FREEDOM RUNNERS – THE FIRST WEEK

Since returning to the UK over a week ago I have been trying to find the right words to describe our amazing run across the Freedom Trail in South Africa. I doubt I have the vocabulary to describe such a beautiful Country, neither will I be able to truly tell you what it was like to run 2,000km, but I will do my best!

Three years ago I had a dream and in September this year after two years of planning, preparation and organizing I was finally on the plane heading to South Africa for the start of that dream with my fellow running nut Samantha Gash from Australia. One part of me was sad as I was leaving HWMBO behind and wouldn’t see him for a month, but the other half was extremely excited  about the adventure that lay ahead.

The kit acquisition had started months before and my spare-room bed was covered, it was difficult to see the duvet underneath the mountain of bottles, packs, trainers etc. There was no way everything I needed to take was going to fit into one bag which was rather unfortunate as this would mean extra expense. As well as the running clothes I also took out 4 pairs of Hokas, three the same size, these I would alternate each day and a larger size in case my feet swelled – thankfully these were never used. (I will at some stage make a list of the things I took with me – for those who might be interested).

I had two things that were part of the essential packing list.  The first was a small bar-broach that was given to me by my Godmother when I was Christened and has come on every race I have done since since 2001 and the other was a collage of my family that I had put together so every time I needed a “hug” all I needed to do was look at the picture.

All the crew were to be Samantha’s  friends and contacts, none of whom I had met, so you can imagine some of the worries that were going through my head! I have been so used to my utterly brilliant crew on previous races and would have none of them with me this time (until HWMBO turned up half way through). My fears were to be allayed as the crew were really very good, dispelling any worries I had at the start.

The initial team consisted of Mathieu Dore – Head crew, Tom Bell and Steve Young – Documentary guys, Max Beauchamp, crew/photographer and of course Samantha Gash and myself running! (Well someone’s got to do it!!)

On arrival at Cape Town airport I was met by my marvellous friend Louise (we had run the MdS together in 2001), a great chance for a catch up before meeting the rest of the team later that evening.

We spent the next few days in Cape Town in preparation – testing the satellite phone up to the top of Table Mountain to see if we could get a signal – a cable car up and a hike down (at the time I remember thinking how stupid I was doing this type of hiking SO close to the big run as I could have fallen or twisted an ankle, what a plonker).

As usually happens with me before a big event I don’t sleep well, it took me ages to get to sleep and once slumber had overcome me I dropped off only to wake up two hours later. I hoped this would sort it’s self out otherwise I was going to be exhausted!!

Finally we were off to Durban where we picked up our fantastic VW Amorak, perfect for the expedition, filled it immediately with everyone’s luggage and then had to work out how to fit all the food in! With a bit of squashing, squeezing, re-packing  and bags on our laps we headed off to Pietermaritzburg and our first of many accommodations over the next 33 nights – Aintree Lodge.   Having dropped everything off at the B&B Tom and Steve headed back out to pick up the bike and then back to Durban Airport to collect Mathieu and Iggy (our personal protection officer – a truly marvellous guy who became a real asset to the team and provided much matrimonial advice to the young australians/ Canadians in the crew!). Finally everyone was together and tomorrow was D-Day!

We had received a message from the Freedom Challenge organizers on the evening of the 23rd saying that they considered it extremely unsafe for us to run from the City Hall in Pietermaritzburg (PMB) even with a vehicle behind us as there would be lots of traffic (even at 5.30 a.m. when we planned to start) and no hard shoulder for us to run on, so it was suggested that we drive to a certain point (approx. 20km further along the route) and start from there. Although not very happy with this it certainly made sense and we felt it was important to take their advice. However on the plus side we could add 20km to the end of the day and actually finish at our accommodation at Allendale rather than 20k short and spend time having to drive back and forth. Also day 4 was a BIG day in terms of mileage and terrain so by adding 20km extra to the first day it would mean lees to do on the long day 4.

D-day had arrived and on the morning of the 24th I was up and awake at 3.30am, dressed, packed and heart rate high (no change there then!!).The boys had the task of packing the vehicle which took longer than they had anticipated (this became a very slick operation by the end of the trip!),  meaning our departure that should have been at about 5.30 am was delayed until about 6. I have to admit I found this very frustrating as I’m not very good at being delayed but there was no way the boys could have packed any faster it really was a job and a half. Finally we were on our way to the start of our run along the Freedom Trail.

On reaching the starting point Samantha and I made sure we had some water, packs on and we were ready to go – PHEW this was it, no going back now! South Africa is a country that I have a real love for so you can imagine how much I was looking forward to seeing some of the most beautiful parts while doing what I enjoyed – running!

During the planning process HWMBO asked me what would happen if both Samantha and I became injured during the run and couldn’t continue – this run had become much more than two women running across the Freedom Trail, it was about running to support South African young women to help them continue in education and therefore giving them choices about their future – the answer was simple, we would have to find people to continue the journey for us, I know now that our crew would have done it without a question.

I thought I was going to have a heart attack my heart rate was so high, we knew the world was watching us so this could either be the biggest success or the biggest flop in my running history, either way it didn’t matter. I knew if my body behaved I was capable of running the distance and my mind-set was strong. By the simple fact that we were both there and attempting something that many people wouldn’t even consider doing was testament in itself that we were focused and determined to complete the journey especially as the cause we were running for was/is so important to us.

