Most of you know I ran Comrades on May 29th. I have talked to some people about my run and what I went through but thought it "might" be interesting to post on this blog because, there are some lessons to be learned - not sure if all the images will come thought - but let us see - it is quite long
ENJOY
ENJOY
MY JOURNEY TO COMRADES
About 3 years ago after one of my Chi Running classes in Oakville, my co instructor Claude Demers
sent me a link to explain what the Comrades Marathon was all about. The reason for this, was that
Cathy Hopkins, one of the participants in our clinic, had already run it 2X and was at our clinic to get
tips on how to run downhill easier. Please have a look at what Claude sent me to read in May of 2013
Comrades for Beginners
This festered in my mind for a whole year, during which time, I was mentioning it to some of our
running group. Was it possible? Did we want to attempt it? Actually the conversation was good and a
lot of people seemed interested. I then contacted Cathy Hopkins to see if she would come to Sarnia and
give a talk about the race and about traveling to South Africa. We were also fortunate enough to have
Dr Gert Sclebusch, who is from South Africa working in Sarnia and running with us. He would come
to the meeting and fill in details about SA. On November 24th 2014 we had a great turn out = 30+
people and Cathy did a fantastic job selling her beloved Comrades (2016 was her 6th time – she is going
for her permanent GREEN BIB = 10X) Lots of interest for sure.
2016 was always the plan because it was a “down” year (more decent than accent) . You have to sign
up between September and November in the year before you want to run and even then it is not full
commitment, since you can sell an International Bib on line , if you can not attend. SO... everyone who
came to the talk had a full year to decide “IF” they were going to sign up in 2015 for 2016!
I also do long distance cycling and every 4 years I do the grand daddy of all amateur distance cycling
rides in France = Paris Brest Paris = 1231 KM in 90 hours. I had done it in 2007 and 2011 and was
signed up to do it in August of 2015. Why is this relevant you ask – well during the ride on August 18th
at 10:30 AM in France (5:30 AM here in NA) I closed my eyes on the bike and went head long into the
ditch at 811 KM. Broke my nose, concussion, broke both hands, 5 ribs and traumatized my whole right
since including my shoulder, hip and leg (tibia and fibula joints) I was hurt, and perhaps stupidly got
back on the bike and rode another 420 KM to finish in 89 hours 49 minutes. This little incident put me
out of commission for quite some time – needing time to get over the concussion and heal both of my
hands. I did nothing for the rest of August and most of September – even walking was a problem. I did
start to walk consistently in October, but I was really afraid that any hopes of Comrades was gone.
Based on the fact that I could sell my bib, I signed up for Comrades 2016 on October 20th, but was
really sceptical that I would even go!! Cathy Hopkins had a party in November = “ALL THINGS
COMRADES” Tim Westaway, Fred Unternahrer (With Cindy Robinson) also attended this session . It
was really great to hear from all those who had run the event and the excitement rubs off, as you all
know.
I started an earnest effort training on November 1st however my body was still hurting, hence my
progress was slow. You have to qualify for Comrades by running under a 5 hour marathon before May
1st. I picked Miami January 24th, hence 12 weeks would be my training for the marathon
Now, I am a Chi Running Instructor and I teach people how to feel and listen to their body, however
since my cycling accident, I really did not feel I was running well. I think I turned into the student who
needed feed back. After doing some investigation, I came up with a device Milestonepod.com , which
gives you feed back on impact, cadence, foot strike and more. The neatest thing is that you do not have
to start or stop the device – it knows what you are doing. I liked it so much that I now give it to all my
workshop participants for Chi Running to allow me to follow their training remotely and give them
feed back. Have a look http://milestonepod.com/ I also have the units for sale. I will give you some
screen shots of my comrades with the milestone pod later in this write up. I am really happy with this
device.
My training program was one that Tim Westaway was using – he is definitely a seasoned ultra runner,
and the one thing I know is to take advice from someone who has done the event or similar. His 9:17 at
Comrades proves, that, in fact he does know what he is doing. I adjusted the program to fit in my
Miami Marathon, Chili Half (with a marathon before the start = only longer run that I had planned = 65
km), Around the Bay, and Boston Marathon as lead up to Comrades. Tim's plan was back to back long
runs with easy, tempo and pace runs as well as some race pace during the long runs. He also included a
50% down week every 4 weeks, which really helps you recover and stay uninjured. I stuck to the
training, pretty well, although I did not do a lot of speed work because, my body was having a tough
time dealing simply with the mileage. I tried to do some strength training at OnEdge Fitness because I
know, at my age, strength can be a limiting factor. I just could not do both. If I worked out, my running
suffered, so I backed away.
Miami was a good marathon for me – not exactly what I wanted, however I did qualify with a 4:07
marathon ( after falling at 23 miles – on my right side even!) and actually won my age group AND I
did back to back runs, by doing a 23 km run the day after the marathon – it felt pretty good actually,
however probably did not take enough time to recover in the weeks after this marathon. My 65 km run
was next at the Chili Half in Burlington on March 6th. I got up that morning at 3AM and started to run
at 3:40 AM – including some stopping before starting the half marathon, I ran for 9 hours 18 minutes
with an average pace (including the stops) of 8:34 min per kilometre. Viewing the fact that I needed to
average an 8 minute kilometre to finish Comrades, I was pretty happy with my results – however I was
really really sore – my hips!! one day off and then 80 km the next week. Hmmm.. could I really
manage to run 90 km at my age without my body giving up??!!
