Mud Sweat & Gears.Indd
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
MUD, SWEAT AND GEARS South Africa’s Toughest and Most Scenic Endurance Sporting Events MUD, SWEAT AND GEARS South Africa’s Toughest and Most Scenic Endurance Sporting Events STEVE CAMP STEVE CAMP MUD, SWEAT AND GEARS 1 Published by: Dedication: SOUTHBOUND For Sarah and Stuart Camp, An imprint of 30˚ South Publishers (Pty) Ltd with a heart full of love 16 Ivy Road, Pinetown, South Africa 3610 [email protected] www.30degreessouth.co.za First edition, first impression 2017 ISBN 978-1-928359-01-2 Copyright © Steve Camp, 2017 Printed and bound by Pinetown Printers, Durban All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, manipulated in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any mechanical, electronic form or by any other means, without the prior written authority of the publishers, except for short extracts in media reveiws. Any person who engages in any unauthorised activity in relation to this publication shall be liable to criminal prosecution and claims for civil and criminal damages. 2 MUD, SWEAT AND GEARS Acknowledgements Writing this book has been a long journey and one that began with running my first Comrades Marathon as a 20 year old youngster. Many friends and family have been valued travelling companions along the way. Dave Gordon, my running partner for countless marathons including eight Comrades and six Two Oceans. My brothers, Martin and Richard Camp, for the memorable Comrades we did together. Greg Camp for the Argus Cycle Tours and Peter Camp for the fun we had pioneering multi-day stage mountain biking. Ian Tyrer, for introducing me to expedition adventure racing and for the adventures we shared while racing in Ecuador, Patagonia and Vietnam. Lindy Bradshaw, for your strength of character and vasbyt during these races. To the “Dusi Dawdlers” and my paddling buddies, Chris Matthews, Kevin Trodd and Tom Geldart. Alan Waddilove, for the one and only marathon we did together that will always be etched in my mind. To many others who have all been part of the journey in some special way: Morgan and Kate Castle, Richard Cliff, Bobby Collingwood, George de Beer, Bronwyn Dorling, Mike Haynes, Kerry Ingham, Paul McGarr, Richard Miller, Grant Pearson, Barb Pendry, Stephen Purcell, David Rees, Daryl Spencer, Craig Tavares and Ian Winson. To Kerry Penzil, for the creative cover design. To Blair Couper, for bringing the book to life through his artistic layout. To Sally Frost, my partner, for all the proof reading and editing. Thanks is also owed to Nick Tatham from Gameplan Media and every photographer whose images grace this book. In particular to Em Gatland, Nick Muzik, Jacques Marais, Kelvin Trautman, Tobias Ginsburg, Tyrone Bradley, Jay Groat, Anthony Grote and Rob Mousley who went that extra mile. MUD, SWEAT AND GEARS 3 Introduction It is no wonder that South Africans love long-distance challenges. The country’s climate and contrasting landscapes are ideal for endurance sport activities. South Africa is often referred to as a world in one country and for good reason. Its stunning natural scenery ranges from beautiful ocean views and golden beaches; magnificent mountains, wild river crossings and magical waterfalls; to desolate dirt roads and remote open countryside. For trail runners, mountain bikers, paddlers and adventure athletes, it’s paradise. South Africa is jam-packed with world class trail races and ultra-marathons as well as mountain bike and cycle races. It’s no surprise that the country should host some of the world’s most gruelling endurance sports events. While the Comrades might be South Africa’s best known ultra-sports extravaganza, the country hosts a variety of lesser known but equally demanding endurance challenges, in which participants pit themselves not only against their own limitations but also against the elements. I have been fortunate to compete in international endurance sporting events on all seven continents across a number of disciplines and can honestly say that there are few events that are as well organised as those here in South Africa. Several of the events featured in this book claim to be the world’s toughest, oldest, longest, biggest or most beautiful. Simply put – they are! 4 MUD, SWEAT AND GEARS Many people consider a standard marathon, triathlon or adventure sport competition to be a challenge. Others, however, require a little more pain, grit and suffering to make a race worth their while. If you fall under this masochist category of athletes – or just want to witness the carnage – here are the country`s hardest, toughest and ultimately, most rewarding events. Besides the obvious, long standing endurance giants, choosing South Africa`s toughest, most scenic and prestigious races for inclusion in this book was no easy task. There has been such an explosion of new and stunning endurance epics in the