I was feeling a lot more relaxed about an hour into the run (once I actually realized this was it!!) The scenery took my breath away, round every bend it seemed to get better and better.  The river crossings started on day one (I lost count of how many we actually waded across during the trip. After attempting to keep my feet dry (failed!) on subsequent water crossings I just waded across, far easier and quicker.

A lot of this first section of the route I had seen before when I had come over in November for a Recce, but it was wonderful to see it properly from a runner’s point of view. It was very hilly today but the last section was amazing with views overlooking villages & looking down into the valley below, this really felt like the true Africa.

My main concern for the first few days was that my knees wouldn’t hold up. In January I had suffered from a very bad over-extension during The Spine injury that had only really 95% recovered by the time I flew out to South Africa, so you can imagine my constant worry that it wouldn’t behave or one slip and I would be back to square one again. I had to really make an effort to stop thinking about it and think positive thoughts – luckily for me someone up there was looking after me and apart from some slight swelling at the end of each day (fine in the morning) it didn’t cause any more problems. It was such a relief to get the first day under our belts and more importantly I was OK!

The first week of the expedition went by in a flash. On the second day we as we were running down towards a village we were joined by some of the school children who ran with us for about 2km, this was a great reminder to me as to the reasons for this run.

Due to the added 20 km or so at the end of each day we had an hour and half drive on the 4th morning to get back to where we had finished the day before. The first few kms were on sand, so poor Tom, who was driving, could hardly see in front of his nose due to the huge amounts of sand being churned up and the boys in the open back of the VW had turned orange by the time we arrived at our destination!

The landscape changed each day and became more and more beautiful. The weather also varied. It was very cold for the first half and hour or so in the mornings until the sun came up, once the sun appeared I could immediately feel it’s worth, fantastic.   There was only one morning when it rained but it thankfully didn’t last for any significant time.  The rain absolutely tipped it down on the 5^th night –  we were staying at a beautiful lodge called Ongeluk’s Nek Nature Reserve, I stayed inside and caught up with my diary while Samantha and the boys went outside onto the veranda and watched the thunder storm.

We ran through and saw so many beautiful and amazing things in the first 7 days,  I could be here for a week telling you about it. We ran through forests, passed a motor museum in the middle of nowhere, ran though a private game reserve – game spotting antelope and wildebeest. When I first saw the wildebeest it was from a distance so told Samantha that they were buffalo and they could kill us – not sure she was very happy with me but was delighted after leaving the reserve to find out they weren’t actually buffalo!! Crossed endless rivers, saw a giant Heron (they are huge just in case you have never seen one!) had Springbok jump over the fence and across the track in front of us and on one occasion a warthog ran out in front of us! There was a lot of single track, rocks and mountains.

Day 5 we seemed to spend the day running through various villages. The houses are called rondavel’s, circular houses with corrugated roofs but painted in the brightest of colours, yellows, pinks, purples & bright green, they could be seen for miles around. As it was Sunday we passed very smartly dressed ladies wearing their church clothes and the music coming out of the churches was quite beautiful.

 I particularly love the colour of these rondavels!

I’m not a naturally gifted technical runner, however I do love trail running, but other people make rock hopping look so easy – I on the other hand clomp over the rocks instead of gliding! On these sections I  happily remained at the back so I could do my own thing, I always wore my ankle supports that worked extremely well (they were designed to protect my ligaments & tendons that had been badly damaged in 2008 during my JOGLE World Record) and took my time – nice and steady. If you were to compare Samantha and I on these sections she is the elegant gazelle and I’m the baby elephant following- BUT I always managed to get down in one piece and I think got better as the run went on (I hope!!

 The most uncomfortable night’s sleep was in a traditional African village called Vuvu (night 6) – on the border with Lesotho. After a very good long day of running we finished at the school where they fed and watered us.  At about 7.30 p.m. we were taken by the locals (without our luggage that had to be locked up for safety) to our accommodation for the night – a home stay with one of the families. For me it felt very dusty (not great for my asthma) and although I was with three of the boys, as a group we had been split up which caused problems the following morning when trying to leave. I didn’t re-hydrate properly as there were no loos and I didn’t fancy going outside in the middle of the night and get bitten by one of the many dogs so decided it was easier just not drinking!! Sadly this was not the experience we were hoping for, although the villagers were delightful.

The following morning we climbed to the highest point of the Freedom Trail, 2,700m above sea level, there was no path as such to follow and at one point we ended up hiking through thorn bushes (one minute the GPS had us following the track the next we were heading in the wrong direction – oops!). The views were absolutely spectacular and literally took my breath away. The wind was so strong near the top that at one point we were virtually blown off our feet. I thankfully was given one of Samantha’s poles that helped me keep my balance.   Coming off the mountain we had a long 18 km run down to Rhodes. At this point we were running into a strong headwind with ice-cold rain, the only way we could keep warm was to keep running, the second we stopped the shivering began. We both ran faster than perhaps we should have done but the reward was a lovely room with a roaring fireplace, a bath and a massage.

 

A perfect end to a fantastic week.

I had to take this picture, it made me giggle – I have never seen such large “Balls”!!!

The best piece of kit I had brought out with me (not including my running kit) was my hot water bottle, everyone teased me about it but it kept me warm at the end of each day and in bed. In South Africa there is no central heating in the houses they are kept warm by fires, so once the sun goes down at that time of year it gets cold very quickly.

The boys were fantastic and looked after us well, they took it in turns to run with us each day and entertained us every time we arrived at the car – they were absolutely wonderful.

At the end of the first week Samantha and I were working well as a team, my body was holding up well and I had no niggles, blisters or issues so felt very happy, I hoped this would continue.