I was really paying attention to the results on my milestonepod, because I wanted to make sure that my
impact was low, so as not to hurt myself, since I was doing a lot of the runs on the hills of Arkona. My
32KM training runs would have 400+ meters of accent and decent. Too much pounding would break
down my body.
Around the Bay was my next race on April 3rd – no taper – I was suppose to run it as a training run. I
felt good that morning – completed the 30K in 3 hours 5 minutes = pretty well at 6 minute kilometres –
I had ran 23 KM the day before! The next weekend I ran a 10K with my step daughter Lisa at Retina in
London in 55 minutes on April 10th. These two runs were faster than any of my training and when
piled on top of the long training runs, my body was close to being over trained . My chest was starting
to fill up and my feet were in constant pain!
By the way – all of my runs were done with both of my ankles and knees taped to keep the Tibia /
Fibula joints together. I forgot to tape a couple of times (probably lazy) and ended up back in Physio
Comrades is a Gun Start and Gun Finish – no matter where you are at the start, you MUST finish in 12
hours. The next corral move up point was under the 4 hour qualifying time. I had qualified for Boston
in Tokyo and signed up because I figured, the downhill run for the first 25 KM would be good training
for Comrades, and it was , except that I stupidly thought I could run Boston under 4 hours and went out
way too fast. Add up the last couple of weeks, factor in the long runs plus that 65 km run and what you
get is a guy who ran the first 35 KM with a 6 minute pace and then the wheels fell off – ended up with
a 4:40 – it would have been better to go out from the start at a 4:40 pace and not pound my body on the
way down the hills. It is what it is Boston on April 18th and then 6 weeks to get recovered and ready to
run Comrades – get rid of the cold, and congestion as well as try to heal really sore feet! I still finished
out the next couple of weeks with long runs but did back off of the total distance requirements – just
too sore – needed to get back to feeling good.
The closer Comrades came, the more intimidated I felt. I had done most of my training runs in an Altra
ONE 2.5 shoes but did most of the races in an old pair of Nike free with the toes and bunions cut out of
them. SO I focused on shoes and purchased 3 different pair of Nike Free Distance = horrible shoe –
sent them back. I finally purchased another pair of Atra ONE 2.5 – exactly like the ones I ran my
training in however scared for the distance because my feet were always burning when I ran! On top of
all of this, my right foot was horribly swollen with my big toe on that foot in constant pain and
throbbing. Intimidated or what!! I ran the total last week before leaving for SA in the pool, constantly
questioning myself about my ability to even run, let alone run 90 K in one go. Physio with Dave
Archer, Massage with Bethany Parker, and Reflexology with Lynn Sproviero. What more could I do.
Should I just cancel the trip and forget about this nonsense??!! In the end, I packed one pair of shoes
(so that I did not stress there with deciding on a shoe) and a couple of options for clothes (bought 2 pair
of new socks and washed the hell of them but also took the compression socks which I had worn in
both Miami and Boston and decided to give it a shot!!! Oh God – Stress or what!!
My total mileage from November 1st to May 29th training was 2333.2 KM over 330 hours
My wife and I have been to South Africa before, hence I knew that the local people and the country is
GREAT and Durban, where were staying, right on the Indian Ocean, is a perfect place to stay and run.
Nuala did not go this time, because of some health problems, plus our house had sold and she was
finishing up moving. There were 4 other couples who were all super to be with = Deb & Ken Walker,
Paula & Tim Westaway, Danielle Girard & Doug MacIsaac, and Cindy Robinson and Fred Unternahrer
We pretty well arrived at the same time on Wednesday May 25th after some long flights. Thursday AM
we all walked the 4 KM to the Expo venue for race kit pick up. Lots of suppliers and information about
Comrades there. Pretty exciting as the actual day grows closer. We walked back.
On Friday AM, the 5 guys running were taken by Ken Walker who had a car to the board walk at the
ocean front for a short run – 6 KM. It was great to stretch the legs, and although I struggled on that run,
I felt good that I could actually run!! Goodness – what was I going to do on race day?
On Saturday, Cindy, Fred and myself had booked a route tour. I wanted to do the tour for two reasons.
Sometimes when you are focused on running, you miss most of the route for scenery etc., hence to see
it ahead of time is good and also I wanted to visit the Ethembeni Children’s Home for the
Physically Disabled and Visually Impaired in Inchanga. My friend and manager of Staples in
Sarnia, Lynn Faubert bolstered my $50 purchase of school supplies for this school with a full
box of donated supplies, so I wanted to drop them off personally – thanks for your help Lynn.
