Race Report: Infantry School Cango Caves Marathon

Better late than never, here is my race report from this past weekend's Cango Caves Marathon out in Oudtshoorn.

As it had been a year and 3 months since I'd last run a marathon (Winelands Marathon 2008, Stellenbosch), and the longest training run I'd done in that time was 36.2km for Red Hill Classic in January, I was somewhat nervous as the big day approached. I'd survived Red Hill, so I knew I'd cross the finish line. But what kind of time would I be able to do? I'd done Red Hill in 4h41, I had to somehow fit in an extra 6km in those remaining 19 minutes if I wanted to make cut-off... But I was not trying to qualify for Two Oceans, so cut-off wasn't the goal, just finishing the race (in good spirits!) to prove to myself that I could still do it.

We drove through to Oudtshoorn on Friday, 26th Feb. A nice long weekend away. Checked into the guest house, registered for the race, supper and early to bed. I beat the rooster up the next morning, he started crowing minutes before I left to meet my club mates for the short drive to the finish area where we would catch a bus to the start. This is a point-to-point style course. 

4:15 a.m. on Saturday morning saw Reinata, Sophia and myself piling into Sophia's car heading for the race. By 4:30 we were climbing aboard an ostrich truck for a very cold and bumpy ride out to the Cango Caves, which is the starting point for this race. The trip was, well, 'interesting', but we were relieved to finally be back on solid ground! And my nervousness is gone and I'm looking forward to starting this race! Also, I want to get moving so that I can get warm - it's pretty cold this far from town, and we were all well-chilled after the ride on the ostrich truck!!

6:05 a.m. the starting gun goes off (start was delayed by 5 minutes to wait for the last truck-load of runners to arrive) and the 1200-odd runners are off. The first few steps are a fairly steep downhill, and combined with a biggish crowd still, you have to tread carefully to avoid falling so early in the race.

1km, the downhill stops and we're faced with our first uphill, turning onto the Prince Albert Road for a detour to make up the distance, as the Caves are not quite 30km out of town. Undulating until 7.5km mark, where we turned around and headed back to the main road. I was somewhat disappointed in the usually efficient organisers when a couple of water stations ran out of water! The table at 6km had nothing but big buckets, and the runners got cups of water - not very helpful to carry along for when you get thirsty between water points... 

Coming back from the turn-around, the same water table was the 9km water station, and by now they'd run out of everything... What's going to happen with the tables ahead?? It's known to be extremely hot in Oudtshoorn around this time of year, and today has been predicted to reach 34 degrees! Water is essential! Thankfully all of the tables thereafter were well stocked with water so we didn't have any issues thereafter.

At 14km we were once again running on the main road headed back to Oudtshoorn. I was still feeling strong, and knew that I'd survive this one! I'd seen most of my friends, and had gravitated to my usual back-of-the-pack spot. I'd managed to get into a comfortable rhythm, nothing was hurting too much yet, and I was just loving the crips, fresh air and beautiful scenery!! And just so glad that I'd brought my camera along!! This wasn't a race after all, just a fun day out on the road :-)

Some races will mark each kilometer from start to finish, others will 'count down' the kays. Cango did the count down. The 27km marker board you see here means we'd done 15.2km and still had 27km left to go. I can do this! By now we've been back on the main road for a couple of minutes and Oudtshoorn is dead ahead about 25km. Now the real scenery starts!! So I settle back to a comfy pace and just keep running.

By 8:00 a.m. the day is warming up, but surprisingly its still very pleasant outside. It's almost cold in the shade still (I think if I wasn't running I'd be shivering in the shadows!) and the sun is just warm enough to be pleasant. Everything is green. The air is fresh and sweet. The roads are quiet. The runners friendly and chatty. Is there any better way to spend a Saturday morning???

By now the crowds are thinning out somewhat, and I'm left pretty much to my own devices. Usually I'd be listening to music at this point (and possibly singing along), but they'd announced at the start that no mp3 players were allowed on this race, and any runners caught with headphones in their ears would be disqualified. Can't have that now, can I?! So it was just me, myself and I for company much of the way. Let my thoughts wonder wherever they want, and enjoy the scenery.

The military guys manning the water tables were great supporters all the way. But we also had some feathered supporters - Oudtshoorn is well know for its ostrich farms, and there was no shortage of ostriches to be seen along the way. This particular group was gathered next to the fence, seeming to watch the crazy runners with interest. I wonder what was going through their minds???

I'd been keeping an eye on my time and pace pretty much the whole way, but I wasn't really gunning for sub-5h00. My goal was to complete the distance comfortably and enjoy the experience. I made 38.5km in 5 hours. But this time pretty much everything hurt from the shoulders down, but I was still in good spirits, even made a couple of friends along the way. I was enjoying the day, but also counting down the kay markers to the end. My legs were begging for a break and some cold water!

Finally, after about 5h30, I had crossed the finish line!! My first priority at this point was an ice cold coke! Next, sit down (fall down?) in a patch of shade for a few minutes. When my legs felt a bit more stable, I got up and took a slow 2km walk back to the guest house, had a quick shower to clean off all the road dust, and made a bee line for the swimming pool!!! A little bit of advice for anyone thinking of doing a marathon anytime soon - spend at least 20 minutes in a cold swimming pool or bath as soon as possible after the run. The cold water helps reduce some of the swelling in the muscles (you might not notice swelling, but believe me its there!). The cold also helps to numb some of the pain :P But seriously, if you have a cold swim or bath after your marathon, your legs will feel a LOT better the following day than they otherwise would've. I was even able to drive the 5 hours home the day after the race with only minimal stiffness.

I am now looking forward to my next marathon: Outeniqua Marthon on 24th April, run from George to Wilderness. Said to be absolutely breathtaking (the scenery! but I understand that the route is a little challenging too). I can't wait! Who's joining me??? ;P

Now for the 'usual' stats...
Route Profile

Route Map