Having run a couple of marathons in the past, Simon's qualification for 2Oceans and Comrades was a foregone conclusion. However, he still had to run it, and the Umgeni Water Marathon at the beautiful Midmar Dam was his chosen race.
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| The race t-shirt - lasted one wash. More cleaning rags... |
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| Early morning cup of tea and a rusk to help the support crew wake up. |
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| Although this half of the support crew is always wide awake!! |
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| We had a great vantage point for the start... |
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| …and even got a wave! |
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| Once Simon was on his way, William and I hightailed it back to the hotel for breakfast... |
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| …before making it back at the 32kay mark to offer some encouragement, sustenance and a hat. |
The pace we are aiming for in the longer runs is much slower than Simon would normally run. This is firstly, to avoid injury, and secondly, to build the capacity to take your body a lot further than it would normally go. He certainly managed the slower time, and I'm happy to report says that it is no easier taking longer - in fact, he felt just as tired after a 4hr 10 than he did running a 3hr 20! Go figure.
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| Yay! The finish line!! |
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| The beauty of a run at a place like Midmar is the post-run dip. |
And so…
…Simon too has qualified! Yee hah! Now all we have to do is keep injury free. Will have to heed the advice of the locals and stop walking.