I should have also fund raised, but eased my conscience by donating when at the school as
well. The course tour was worthwhile since I found out for sure that the course was NOT flat
(LOL). Comrades is in the process of training the next generation of ambassadors. Dave and
Jenny were from Pietermaritzburg - he had run the race 6 times and his wife joined him for 2
of those runs. Really Really a nice couple – she kept telling me about different things on the
course (which probably I did not take in) and he kept trying to ensure that I would be fine. He
actually asked how old I was and when I told him 70, he asked one of the former race directors
if there was an age category for 70 year old runners – sadly no – oldest group is Grand Master
which is 60 and up. Jenny said that she had run her first at 57 and if she could do it anyone
else could too. At the museum, I was interested to see that, in the inception of this race
everyone simply ran as they pleased , stopped to eat or rest – Hmmm – I did neither of
those!!!
As you can well imagine Saturday PM was met with very little sleep since we had to be up at 1
AM to leave at 2AM – we caught a bus at 2:45 AM to Pietermaritzburg. The cabbie who took
us to the start (or as it turned out – only close) was playing religious music and really did not
know where he was going. Tim paid him 100 Rand when he dropped us at the Hilton however
the Hilton people told him to take us to where the buses were. After driving around for
another 30 minutes, we ended up back at the Hilton. Our cab driver told us it was the “India”
mans fault who directed him = not really very christian – is it?? Ken gave him another 100R
The bus ride to the start was uneventful, and when we arrived, we needed a bathroom.
Everything was still locked up. Most of our guys were in B & C corral with me in F corral – we
split up and went our own way and with still 30 minutes to go, I made my way into the corral
to sit on the ground. I met a couple of people from SA. A guy who gave me advice to go out
slow – it was his 4th run and a lady, who's son was up in A corral. It was her 2nd time but she
had not run it for a number of years because she had a back operation with her spine pinned –
she showed me pictures on her phone!!!! She offered me pain killers for the run!!! I could not
believe that with a bad back she would be trying to mask any pain plus putting her kidneys at
risk. What some people will do to run a race. I NEVER take anything when I run or bike – not
even an aspirin – just not worth it.
With about 15 minutes to go = 5:15 AM, they open up the corrals and have us all move forward
– jammed together pretty tight. Chariots of Fire is played and Shosholoza is sung, as is the SA
anthem and then at 5:30 AM the Cock crows, small gun shot and big cannon sounds – we are
off = NOT. We do not even move. After about 2 minutes we start to move forward. It took me
3:40 seconds to get across the timing mats - but not to worry – my 12 hours started when the
gun went off!!
Right away I am finding it tough. A combination of not having run for a while, plus the crowd,
plus we are going slightly uphill!! Going through town you can see the ground and the
pavement because of street lights but once out of town, it becomes darker until the sun starts
to rise. Many people are shouting out to warn of traffic island dangers and others are
shouting for their friends – AND – lots of friendly people answer back when I say hello. I had
a hoodie on to start but right away got rid of it – too too hot! People at the start had told me
that it would be colder as we left the town and even colder as the sun started to rise. They said
I should leave my warmer clothes on – I think they be colder because they are use to the really
warm weather.
I struggled running – even had to run walk as we left town.
Just at day light, we turn a corner, and I swear I could see, at least a kilometre ahead of me –
all people right across the road. Man – did I feel terrible – run walk since I could not run
steady. Up and down – up and down. Bathroom – maybe that is what I need. Sure enough, at
about the third set of porta potties I find one that is not busy and duck inside for much needed
relief however it does not come fast, hence when I am out again, I am surrounded with people
from H corral. Damn I have fallen behind. Never mind I feel better and I start to get into a
rhythm. I am in one of the valley's and I feel myself sweating. Even at the sub 20 deg C
temperature, it feels hot to me – remember, in Canada, we have had NO hot weather, hence I
am acclimatizing on the run! (so to speak). I take off the new balance “Canada” shirt that I
bought for Tokyo off to peal down to the “Canada” singlet with my bibs pinned on it. Whew –
that is better – I look to the side lines – a young man stands there waving a ragged shirt,
begging for clothing – I shout at him and throw – he scores, pretty well a brand new shirt –
exactly his size – I am happy about that.
The first few nutrition stations are only hydration ones with no food. The water and energy
drinks are in plastic satchels which are approximately 250 mils or 1 cup in size. You bite the
corner and drink the liquid. “IF” you squeeze too tight when you are ripping open the corner,
you are sure to spray yourself or the person next to you. It takes me a number of times to get it
close to right, by which time I do not care any more, since I am dumping some on me anyway.
They are easy to carry (in multiples) so volunteers hand out in 2's & 3's and most times they
are cold. One of the disturbing things about these satchels is that when someone steps on
them, they sound like a shotgun going off. I never did get use to this, jumping every time it
happened and when a course car came by us, it was even worse when the cars ran over them!
I am running pretty good now – not fast by any measure but now running steady, and only
walking when the hills are long and steep – wait a minute – they are mostly long and steep –
but even then I only walk for a minute at a time and run up most of the hills (slowly). I have
caught the first 12 hour BUS (Pace group), which I had fallen behind. I love going down hills
and allow myself to be pulled down by gravity, simply letting my heels float up behind me. The
pace group is large and the “driver” holds them back going down the hills – too much trauma
for me so I go to the side and run around them while going down a hill. Again I am running
steady and gradually make up some of my bathroom lost time. I look back and I have a good
lead on the pace group, although I can still hear the “driver shouting out his commands. They
do a great job of motivating and keeping everyone going steady.