last decade that some fantastic events were bound to be left out. In selecting the 47 events to include in this “bucket list” book a variety of modes of transport and levels of competition were considered. Swimming, cycling, canoeing, sailing, horse racing, off-road motorcycling, trail and road running together with adventure racing events all feature. Inclusion criteria were ultimately subjective and as such possibly debatable. But that’s part of the fun — learning what’s out there and setting one’s own toughness quotient. Whether on land or in water, South Africans love testing their endurance ability and an ever-increasing cohort of overseas competitors are joining in as they discover the fantastic events this country has to offer. So treat yourself and dip into these pages to learn about the sizeable selection of world-leading sporting endurance challenges that South Africans hold dear. Steve Camp MUD, SWEAT AND GEARS 5 Foreword by Martin Dreyer Taking on a challenge that is bigger than you, is extremely motivating for your training. Because if you don’t put in the hard yards, you will suffer or fail. Completing a tough endurance event, wherein you redefine your perceived limits, is immensely liberating and empowers you, because now, nothing in Life will seem impossible. Adversity is the breakfast of Champions! Mud, Sweat and Gears, Steve Camp’s collection of 47 of South Africa’s toughest and most scenic endurance sporting events, provides a beautifully illustrated snapshot of the rich array of premier events that this country has to offer the committed endurance adventure sportsman or woman. Martin Dreyer is a South African endurance sporting legend, having won the Dusi Canoe Marathon and Non-Stop seven times each. He holds the record for the Freedom Challenge mountain bike ride across South Africa and transitioned smoothly into international expedition adventure racing, adding the International Land Rover G4 title to his list of wins. Through his Change a Life Academy, Martin currently coaches and mentors talented paddling, mountain biking and running athletes, predominately from the Valley of a Thousand Hills in KwaZulu-Natal. 6 MUD, SWEAT AND GEARS Contents Acknowledgements 3 Road Cycling Introduction 4 Cape Town Cycle Tour 91 Foreword 6 Amashova Durban Classic 95 Canoeing Double Century 99 Dusi Canoe Marathon 9 Mountain Biking Fish River Canoe Marathon 13 Cape Epic 103 Berg River Canoe Marathon 17 Sani2c 107 Lowveld Croc 21 JoBerg2c 111 Umkomaas Canoe Marathon 25 Freedom Challenge 115 Non-Stop Dusi 29 Wines2Whales 119 Road Running Berg and Bush 123 Comrades Marathon 31 Wild Ride 127 Two Oceans Marathon 35 Trans Baviaans 131 Sani Stagger Marathon 39 iMfolozi Challenge 135 Trail Running Attakwas Extreme 137 Otter African Trail Run 43 Off-Shore Sailing Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon 47 Cape to Rio Yacht Race 139 Wildcoast Wildrun 51 Vasco da Gama Ocean Race 141 Hout Bay Trail Challenge 55 Swimming Ultra-Trail Cape Town 57 Midmar Mile 143 SkyRun 61 Freedom Swim 147 Richtersveld Transfrontier Wildrun 65 Cape Point Swim 149 3 Falls Trail Run 69 Off-Road Motor Biking Mont-Aux-Sources Challenge 71 Roof of Africa 151 Southern Cross Trail Run 73 Endurance Horse Riding Golden Gate Challenge 75 Fauresmith 200 155 Giant’s Cup 77 Multi-Sport Three Peaks Challenge 79 Wartrail Challenge 159 Rhodes Run 81 Off-Shore Rigid Hull Racing Surf Skiing Trans Agulhas Challenge 163 PE2EL Challenge 83 Photo Credits 166 Cape Point Challenge 87 About the Author 167 MUD, SWEAT AND GEARS 7 8 MUD, SWEAT AND GEARS Dusi Canoe Marathon Paddling and portaging First paddled in 1951, the FNB Dusi Canoe Marathon covers the 120 km of waterways that flow between the cities of Pietermaritzburg and Durban in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. The biggest canoeing event on the African continent and one of the world’s most popular river marathons, the Dusi attracts between 1 600 and 2 000 paddlers each year. The race is held in mid-February to take advantage of the summer rainfalls. Temperatures can be extreme, often exceeding 40 °C in the beautiful yet sweltering Valley of a Thousand Hills. The race starts at Camps Drift on the uMsindusi River that runs through Pietermaritzburg and includes a number of weirs and Grade 1 to Grade 2+ rapids. At roughly the halfway point the uMsindusi meets the far larger uMngeni River and the paddling becomes more challenging, with some rapids rated Grade 3+. The Dusi route is not marked and the onus lies with the paddlers to learn the safe lines down the more demanding rapids and weirs. Safety is paramount, however, and marshals and divers are stationed at all major obstacles. One thing that makes the Dusi unique is the numerous portages that crop up along the way. Paddlers carry their craft over hills, either to cut out tricky and unrunnable rapids and cataracts or to eliminate long loops in the river.