as we didnt considered them competition.
If, however, we had bumped into a team of four, we would have had to take
evasive action; teams with poor navigation skills following teams with good
navigation has been a bone of contention in other races.
Eventually
we found ourselves at a checkpoint and were surprised to find the lead team (the
only official team still ahead of us) dead to the world lying about on the
ground. Some teams do sleep during
adventure races but usually not for long if its only a 2 day race as this one
was. We reckoned they had gone out
too strong and had burned out. We
only stayed long enough to fill our bladders and expected them to soon follow
us. As it turned out, they tried
but two members were too exhausted and they had to bail. What did I say about proper pacing?
Feeling
stoked that we were now in first placebut also a little wary because that put
pressure on uswe cranked up and down a mountain, eventually pulling into
Prince Albert. We were pleasantly
surprised by the rowdy reception we got since it was nearly midnight but I guess
the residents of a little dorp like Prince Albert have learned to take advantage
of those rare events that provide a bit of excitement.
We noted that the film crew that had barely taken notice of us when we
were far behind in the field were suddenly taking interest in us.
We virtually hadnt seen them until starting this bike leg and now they
dogged us with incredible tenacity. Its
amazing how much footage these films crews take of the rear views of bike
riders. We have learned to be wary
of the camera because, in other races, weve invariably made mistakes when
cameras appear.
We
finally got to the Swartberg Pass and began the 4 km walk to the top.
Despite the temperature having finally fallen to tolerable levels, we
were just too exhausted to consider riding to the top.
As we walked, we kept looking behind to see the lights of teams following
usbut there were none. It was a
lovely night and we kept an even pace. Near
the top, the road flattened out and we started to rideexcept that JeanPaul
discovered Pieters tyre was flat. We
all have multiple forms of protection in our tyres so we were surprised to
discover that Team Edge hadnt employ these.
We had spare tubes, however, and had completed the job in no more than 5
minutes.
Soon
we arrived at the last transition where we learned the three remaining members
of Edge were sleeping. As soon as
they heard us arrive, they popped up and took offthey apparently were racing
us although we were not racing them. As
it was nearly morning, we all had tea or coffee and muesli or sandwiches as we
changed into our running kit one last time.
We were pleased to hear that the seconds had been able to snatch about 2
hours of sleep.
For
the final 26 km leg, we followed a rocky jeep track, actually finding the energy
to jog on the flats and downs. We
eventually descended into a big valley where we clipped our passport and got
more time on film. We always leave
the interviews to Trevorhes a natural performer.
It was then that we did our only bundubash, up to Bushmans Nek.
From there, the morning sun shone on us and soon we were hot again.
But the view was stunning and we could see (what appeared a very long way
away) De Hoek, where the finish was. It
seemed to take forever to get down the mountains and hills that lay between us
and our destination, with aching knees and sore feet complaining with each step.
But being able to see our destination slowly get bigger and closer helped
our spirits and our pace quickened.
The
ironic thing is that, as we arrived at De Hoek and people cheered for us, we had
to walk right by themwe still had to go to a checkpoint in a cave a kilometre
away before returning to the actual finish.
So we strolled down the hot tarred road and across a field and a stream
to get to the cave. We donned
headlamps and followed our guide down and along the cave. The surprise was that it had waterand freezing cold at
thatbut those of us who were careful barely got our shorts wet.
Zirk managed to scrape his back on a stalactite but otherwise we
thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We
were in and out in 15 minutes but the cold water cooled us down so much that the
walk back to De Hook seemed much cooler than the walk to the cave.
Finally, after 29 hours and 40 minutes, we jogged the last 50 metres to
the finish.
As
usual, the greatest thing about finishing is just thatat long last its
over and we can finally get clean, get some rest and put our feet up.
We made a beeline to the showers so we could get to a restaurant as
quickly as possible as we were starving. As
we racers lay about in the shade trying to catch some shut-eye after lunch, the
seconds once again had to load up the vehicles. And, having been able to get a
total of about 4 hours of sleep, it was the seconds who drove the vehicles home.
They had done a sterling job with never a complaint and even confessed
that theyd gladly do it again!
We
wanted to leave as soon as possible so the organiser quickly performed a prize
giving ceremony, just before the second place team strolled by on their way to
the cave. They finished just over 4
hours after us. As we drove away,
the third place team appearedas they walked in the broiling sun, we called
words of encouragement (from our air conditioned vehicles) telling them that the
cave was lovely and cool.
From a
humble beginning, Team Energy had overcome the odds to come out on top!