The stations now include food. Crackers, boiled potatoes, oranges, bananas, some items with
salt and coke. I do not drink soda EVER – except today – I drank coke and it tasted good. I did
not eat a lot however I did have some potatoes and some of the cookies. After leaving each one
of the stations, I noticed that there were children along side of the road with their hands out. I
finally figured it out and from then on, every station I ran through, I picked up as much as I
could – distributed most to the kids and ate a little something myself – the smiles were all
worth it. This kept me motivated for the rest of the run.
Half way was Drumond and some people had said to be there in 5 hours and some said it was
better to be there in 5:20 – 5:35. I made it there in 5:40 = 30 minutes before the cut off. I was
running pretty steady by this point – actually feeling good. Some foot pain but after 45 KM,
the legs and the feet were pretty well numb!
The next bench mark for me was Ethembeni Children’s Home for the Physically Disabled and
Visually Impaired in Inchanga. It was special to see the children who had performed for us on
the bus tour and I seemed to recognize everyone of them. I gave them all a high or low five, all
with a lump in my throat. It was special.
Next was the climb up to the 1000 hills and Arthur's Seat. I did what I needed to do to have a
good second half – pick a leaf off of a weed and put it on his seat – touched his plaque and
tipped my hat – OK Arthur – help me get to the finish line – PLEASE
I made the Winston Park cut off at Caltex Garage, however, I could hear the announcer, just
after I went through saying that the 12 hour BUS was coming through – I had slowed down or
he had sped up – probably me slower. My legs were burning and slightly cramping, so I
applied a couple of Chinese medicine patches that I had with me to make sure the quads and
ham strings did not get too bad.
The “first” 12 hour bus caught me, so I decided to run with them. I am usually a loner but, this
guy “Buks” seemed to be keeping his group together and how he was managing the hills – up
and down – fit well with how I was running. It was good to let someone else make the
decisions – all I had to do was keep up. I am not sure how long I stayed with this group – but
it was for a good long time and I can not remember why I fell back, but I did
I ran for a while on my own but then the second 12 hour bus caught me and I started to run
with them. Everything was going fine however, when going down the hills this guy was
slowing his runners way too slow for me and coming down Fields Hill, I was jamming my toes
and all of a sudden my left hamstring went into a full cramp. I stopped dead in my tracks –
Well I thought, that is it – my race is over – I could not even walk – DAMN. Right then
another runner stopped and pulled out a package of pills and said forcefully = “TAKE ONE OF
THESE!” I looked at him and figured “what do I have to lose?” popped it into my mouth and
drank the satchel of water that he also gave me – he was gone. I moved my leg – WOW –
seemed ok – a moment later, I am running down the hill. I do NOT know what it was – maybe
just placebo – but who cares – I am back in this game!
I made the Pinetown cutoff by 5 minutes and started running with various people who I would
encourage and then they would in turn spur me on. The spectators were unbelievable in their
support. “ Don't walk Richard” , ”You are doing GREAT Richard” - “Keep going Richard” -
Man – I did not want to disappoint them, even more than I did not want to disappoint myself.
I had picked it up, actually feeling pretty good. Thank goodness that I had started out slow
and had energy left. I made the 45th Cutting cut off by 10 minutes, hence I had an hour to run
7 KM to the finish line. I felt good so I picked it up being careful not to go too hard that my leg
would cramp again. All the way in, I would recalculate the time at each kilometre marking – I
knew I was going to make it – just go steady and do not let the butterflies take over – I had
been sick earlier coming through Pinetown and being sick now could throw a monkey wrench
into my plan. All the way during the last 7 K ahead of me was the timing truck, so it was really
easy to keep track of my time – thank goodness
I can see the stadium – I passed the 3, then the 2 kilometre to go marker and all of a sudden,
some guy is beside me and asks – had I seen the 3 km marker? WHAT – I said of course but
he said we had not reached the 3 KM to go marker yet – OH GOD. I did not wear my glasses
on the run!!! - I look ahead – DAMN it looks like a 3 on the next marker – what to do – WAIT
– no it looks like a 2 – WHEW – it is the ONE K marker – I am OK – around the corner, and
then into the stadium – some guy falls in front of me – I go around him as others help him up
– onto the grass – Oh Oh – the last time at the end of the 50 K in Niagara the grass almost
did me in at the finish line – this time all is OK because it is solid and smooth underneath –
around around and YES – there it is – the finish line = 11:55:counting – final time 11:55:59
I came into the finish area and figured that I would stay there and see the end – what a
spectacle. I was relieved, tired, but really I was not drained or completely spent. I felt satisfied
with the accomplishment and it was without a doubt, the hardest thing I have done to date –
mentally. I can honesty say that I enjoyed it.
During the run, in a really down moment, I said to myself that I would never do it again –
finish or not – however after finishing and thinking about it, the whole Comrades experience
has to include a back to back up and down run!!!!!!
