NAMIBIAN DESERT CHALLENGE 2010
The Namibian Desert Challenge is a 220km 5 day self sufficiency staged race in the Sossusvlei area of Namibia, which takes in mountains, sand dunes, Canyons, Water crossings, games, intense heat and campsites in some beautiful locations.
The training was now done – or lack of it in my case, with only 3 ½ weeks to prepare for this event, due to viral meningitis. Tim and I headed out to South Africa for the start of the Namibian Desert Challenge, my first of 5 ultra challenges for 2010.
After a good flight and a great day catching up with friends on the Friday, Tim (who was part of the crew) Andy Masters and I caught a plane to Windhoek in Namibia. The flight was only two hours but once there we had to wait for other competitors/crew to arrive, eventually heading off to Sossusvlei Lodge – a 5 hour drive away.
Although it was a long drive the time passed quickly with a lot of talking and laughing, game spotting (gemsbok, springbok and ostrich), and enjoying the scenery. We eventually arrived at the lodge in time for the race briefing, though we were the last of all the competitors – some of whom had already had a day here to rest and acclimatize.
While the other competitors went off for dinner, Andy, Knil and myself had to go through registration and have our kit checked, once done we were able to join everyone for our final supper – which was delicious.
With eating over it was all a bit of a rush as I needed to change into my running kit, get everything into my backpack that I needed for the race and lock my case up which was being left behind. I usually like to take my time over this to check that I have everything, but because we were late arriving the whole process was extremely rushed – never mind, eventually everything was sorted and the competitors piled into the lorries to take us to our first campsite. I was thrilled to see that I had a tent to myself – originally I was supposed to be sharing with Andy but as he snores it was a blessing!! (Sorry Andy!) Tim was in the crew’s quarters. The night before a race I never sleep well and the first night wasn’t helped as Jackals decided it was an excellent time for a chat, waking us all up as they wandered through the camp site!
DAY 1 42.2km
The start of the race today was at Sossusvlei Lodge, my heart rate was high with all the adrenaline pumping round my body, finally 1,2 3… we were off.
I set off at a comfortable pace but was finding it difficult to get my breathing right, Buys – winner of last year’s race, was running with me, great to have someone to talk to, but eventually had to pull back a bit as talking and trying to get my breathing just wasn’t working! Left to my own devises the body settled into a good rhythm and I was able to enjoy the views. The first part of the route was following a sandy jeep track heading towards the base of the mountains. Within 5 minutes of starting I spotted my first game of day, some Gemsbok – put a huge smile on my face. Andrew Collier overtook me looking very comfortable and relaxed. I arrived at the first CP in a relatively good time feeling good, filled my water bottles and headed off toward CP2 – 9km away.
The temperatures were now beginning to get very hot and I stupidly had mislaid my electrolytes for today which was going make me struggle later. The route from CP1 to 2 was a big loop round the base of the mountain, very sandy in parts but the views were fantastic. Arriving at CP2 I was feeling very dehydrated and lacking in energy, the temperature was now in the mid 40’s. Great to see Amy at the CP, she was one of the medics and was her usual cheerful self, she helped fill my bottles, and then off I set to the finish 17km away.
The final section of the day was for me the hardest part of the whole race. Although not a difficult run I couldn’t get enough water down me and also knew that I had to be careful with the amount I drank in order not to run out before the end. The final section took me up into the mountains, through and out the other side where I had a long steep descent to the bottom, crossed over a fence line (as instructed) and continued along a very sandy track. I got slightly confused at one stage as there was a set of steps about a 1km further down the track and I could see one of the race markers on the other side – as I didn’t want to go the wrong way I climbed over the steps to double check – thankfully the arrow was pointing me in the direction I had been going so climbed back over and continued on my way!
About 5km before the end I had run out of water – the only time this has ever happened to me before is when I got lost for more than an hour during the marathon day of the Augrabies in 2006. With the relentless heat I had nothing left, I felt completely dehydrated and running was making me feel even worse so I walked (which I hate doing) finally seeing Tim (a marvelous sight) who pointed me towards the finish. I told him I needed water urgently, so he ran – not something he is used to doing and shouted at the crew on the finish line who had a MARVELLOUS bottle of cold water opened as I crossed the line. This was the first time I have EVER walked through a finish line, not impressed with myself – just goes to show how important electrolytes are! Finished in 5hrs 12 mins and 3rd overall.