Swartberg
Challenge - Zirk Botha
|
|
So there I was, 3:30 on Saturday morning while all normal people were still fast asleep, waiting for the start of the Swartberg 200km Adventure Challenge. Worst still, I was on the wrong side of the starting line, having accepted an invitation to join Team Energy, I once again would be racing. With Energy proving to be tough contenders in every race that they have entered, I looked forward to experiencing new team dynamics and testing my fitness. As always pre-race night proved to be way to short and with seconds packed and on their way to T1, we were waiting for Jan Heenop, the Race Director to set us off on our first leg. Leg 1 As expected, the pace at the start was hectic. Teams Edge and Kinetic left the rest behind in a cloud of dust. The rest followed at a more respectable pace and before long we had settled into a nice rhythm, progressing up a steady climb out of Ladysmith in the general direction of Seweweekspoort. T1 was a quick change into running gear as we set off towards T2 opting for the cross-country option. Leg 2 What was to be a quick 10km warm-up jog turned out to take a bit longer owing to a slight detour down the wrong valley. No problem, we should be in 4th by T2, we thought, but to our surprise, we found ourselves in last position! Another quick transition, with seconds chasing us out, we headed up Seweweekspoort for a 20km mountain biking leg. A slow steady climb saw us catching up with one team just before we came out the top to be greeted by the Karoo sun. Leg 3 As predicted by Jean-Paul, the sun soon became a factor as we headed towards T3. Arriving here just before 9am we took our time to replenish liquid and solid food reserves. Our seconds were doing a sterling job and even provided Trevor with a lovely cup of tea! A change of clothing and a thick layer of Factor 30 Sun Screen as our final preparation and we were heading into the mountains and valleys, better known as "The Hell." Leg 4 With three teams visible ahead of us we were tempted to turn up the pace, but Jean-Paul kept a cool head and kept us going at a brisk walking pace. By 11:00 we had made our way down the ladder and after a welcome cooling down in a mountain stream, checked in at PC4. We continued east towards PC5 and it didn't take long to find out what it was like being in "The Hell". Passing Team Jabbawoks and meeting up with the World of Endurance TV Crew could have been the only highlight of this leg, but slowing your mental pace down and appreciating the natural beauty of the Valley and the cliff faces that kept it isolated for so long, made it all worthwhile. As we would do so many times during the race we remarked on the spectacular sights that adventure racers see thanks to this exciting sport! At PC5 we met the Nature Conservation Conservator for the "The Hell" and found him to be a very likeable fellow! The fact that Race Director Jan was keeping him company as we arrived should not be misrepresented! The last part of this leg, being a 8km hike through the Gamkasriverpoort was completely unforgiving and sapped the remaining energy from teams as they rock-hopped and dragged their weary bodies towards PC6. At one of the many cooling down stops in undrinkable water, we passed Team World of Endurance having a lunch break. We were tempted to join them but decided to continue in anticipation of the cold drinks and meal which the seconds had waiting. PC6 was something else! With very little water left we arrived at the Dam wall to be greeted by a monster jumar. This is ridiculous we thought, the Race Director must have lost it! There is no way that we would be able to do what looked like a 45meter near vertical climb at this stage of the race. The human spirit however prevailed and climb it we did! Getting to the top we were however advised that the change over to the paddling leg, with our water and food supplies was still 1,5 km away. With the temperature hovering in the deep thirties, we continued on this epic leg to find our kayaks on the shores of the Gamka dam. Leg 5 The 11km paddling leg turned out to be pretty uneventful. At the end of the paddle we were greeted with the news that after a quick abseil, we had to carry our kayaks to the Transition area. This entailed a 1km slog up the empty riverbed, which did not score any points for race management! Our seconds were however still scoring loads of bonus points for their efforts. Having "lost" a bike rack between T4 and T5, they had fixed the damaged bikes and set up a 5-Star seconding point. Team Edge were forced to withdraw owing to an unwell team member, which fortunately made a spare front wheel available to us - just what the bike mechanic ordered! Leg 6 As the sun was setting we hopped onto our bikes and set off on a 65km-mountainbiking leg, which concluded with a cycle up and over the Swartberg pass. Fortunately the temperatures had moderated by now and with Team Avis Car Rental serving out the final minutes of their 30-minute penalty for using K2's, we were steadily improving our overall standing in the race. Crossing the dry Gamka River in the dark is not for the fainthearted, but with Jean-Paul's excellent navigational skills, we passed Jacques Swart and his partner between the river and PC9. We were having a great time and felt satisfied with our performance and race standing. The only team ahead of us was Kinetic, who had dueled it out with Edge during the day and was well ahead of the rest of the field. Cycling into PC9 we were greeted by the friendly marshals and nearly tripped over a collection of mountain bikes! Being a rowdy bunch we unintentionally woke Team Kinetic, who had stopped for a brief sleep at the PC! We completed our