My Polar watch was 4KM short and my Milestonepod was less than 1 KM over
About 3 years ago after one of my Chi Running classes in Oakville, my co instructor Claude Demers
sent me a link to explain what the Comrades Marathon was all about. The reason for this, was that
Cathy Hopkins, one of the participants in our clinic, had already run it 2X and was at our clinic to get
tips on how to run downhill easier. Please have a look at what Claude sent me to read in May of 2013
Comrades for Beginners
This festered in my mind for a whole year, during which time, I was mentioning it to some of our
running group. Was it possible? Did we want to attempt it? Actually the conversation was good and a
lot of people seemed interested. I then contacted Cathy Hopkins to see if she would come to Sarnia and
give a talk about the race and about traveling to South Africa. We were also fortunate enough to have
Dr Gert Sclebusch, who is from South Africa working in Sarnia and running with us. He would come
to the meeting and fill in details about SA. On November 24th 2014 we had a great turn out = 30+
people and Cathy did a fantastic job selling her beloved Comrades (2016 was her 6th time – she is going
for her permanent GREEN BIB = 10X) Lots of interest for sure.
2016 was always the plan because it was a “down” year (more decent than accent) . You have to sign
up between September and November in the year before you want to run and even then it is not full
commitment, since you can sell an International Bib on line , if you can not attend. SO... everyone who
came to the talk had a full year to decide “IF” they were going to sign up in 2015 for 2016!
I also do long distance cycling and every 4 years I do the grand daddy of all amateur distance cycling
rides in France = Paris Brest Paris = 1231 KM in 90 hours. I had done it in 2007 and 2011 and was
signed up to do it in August of 2015. Why is this relevant you ask – well during the ride on August 18th
at 10:30 AM in France (5:30 AM here in NA) I closed my eyes on the bike and went head long into the
ditch at 811 KM. Broke my nose, concussion, broke both hands, 5 ribs and traumatized my whole right
since including my shoulder, hip and leg (tibia and fibula joints) I was hurt, and perhaps stupidly got
back on the bike and rode another 420 KM to finish in 89 hours 49 minutes. This little incident put me
out of commission for quite some time – needing time to get over the concussion and heal both of my
hands. I did nothing for the rest of August and most of September – even walking was a problem. I did
start to walk consistently in October, but I was really afraid that any hopes of Comrades was gone.
Based on the fact that I could sell my bib, I signed up for Comrades 2016 on October 20th, but was
really sceptical that I would even go!! Cathy Hopkins had a party in November = “ALL THINGS
COMRADES” Tim Westaway, Fred Unternahrer (With Cindy Robinson) also attended this session . It
was really great to hear from all those who had run the event and the excitement rubs off, as you all
know.
I started an earnest effort training on November 1st however my body was still hurting, hence my
progress was slow. You have to qualify for Comrades by running under a 5 hour marathon before May
1st. I picked Miami January 24th, hence 12 weeks would be my training for the marathon
Now, I am a Chi Running Instructor and I teach people how to feel and listen to their body, however
since my cycling accident, I really did not feel I was running well. I think I turned into the student who
needed feed back. After doing some investigation, I came up with a device Milestonepod.com , which
gives you feed back on impact, cadence, foot strike and more. The neatest thing is that you do not have
to start or stop the device – it knows what you are doing. I liked it so much that I now give it to all my
workshop participants for Chi Running to allow me to follow their training remotely and give them
feed back. Have a look http://milestonepod.com/ I also have the units for sale. I will give you some
screen shots of my comrades with the milestone pod later in this write up. I am really happy with this
device.
My training program was one that Tim Westaway was using – he is definitely a seasoned ultra runner,
and the one thing I know is to take advice from someone who has done the event or similar. His 9:17 at
Comrades proves, that, in fact he does know what he is doing. I adjusted the program to fit in my
Miami Marathon, Chili Half (with a marathon before the start = only longer run that I had planned = 65
km), Around the Bay, and Boston Marathon as lead up to Comrades. Tim's plan was back to back long
runs with easy, tempo and pace runs as well as some race pace during the long runs. He also included a
50% down week every 4 weeks, which really helps you recover and stay uninjured. I stuck to the
training, pretty well, although I did not do a lot of speed work because, my body was having a tough
time dealing simply with the mileage. I tried to do some strength training at OnEdge Fitness because I
know, at my age, strength can be a limiting factor. I just could not do both. If I worked out, my running
suffered, so I backed away.
Miami was a good marathon for me – not exactly what I wanted, however I did qualify with a 4:07
marathon ( after falling at 23 miles – on my right side even!) and actually won my age group AND I
did back to back runs, by doing a 23 km run the day after the marathon – it felt pretty good actually,
however probably did not take enough time to recover in the weeks after this marathon. My 65 km run
was next at the Chili Half in Burlington on March 6th. I got up that morning at 3AM and started to run
at 3:40 AM – including some stopping before starting the half marathon, I ran for 9 hours 18 minutes
with an average pace (including the stops) of 8:34 min per kilometre. Viewing the fact that I needed to
average an 8 minute kilometre to finish Comrades, I was pretty happy with my results – however I was
really really sore – my hips!! one day off and then 80 km the next week. Hmmm.. could I really
manage to run 90 km at my age without my body giving up??!!