DAY 2 44km
Start – Elim Dune The start today was earlier than yesterday (about 6.45) which was marvellous as it would mean less running in the heat of the day. The first section was undulating but all very runnable so that was great, I also had my ration of electrolytes which made all the difference. Andrew and I arrived at CP1 within minutes of each other – 14.7km, from here Amy pointed us in the right direction and I left having filled up my water bottles and downed an orange juice (such a treat!) CP2 was 9.2km away but competitors had to find their own routes – sounds easy but when you go into a dip you lose any sense where you are going and the tree that you were aiming for seems to look like every other tree! At this point Andrew and I were running together, which was lovely, firstly to have company and secondly to have someone else to back you up as to whether you are going the right way or not! Having agreed where we were going this section was relatively easy and we arrived at CP2 at the base of a dune. Once again the temperatures had soared so a quick splash of water over my head and neck, filled up my bottles and we headed off up the dunes towards CP3 – 10km away.
This section was tough – not only were you climbing but it was extremely sandy which made running difficult – for every step forward you took about 3 back so we marched most of this section and ran the parts we could arriving to our surprise at CP3 faster than we thought!
Having topped up my water, Andrew told me to go on as he wanted to get the sand out of his trainers, this I did feeling sure that he would catch me up in no time.
The final section to the finish was 12km away but thankfully downhill. I was feeling marvellous at this stage so ran but kept on checking behind me to see where Andrew was – no sign of him so I continued on my way. The Finish line just didn’t seem to appear and by this time I was running in a dried up river bed where running was hard going – I met Terry on his quad bike who said I had 2km to go – thank goodness, so continued to run knowing the end was in sight.
The 2km went on for ages and I got rather disheartened as I couldn’t understand why – I was running at a reasonable pace and should have got there by now – Terry re-appeared and apologised saying that I now had exactly 1.3km to go! Distance and mental psychology are hugely important to an ultra runner and I know Terry was very embarrassed by his earlier misinformation! I took another look behind me to check to see if Andrew had caught me up, still no sign of him but I did see another runner dressed in black – OH NO – WHO had caught me up? I was about to win my first ever stage of a race and wasn’t about to let some other runner take the glory after all my hard work so picked up the pace – I was virtually sprinting at this stage – I rounded the corner to find the finish – what a fantastic sight that was. I won the stage for the day in a time of 5hrs 22 mins.
It turned out that the runner I thought was chasing me was in fact a member of the crew out on a training run – how silly did I feel!!!
Once there were enough people at the finish we were then bused to our campsite – a stunning location surrounded by mountains and a huge privilege as we were camping in the National Park, not previously been done – beats staying in any smart hotel with those views!
DAY 3 42.2km
We started at about 6.45am today as it was going to be another scorcher of a day. I set off along the sandy jeep track heading towards the mountains, followed in hot pursuit by Andrew and Sam. Thankfully there was a member of the crew at a right hand turn early on in this stage – vital as I think most of us would have missed it and continued into oblivion!
I followed the track and ran across a very rocky pan where we could see the flag at the top of a hill that we were going to have to climb! Terry was at the top to make sure that everyone went to the highest point and didn’t take a short cut!
Sam had caught me up at this stage and we were lucky enough to have a jackal jump out right in front of us – not sure who got more of a fright the jackal or us!!
Once at the top of the hill we then ran down to CP1 12.5km where we were joined by Andrew. I grabbed my water and set off nice and easy knowing the boys would catch me up. I continued running down the path, round a watering hole and heading towards the next CP 12km away. Again the running at this stage wasn’t too bad but I was worried that today I would get lost! I crossed over the road and followed the signs to get back onto the track (not easy!) The temperature was once again getting hotter and I knew I was drinking too quickly but I was feeling very dehydrated and wasn’t able to quench my thirst. The boys caught me up – all of us at this stage had run out of water but thankfully we saw Terry on his quad bike and he topped up our bottles. Due to the heat and the distances between some of the CPs the organizers were fantastic and would supply water along the route to competitors.
From CP2 we had to follow the track until we got through the mountain – first problem was the track came to a T junction – which way to go?…… out came the map!! Having decided which way to go we headed off along a flat slightly rocky area towards the mountains – second problem; the track then went left and right and disappeared – so again out came the map and we had to decide which way to go. We opted for what we thought was the most sensible route – straight on through the river bed. This might sound easy but it was full of boulders, we were constantly climbing up and down gullies, this section was completely un-runnable and we kept checking we were going in the right direction, picking our way between the boulders! We saw a quad bike in the distance but it seemed to be miles away and high up on the right hand side – it didn’t make sense as we were told to head for the middle of the mountain range!
Having come out the other side we met Gary on a quad bike who thankfully told us that we were to continue down the track for a bit then we would see the pyramid rock on the left hand side – this was where CP 3 was to be found. A huge relief as by then we were sure we had gone wrong. This section seemed to go on forever – we even saw a couple of snakes here – gave me the fright of my life as one of them was heading straight towards me – jumped away very quickly I can tell you! We crossed over sandy rocky terrain plus a few gullies and long grass. Finally arriving together at CP3 10km – a fantastic sight to behold!