checking in procedure and continued towards PC10 in Prince Albert. With spirits lifted we realised that Kinetic had not been as far ahead as we had thought and that the race had not been won. The 25km cycle to PC10 turned out to be quite forgiving with few serious hills. I got to know the team better and realised that the team dynamics at play made the team. Jean-Paul contributed his excellent navigational skills and endurance trail running experience, Caroline added the female touch and kept an eye on the pace. Trevor is the organiser, co-ordinator and motivator, always keeping the team working and taking care of the team's interaction. As a team, they got stronger and stronger as the race progressed! Another gang of friendly and encouraging marshals got us through PC10 towards the Swartberg Pass. Jean-Paul pointed out that the really difficult part was only 4km and from there it was either flat or downhill to the next transition. With a good view down the pass we pushed our bikes for most of the 4kms to arrive at T6 close on 24 hours after starting the race. Anticipating either Team Kinetic or Avis to be within 30 minutes from us we kept the transition as short as possible. As we were going through checks before tackling our final leg, the remaining members of Team Edge departed to finish their race unranked. Leg 7 On the map it was a brief 19km walk in the park, in reality it was closer to 26 km and would take us over 5 hours to complete. Deciding on the longer jeep track trail, rather than the hiking trail, we set out in the cool of the night. The objective was to finish the race without anybody catching us. PC12 would give us an indication if any teams using the Hiking trail option might have sneaked through. Finding Mark and Pierre, two members of the World of Endurance TV crew here was a pleasant surprise, but getting confirmation that we were still in the lead was all that I was interested in. J-P led us over Bushman's Nek and down to De Hoek where a pleasant caving evolution was the final challenge before we crossed the finish line. Going Home With depleted energy reserves the team showered and enjoyed a farm style breakfast before the seconds packed the cars for the trip home. Jan Heenop took care of the prize giving for us before we departed for home. I was tired and very fortunate to have Lindsay to drive me home. As I was hovering between sleep and keeping an eye on the road I once again realised how important seconds are to the success of a team. It becomes too easy to forget the challenges that the seconds had to cope with to make it happen when a team does well. Without Lindsay, Duncan and Simone we wouldn't even have made it to the start! Their resilience and ability to "provide" was incredible right to the end. Team Energy has proven their pedigree during the Quest and Mazda Drifter races during 2001. It was an honour to be able to race with Jean-Paul, Trevor and Caroline. I will put money on them being top finishers whenever they compete in multi-day adventure races. They will always be contending for line honours, even though they might be last at T2! |
| Swartberg
Challenge - Jan & Georgine Heenop 1-3 February 2002, W. Cape |
|
Good morning to all the brave-of-heart people who have just returned home from the Swartberg Challenge. This is your RACE REPORT. As race director, I enjoyed the event because your high spirits were a boost to everybody close to you. The terrain was harsh and rugged and the sun beat us all (with temperatures of 38C in the shade). The main "complaint" from the racers was that they hardly needed to do any orienteering. In reply I must state that from the beginning it was not my objective to set out a difficult orienteering route - my main objective was to link "The Hell" with the Swartberg Pass. If the orienteering had been difficult, we would probably have expected the first finishers only late on Sunday evening. That's why there were only 2-3 places for decision-making - sorry, next time we'll give you a puzzle. I was however excited about the ample opportunities for SPECIAL EVENTS presented in this area not only the ones listed in the instructions. The Swartberg Pass was for certainly a special place, and not for the faint at heart. All the teams enjoyed the caving at the end of the race - a good cool down and relaxer after another hot day and tough hike through the mountains. Team KINETIC and Team EDGE/Old Mutual chased each other right from the beginning with TEAM ENERGY close behind them. Teams AVIS, JABBERWOCK and WORLDOFENDURANCE maintained a steady pace not very far behind the leaders. Unfortunately Pieter du Plessis of Team EDGE had to withdraw - he suffered from his old problem of getting sick at about 12 hours into the race. His team continued unofficially to finish in the best time of 28 hours, 45 min. If I may have a personal word that has to be said in the open: I'm sorry Pica - I know this problem is really getting to you. It's bad to see a good friend suffering - we all pray that you will get to the bottom of this and have you back at the top where you deserve to be. Team KINETIC took a strong lead. They dared an hour's rest at PC9 and unfortunately lost their lead to an extremely strong Team ENERGY who sneaked passed just before 22h00. These guys (and girl) lived up to their name. Unfortunately Team KINETIC also had to stop with 2 team members sick. Teams AVIS, WORLDOFENDURANCE and JABBERWOCK stayed in there and finished in good time. A Special word to all the teams... Congratulations for all who finished - this wasn't an easy race at
all. Final results: Unofficially TEAM EDGE/ Old Mutual finished in 28hours, 45 minutes. |
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