I was really paying attention to the results on my milestonepod, because I wanted to make sure that my
impact was low, so as not to hurt myself, since I was doing a lot of the runs on the hills of Arkona. My
32KM training runs would have 400+ meters of accent and decent. Too much pounding would break
down my body.
Around the Bay was my next race on April 3rd – no taper – I was suppose to run it as a training run. I
felt good that morning – completed the 30K in 3 hours 5 minutes = pretty well at 6 minute kilometres –
I had ran 23 KM the day before! The next weekend I ran a 10K with my step daughter Lisa at Retina in
London in 55 minutes on April 10th. These two runs were faster than any of my training and when
piled on top of the long training runs, my body was close to being over trained . My chest was starting
to fill up and my feet were in constant pain!
By the way – all of my runs were done with both of my ankles and knees taped to keep the Tibia /
Fibula joints together. I forgot to tape a couple of times (probably lazy) and ended up back in Physio
Comrades is a Gun Start and Gun Finish – no matter where you are at the start, you MUST finish in 12
hours. The next corral move up point was under the 4 hour qualifying time. I had qualified for Boston
in Tokyo and signed up because I figured, the downhill run for the first 25 KM would be good training
for Comrades, and it was , except that I stupidly thought I could run Boston under 4 hours and went out
way too fast. Add up the last couple of weeks, factor in the long runs plus that 65 km run and what you
get is a guy who ran the first 35 KM with a 6 minute pace and then the wheels fell off – ended up with
a 4:40 – it would have been better to go out from the start at a 4:40 pace and not pound my body on the
way down the hills. It is what it is Boston on April 18th and then 6 weeks to get recovered and ready to
run Comrades – get rid of the cold, and congestion as well as try to heal really sore feet! I still finished
out the next couple of weeks with long runs but did back off of the total distance requirements – just
too sore – needed to get back to feeling good.
The closer Comrades came, the more intimidated I felt. I had done most of my training runs in an Altra
ONE 2.5 shoes but did most of the races in an old pair of Nike free with the toes and bunions cut out of
them. SO I focused on shoes and purchased 3 different pair of Nike Free Distance = horrible shoe –
sent them back. I finally purchased another pair of Atra ONE 2.5 – exactly like the ones I ran my
training in however scared for the distance because my feet were always burning when I ran! On top of
all of this, my right foot was horribly swollen with my big toe on that foot in constant pain and
throbbing. Intimidated or what!! I ran the total last week before leaving for SA in the pool, constantly
questioning myself about my ability to even run, let alone run 90 K in one go. Physio with Dave
Archer, Massage with Bethany Parker, and Reflexology with Lynn Sproviero. What more could I do.
Should I just cancel the trip and forget about this nonsense??!! In the end, I packed one pair of shoes
(so that I did not stress there with deciding on a shoe) and a couple of options for clothes (bought 2 pair
of new socks and washed the hell of them but also took the compression socks which I had worn in
both Miami and Boston and decided to give it a shot!!! Oh God – Stress or what!!
My total mileage from November 1st to May 29th training was 2333.2 KM over 330 hours
My wife and I have been to South Africa before, hence I knew that the local people and the country is
GREAT and Durban, where were staying, right on the Indian Ocean, is a perfect place to stay and run.
Nuala did not go this time, because of some health problems, plus our house had sold and she was
finishing up moving. There were 4 other couples who were all super to be with = Deb & Ken Walker,
Paula & Tim Westaway, Danielle Girard & Doug MacIsaac, and Cindy Robinson and Fred Unternahrer
We pretty well arrived at the same time on Wednesday May 25th after some long flights. Thursday AM
we all walked the 4 KM to the Expo venue for race kit pick up. Lots of suppliers and information about
Comrades there. Pretty exciting as the actual day grows closer. We walked back.
On Friday AM, the 5 guys running were taken by Ken Walker who had a car to the board walk at the
ocean front for a short run – 6 KM. It was great to stretch the legs, and although I struggled on that run,
I felt good that I could actually run!! Goodness – what was I going to do on race day?
On Saturday, Cindy, Fred and myself had booked a route tour. I wanted to do the tour for two reasons.
Sometimes when you are focused on running, you miss most of the route for scenery etc., hence to see
it ahead of time is good and also I wanted to visit the Ethembeni Children’s Home for the
Physically Disabled and Visually Impaired in Inchanga. My friend and manager of Staples in
Sarnia, Lynn Faubert bolstered my $50 purchase of school supplies for this school with a full
box of donated supplies, so I wanted to drop them off personally – thanks for your help Lynn.
I should have also fund raised, but eased my conscience by donating when at the school as
well. The course tour was worthwhile since I found out for sure that the course was NOT flat
(LOL). Comrades is in the process of training the next generation of ambassadors. Dave and
Jenny were from Pietermaritzburg - he had run the race 6 times and his wife joined him for 2
of those runs. Really Really a nice couple – she kept telling me about different things on the
course (which probably I did not take in) and he kept trying to ensure that I would be fine. He
actually asked how old I was and when I told him 70, he asked one of the former race directors
if there was an age category for 70 year old runners – sadly no – oldest group is Grand Master
which is 60 and up. Jenny said that she had run her first at 57 and if she could do it anyone
else could too. At the museum, I was interested to see that, in the inception of this race
everyone simply ran as they pleased , stopped to eat or rest – Hmmm – I did neither of
those!!!
