Jonkershoek half marathon

My gym training has been going along smoothly with me alternating between running, cycling and swimming. But I guess in the same way that gym training cannot be a substitute for climbing, running on the treadmill cannot substitute running outside!

So my friend Francois (who has run the Comrades before) got me into running the Jonkershoek half marathon with him last Saturday as he stated it will be good for my Kili preparation. We left home very early, and I was already calling him all sorts of names when my alarm went off so early on a Saturday morning, with Jan and the kids still curled up in a warm bed. When I got outside, the wind was howling around me and it threatened to start raining any minute. Grrrrr – at that stage Francois was not on my Christmas Card List...

The wind did not stop howling on our way to Stellenbosch and I was dreading the half marathon. We got out in the freezing cold and at this stage I thought about waiting for him at the nearest Coffee Shop whilst he gets his “runners high” along with these other mad people! But with him being such an old dragon, he got me to the starting point (he had the car keys...). The only advice he gave me before we set off was to find a big guy, and run behind him so that he can be my wind buffer! Vida coffee will have to wait a little longer.

Not only did I find one big guy, but two huge guys! I could not believe my luck and tried to keep up with their pace as they huddled together. I ran so close to them that I could hear most of their conversation. This made me feel slightly guilty for eavesdropping, but at least it kept my mind off the horrible bit of road we had to run through town and trying to dodge cars. Wondering how on earth Francois could make me run such an un-scenic race and still thinking about my cuppa Vida, I just plodded along behind my Two Buffers.

At last we left town to be greeted with the most beautiful Jonkershoek area. Not growing up in the Western Cape, many of these places are unfamiliar to me, and I felt a sense of awe because of the beauty that surrounded me. Apologising to Francois in my head for calling him horrible things earlier, the next bit of the race went past in a flash. By now the wind has quietened down and I had even become involved in conversations with The Buffers!

And before I knew it, the end was there! Francois, having finished ten minutes before me, was already waiting at the finish line. Sprinting down the final 200 meters (ok calling it a sprint might be a bit of a stretch), I felt that “high” of accomplishing something you set out to do. Saying goodbye to The Buffers, I left Stellenbosch, thinking how much fun one can have when you have the right attitude.