After a quick sort out, cool down we headed off for the final 6km to the end. This section was all fairly easy running, but Sam was struggling a bit at this stage and told Andrew and I to go on – having run virtually the whole day together the last thing we were going to do was leave anyone behind, so we decided on a walk/run strategy which seemed to work well. The finish at the Maringa Reservoir was in sight – the flags were flying and a cool dip in the reservoir awaited us – Andrew, Sam and I finished together winning the stage in a time of 5hrs 17 mins. A great day, fantastic company and I felt hadn’t pushed myself too hard, so still had plenty in the tank for the long day tomorrow.
DAY 4 – 56km
My aim today was to win the stage – I like the longer distances, my legs didn’t feel as though I had done any running at all which I was really pleased about and slightly surprised. The first section of the race was 9.5km and we had been given very strict instructions that we had to follow the tracks – anyone taking a short cut would be instantly disqualified from the race. We set out from the camp down a rocky jeep track where thankfully they had put large arrows, using the rocks and stones on the ground, on the sections where mistakes could be made. I continued along the track until the fence line where a member of the crew had been posted to show us which way to go once we had climbed over the fence. The reason for this is because to our left were the canyons, unseen even only a few yards away and any lack of concentration could have led to a dramatic and nasty drop of some 30 feet or more and had we gone off course we could have ended up at the bottom!
Having climbed over the fence I headed across a grassy/rocky section back onto the track and turned left where I could see a member of the crew. I went down into the canyon, an extraordinary cutting in the otherwise flat terrain that had been formed by many years or water erosion, where I followed the route round until I saw Tim, who was there to help competitors through the water! We had been warned that there may be water and that it was possibly up to knee height. However Tim warned me that it was actually to chest height and that he was now available to assist with the crossing! Usually I would leave my trainers on and just wade through the water, but I didn’t know how much sand was the other side so I took my trainers/socks off and with Tim’s help waded up to my chest in the water – it was extremely squelchy under food, not a nice feeling! Once across I walked over more boulders to the next small bit of water, having gone through I put my trainers back on. At this point Isabella (one of the Athena girls, who I had met before at the Cape Odyssey and knew to be a strong runner) overtook me as she had made the wise decision to leave her trainers on. However, I soon made up the time and overtook her again.
I am no mountain goat, but today I felt strong and ran over the boulders and rocks without a problem. The canyons were stunning and running through them was amazing – only wished I had more time to enjoy the scenery!
CP1 was at the end of the Canyon, here I only needed to fill up one bottle and hurried on my way as Isabella was hot on my heels.
I followed the track from CP1 heading up and out of the canyon – I was able to run all of this section, even the hills – I felt great – in fact I was feeling marvellous! When I looked back I could see a couple of runners behind, but quite a way away, and decided to pick up my pace and put a bit of distance between us.
I arrived at CP2 (7.2km) in good time and was given instructions to the next CP – I did get a bit flustered here as I was worried I would get lost, but I was assured that it was straight forward! The first part to CP3 was along the road – I ran on the sand beside the road which went on for ages but eventually I was able to cut off to the right and head towards the dunes – as instructed I didn’t go too high but kept to the middle section. Looking back I still couldn’t see any runners. This section wasn’t too bad, undulating and sandy. I arrived at CP3 still feeling marvellous!
From CP3 to CP4 11km it was a case of following the dune line (some of the most magnificent dunes I have ever seen and incredibly these were on both sides of me towering like mountains in the highlands of Scotland) – the vehicles weren’t able to get to us at this stage because of the terrain we were running in, so making sure I rationed my water was very important. I arrived at CP4 to find Tim and Mike there. We had been told at this CP that we could count the number of dunes (5) to get to Dune 45 which was the finish line. I looked at the unending horizon of sand and dunes, none of which seemed to have a start or finish and realized that counting and being sure that I knew what I was counting was some sort of a joke! – no one seemed to know exactly what I was heading for, so I did get slightly grumpy at this stage – the downside to being in the lead is that you have no one to follow and just have to believe in yourself. I took a couple of minutes out to look at the map which then remained firmly in my hands! Thankfully I had paid attention at the briefing and remembered that we had been told that the Dune was on the other side of the road (which wasn’t shown on the map) so after crossing the open pan I finally saw cars in the distance – I headed towards them, crossed the road and continued heading towards Dune 45 – feeling more confident.
There was a sandy track running along the side of the road which I ran on, the tourists, who had come to see Dune 45, thought it was extremely funny seeing some nutter running along the road in such high temperatures – however, they all waved and cheered, which always gives me a boost. (Dune 45 takes its name because it is exactly 45kms from the sea and is also the 45th dune from the sea!) I then saw a very small sign by the road saying “45” and just beyond to the left were the flags for the finish – what a wonderful sight that was. These flags were at the base of this massive dune and I quickly remembered that this was not actually the finish – we had to summit the dune and return again to the finish line. Now I was beginning to hate the organizers!! Elation at reaching the flags had turned to distress at the thought of scaling such a monster. Each competitor was allowed up to 10 minutes if they wanted before summiting Dune 45 which stands in excess of 170m high! I grabbed some water, gave Tim a kiss and continued up the Dune with the camera man following me – so no swearing allowed!