As you can well imagine Saturday PM was met with very little sleep since we had to be up at 1
AM to leave at 2AM – we caught a bus at 2:45 AM to Pietermaritzburg. The cabbie who took
us to the start (or as it turned out – only close) was playing religious music and really did not
know where he was going. Tim paid him 100 Rand when he dropped us at the Hilton however
the Hilton people told him to take us to where the buses were. After driving around for
another 30 minutes, we ended up back at the Hilton. Our cab driver told us it was the “India”
mans fault who directed him = not really very christian – is it?? Ken gave him another 100R
The bus ride to the start was uneventful, and when we arrived, we needed a bathroom.
Everything was still locked up. Most of our guys were in B & C corral with me in F corral – we
split up and went our own way and with still 30 minutes to go, I made my way into the corral
to sit on the ground. I met a couple of people from SA. A guy who gave me advice to go out
slow – it was his 4th run and a lady, who's son was up in A corral. It was her 2nd time but she
had not run it for a number of years because she had a back operation with her spine pinned –
she showed me pictures on her phone!!!! She offered me pain killers for the run!!! I could not
believe that with a bad back she would be trying to mask any pain plus putting her kidneys at
risk. What some people will do to run a race. I NEVER take anything when I run or bike – not
even an aspirin – just not worth it.
With about 15 minutes to go = 5:15 AM, they open up the corrals and have us all move forward
– jammed together pretty tight. Chariots of Fire is played and Shosholoza is sung, as is the SA
anthem and then at 5:30 AM the Cock crows, small gun shot and big cannon sounds – we are
off = NOT. We do not even move. After about 2 minutes we start to move forward. It took me
3:40 seconds to get across the timing mats - but not to worry – my 12 hours started when the
gun went off!!
Right away I am finding it tough. A combination of not having run for a while, plus the crowd,
plus we are going slightly uphill!! Going through town you can see the ground and the
pavement because of street lights but once out of town, it becomes darker until the sun starts
to rise. Many people are shouting out to warn of traffic island dangers and others are
shouting for their friends – AND – lots of friendly people answer back when I say hello. I had
a hoodie on to start but right away got rid of it – too too hot! People at the start had told me
that it would be colder as we left the town and even colder as the sun started to rise. They said
I should leave my warmer clothes on – I think they be colder because they are use to the really
warm weather.
I struggled running – even had to run walk as we left town.
Just at day light, we turn a corner, and I swear I could see, at least a kilometre ahead of me –
all people right across the road. Man – did I feel terrible – run walk since I could not run
steady. Up and down – up and down. Bathroom – maybe that is what I need. Sure enough, at
about the third set of porta potties I find one that is not busy and duck inside for much needed
relief however it does not come fast, hence when I am out again, I am surrounded with people
from H corral. Damn I have fallen behind. Never mind I feel better and I start to get into a
rhythm. I am in one of the valley's and I feel myself sweating. Even at the sub 20 deg C
temperature, it feels hot to me – remember, in Canada, we have had NO hot weather, hence I
am acclimatizing on the run! (so to speak). I take off the new balance “Canada” shirt that I
bought for Tokyo off to peal down to the “Canada” singlet with my bibs pinned on it. Whew –
that is better – I look to the side lines – a young man stands there waving a ragged shirt,
begging for clothing – I shout at him and throw – he scores, pretty well a brand new shirt –
exactly his size – I am happy about that.
The first few nutrition stations are only hydration ones with no food. The water and energy
drinks are in plastic satchels which are approximately 250 mils or 1 cup in size. You bite the
corner and drink the liquid. “IF” you squeeze too tight when you are ripping open the corner,
you are sure to spray yourself or the person next to you. It takes me a number of times to get it
close to right, by which time I do not care any more, since I am dumping some on me anyway.
They are easy to carry (in multiples) so volunteers hand out in 2's & 3's and most times they
are cold. One of the disturbing things about these satchels is that when someone steps on
them, they sound like a shotgun going off. I never did get use to this, jumping every time it
happened and when a course car came by us, it was even worse when the cars ran over them!
I am running pretty good now – not fast by any measure but now running steady, and only
walking when the hills are long and steep – wait a minute – they are mostly long and steep –
but even then I only walk for a minute at a time and run up most of the hills (slowly). I have
caught the first 12 hour BUS (Pace group), which I had fallen behind. I love going down hills
and allow myself to be pulled down by gravity, simply letting my heels float up behind me. The
pace group is large and the “driver” holds them back going down the hills – too much trauma
for me so I go to the side and run around them while going down a hill. Again I am running
steady and gradually make up some of my bathroom lost time. I look back and I have a good
lead on the pace group, although I can still hear the “driver shouting out his commands. They
do a great job of motivating and keeping everyone going steady.
The stations now include food. Crackers, boiled potatoes, oranges, bananas, some items with
salt and coke. I do not drink soda EVER – except today – I drank coke and it tasted good. I did
not eat a lot however I did have some potatoes and some of the cookies. After leaving each one
of the stations, I noticed that there were children along side of the road with their hands out. I
finally figured it out and from then on, every station I ran through, I picked up as much as I
could – distributed most to the kids and ate a little something myself – the smiles were all
worth it. This kept me motivated for the rest of the run.
Half way was Drumond and some people had said to be there in 5 hours and some said it was
better to be there in 5:20 – 5:35. I made it there in 5:40 = 30 minutes before the cut off. I was
running pretty steady by this point – actually feeling good. Some foot pain but after 45 KM,
the legs and the feet were pretty well numb!
The next bench mark for me was Ethembeni Children’s Home for the Physically Disabled and
Visually Impaired in Inchanga. It was special to see the children who had performed for us on
the bus tour and I seemed to recognize everyone of them. I gave them all a high or low five, all
with a lump in my throat. It was special.
Next was the climb up to the 1000 hills and Arthur's Seat. I did what I needed to do to have a
good second half – pick a leaf off of a weed and put it on his seat – touched his plaque and
tipped my hat – OK Arthur – help me get to the finish line – PLEASE
I made the Winston Park cut off at Caltex Garage, however, I could hear the announcer, just
after I went through saying that the 12 hour BUS was coming through – I had slowed down or
he had sped up – probably me slower. My legs were burning and slightly cramping, so I
applied a couple of Chinese medicine patches that I had with me to make sure the quads and
ham strings did not get too bad.
The “first” 12 hour bus caught me, so I decided to run with them. I am usually a loner but, this
guy “Buks” seemed to be keeping his group together and how he was managing the hills – up
and down – fit well with how I was running. It was good to let someone else make the
decisions – all I had to do was keep up. I am not sure how long I stayed with this group – but
it was for a good long time and I can not remember why I fell back, but I did
I ran for a while on my own but then the second 12 hour bus caught me and I started to run
with them. Everything was going fine however, when going down the hills this guy was
slowing his runners way too slow for me and coming down Fields Hill, I was jamming my toes
and all of a sudden my left hamstring went into a full cramp. I stopped dead in my tracks –
Well I thought, that is it – my race is over – I could not even walk – DAMN. Right then
another runner stopped and pulled out a package of pills and said forcefully = “TAKE ONE OF
THESE!” I looked at him and figured “what do I have to lose?” popped it into my mouth and
drank the satchel of water that he also gave me – he was gone. I moved my leg – WOW –
seemed ok – a moment later, I am running down the hill. I do NOT know what it was – maybe
just placebo – but who cares – I am back in this game!
I made the Pinetown cutoff by 5 minutes and started running with various people who I would
encourage and then they would in turn spur me on. The spectators were unbelievable in their
support. “ Don't walk Richard” , ”You are doing GREAT Richard” - “Keep going Richard” -
Man – I did not want to disappoint them, even more than I did not want to disappoint myself.
I had picked it up, actually feeling pretty good. Thank goodness that I had started out slow
and had energy left. I made the 45th Cutting cut off by 10 minutes, hence I had an hour to run
7 KM to the finish line. I felt good so I picked it up being careful not to go too hard that my leg
would cramp again. All the way in, I would recalculate the time at each kilometre marking – I
knew I was going to make it – just go steady and do not let the butterflies take over – I had
been sick earlier coming through Pinetown and being sick now could throw a monkey wrench
into my plan. All the way during the last 7 K ahead of me was the timing truck, so it was really
easy to keep track of my time – thank goodness
I can see the stadium – I passed the 3, then the 2 kilometre to go marker and all of a sudden,
some guy is beside me and asks – had I seen the 3 km marker? WHAT – I said of course but
he said we had not reached the 3 KM to go marker yet – OH GOD. I did not wear my glasses
on the run!!! - I look ahead – DAMN it looks like a 3 on the next marker – what to do – WAIT
– no it looks like a 2 – WHEW – it is the ONE K marker – I am OK – around the corner, and
then into the stadium – some guy falls in front of me – I go around him as others help him up
– onto the grass – Oh Oh – the last time at the end of the 50 K in Niagara the grass almost
did me in at the finish line – this time all is OK because it is solid and smooth underneath –
around around and YES – there it is – the finish line = 11:55:counting – final time 11:55:59
I came into the finish area and figured that I would stay there and see the end – what a
spectacle. I was relieved, tired, but really I was not drained or completely spent. I felt satisfied
with the accomplishment and it was without a doubt, the hardest thing I have done to date –
mentally. I can honesty say that I enjoyed it.
During the run, in a really down moment, I said to myself that I would never do it again –
finish or not – however after finishing and thinking about it, the whole Comrades experience
has to include a back to back up and down run!!!!!!
My Polar watch was 4KM short and my Milestonepod was less than 1 KM over
MY TOES DO NOT TELL 100% HEEL
AT FINISH LINE - NOT TOO BAD
ALL CAN WEAR THE SHIRT!
TRAINING 4 COMRADES
A BEER AFTER FINISHING