Half way up I saw a bird to my right and remember thinking it was flying very low – in fact, I was extremely high! I reached the top and looked around at the view – simply stunning, it was worth the effort and even better our campsite for the night was at the base of this awsesome Dune!
Running down again was the best part – I finished and won the stage in 6hrs 13 minutes which meant I was now in the lead, arriving an hour before the next competitor, Isabella, who had run a hell of a race today.
To make today even more special, friends of my parents who were holidaying in Namibia on seeing one of the CPs went and asked what was happening – when they heard it was an ultra they asked if I was running and were told that I was winning – so they came to the finish to see me – a very emotional moment for me. I have known the Nasons all my life, so to see them was just the best ending to a great day. They were here by coincidence photographing rare birds…., in the end that included me – though “rare” in my case was not sufficient to describe my state as I felt “well done”.
DAY 5 – 26km
Today our instructions were to look out for the human marker at about 10-11km where we would then climb up a dune – easy!
The first section of the race today was flat, rocky, sandy terrain. When I got to about 10km I started looking to my left for the human marker – at about 11-12km still couldn’t see anything. At this point there was a section that went off to the left, I took a slight diversion and headed off towards this just to make sure I didn’t miss anything – wrong way! So I continued running in the direction I had been going originally, when I then spotted the Kinetic flag at the top of the dune (silly me!) with Terry standing beside it. This little diversion had lost me about 5 minutes which I wasn’t happy about. Once at the top of the dune I ran down the other side to CP1 16km. From there I ran through a river bed and after a several kms turned right and headed towards the start of “Big Daddy”, the second highest sand Dune in the world!
There was no running up this dune – the first section was very steep, I walked along an upwards sloping ridge – did worry that one foot wrong and I would fall all the way to the bottom! Sufferers of vertigo would struggle here. The dune had many turns and ridges to it and just when you think you are near the top there is another bit to summit! Thankfully I reached the flag at the top of “Big Daddy” having stopped a couple of times to “admire the view” – (needed a rest in other words!), before I descended into the deadvlei below (apparently one of the 80 things you have to see before you die!) I checked my map to confirm the way down – there was NO way I was going to run all the way down to have to climb up again!!
Kevin, who had made ground on me when I went slightly off course, came up the dune behind me – I double checked with him that this was the right way to go! He agreed and off I went down the Dune. The first part was hard sand so running down wasn’t as easy as it should have been – I seemed to slip and slide if I went too fast, but once into the softer sand I dug my heels in and went down like a sledge! Once again because of the heat I had very nearly run out of water at the top of the dune so was very pleased to see CP2 at the far end of the vlei. There were lots of tourists there who probably thought I was mad but cheered me on anyway.
Having reached CP2 poor Amy was only able to give me a drop of water as they hadn’t managed to get enough to the CP – thankfully there was more about a 1km away. I spotted Andy at the top of the sand so went in his direction and he then told me where the water would be. After finding the water and refilling (lovely cold water) the guys told us to cut across left towards the trees where we would find a member of the crew to point us in the right direction – so I dutifully went left as instructed but couldn’t find anyone – PANIC – what was I supposed to do now? I was dithering now not sure which way to turn and saw Kevin coming towards me so we went on together, found the member of crew who said the finish was just round the corner! Kevin and I relieved, ran to the finish together completing the final stage in 3hrs 17 minutes!
I won the event in a time of 25hrs 23 mins which I was really pleased about considering my bad start to the year.
It was wonderful cheering all the other competitors in – everyone had worked hard to get to the finish line – no one more so than Ian Howard, blistered and sore, who completed the event in just over 44hrs – it didn’t matter what the race threw at him, how sore his feet got or his body ached, he finished in style with a smile on his face – this is what ultra running is all about. The Namibian Desert Challenge is a tough race, but the scenery is out of this world, you see and run with some of the most majestic animals and get to climb the 2nd highest dune in the world – what more could you ask from a race?
Thank you to the race organizers, Gary and Terry of Kinetic, who organized a great event. We were looked after by a fantastic crew who were quite simply marvellous, (especially of course my husband Tim – without whom the water crossing in the canyon would have been a greater challenge!). Amy did a great job looking after everyone and tending to our aches and pains with no complaints, thank you.
A special thank you to Andrew Collier and Sam Rigg for their company during the run and putting up with me and for Andy Masters whose humour kept us all going.
For those considering this race I would say:
“Go for it – not to be missed”
If you would like to find out about the race and see photos/videos etc go to http://kineticevents.net/ndc/
