Weekend Long Run: Saturday 19 February, 05:30

A number of Hillbillies have mentioned that they're keen to go for a run this weekend sometime, those not running the Peninsula Half Marathon on Sunday.

I've plotted a 20km run, with some hills but nothing too drastic.

 

Those keen to join me, meet 05:30 at Great Westerford. Bring a small water bottle along, as the taps are few and far between along this route. Follow the link below to see the suggested route:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4298078 

 

Route description:

We start at Great Westerford as is Hillbilly tradition. Up Dean Street, follow Newlands Avenue and then down the M3 to the Shell for our first water break (top up bottles here, 2.5km mark).

From here we follow Fernwood Ave to Boshoff, to Heath, to Kirstenbosch, to Bishopscourt Drive. Bishopscourt merges into Canterbury, which we'll follow almost all the way to the top (watch out for cyclists along here, its a popular road and they tend to fly down the hill!!) We detour up Klaasens Road to Kirstenbosch Top Gate - fill up water here, cause its a long way to the next water point (7.5km mark)

Now we have a short stretch along Rhodes Ave (M63). There's a wide shoulder on the left for us to run on. We take Hohenort Avenue (from the top - a bit of downhill to enjoy!) and follow all the way through to Alphen Drive and finally Constantia Main Road near the M3. We pass under the M3 and then head up Alphen Hill Road, stopping at Victoria Hospital for water (there's a secret tap in the parking area!! 13km mark)

We leave Alphen Hill Road at Wolfe Street, and run past Maynardville Open Air Theatre, continuing along the same road till we reach Main Road.

We don't like running along Main Road - too much traffic - so we'll detour through Auburn or Indian Road to Salisbury to Kenilworth Road. Over the railway line, to 3rd Avenue. Follow 3rd all the way to Chichester, over and through to Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria Road goes to Palmyra, then off on Mariendahl, to Campground, Main, and back to Great Westerford.

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Dean Street Hillbillies

 

Stats: Tuesday, 15 February 2011, 05:00

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/68382215

Apologies for the late stats-posting. But better late than never!!

Yesterday morning we ran to up to Rhodes Memorial. While always a thoroughly enjoyable route, we do tend to question our sanity on the way up. And big-time question the sanity of the person who suggested this route - me...! But once everyone is at the top, cold water splashed and sipped, all is forgiven, and we can all enjoy the view and look forward to the lovely down-hill awaiting us.

Tuesday morning was still dark at 5:30 - and it seems to be staying dark for longer of late. A few Hillbillies are running with flashlights in the mornings, although we still run most of our routes in daylight.

Route Profile

We started our run heading down Main Road, past the Rondebosch Police Station and then we started climbing. 4 Hillbillies - Charlene, Dy, Jen and I. Then from Grotto Road we climbed. And climbed. And climbed some more. Up through UCT Middle Campus. Under the M3 subway. A slight break over the UCT sports fields (and the Two Oceans finish venue - almost time!) before climbing some more up the stairs to the ring-road. Another slight break heading towards the Rhodes Memorial gates. Locked at this time of the morning, but the turnstile is always open for pedestrians. Good for us - no traffic, we'd have the road to ourselves!

As expected, not a single vehicle sharing the road with us on the way up, we didnt' see a cyclist until we were headed back down a little later (and even then he turned onto a trail long before reaching us). And this time no gunshots in the distance!!! (the last time Dy and I ran this route there were some clowns firing shots out of their car up and down the M3 - thankfully no stray bullets along Rhodes Memorial Road, that wouldn't have been too much fun...)

We made it to the top without any fuss - Dy leading the pack, Charlene hot on her heels, and Jen and I following some distance behind. A lovely cool drink of water from the tap at the top, we looked out of the sunrise but the clouds were too thick. It was pleasantly cool though, for which we were all thankful, especially after the tremendous heat waves that have been passing through lately - some morning's we've starting running in mid-20's temperatures, approaching at the end of some of our early morning runs!

Route Map

And so we went down, down, down back towards sea-level, enjoying having gravity on our side once again.

We sped along the M3, Dy still in the lead (whatever you had for breakfast yesterday morning was really working!) About half-way down the M3 Jen took a tumble. After a few moments to assess the damage and catch her breath, she hopped back up and promptly took the lead!! She led us all the way to the Shell where we stopped for water once again. The pace was a little easier from this point on. Everyone a little tired and a lot cautious.

From Shell we headed for for Protea Road, and up towards Main Road. Here Jen bid us farewell and headed back to Greate Westerford, while Charlene, Dy and I continued on past Newlands cricket grounds - passing a burnt-out car along the way. It looked to me like the left-overs of an Opel Cub, the old round shape like I used to drive many years ago. No, wait, 'left-overs' is too generous for what was lying in the front parking lot/display lot of the Jeep/Chrysler dealership. It was more like the toasty frame of an Opel Cub with wheel rims welded on. The Jeep closest to it seems to have gotten a taste of the action too, with its front licence plate curled and smoke-stained.

But moving on from that little distraction: the rest of the run went smoothly. We passed a people as we ran past the cricket grounds, up Campground, through the neighbourhoods of Rondebosch and over Belmont. The plan was to take the Liesbeek River Trail back from here, but it was roped off and had piles of construction sand heaped in the way, so we headed along Main Road instead. By the time we reached the next possible road to the River Trail, we were all tired and opted to just continue straight back to Great Westerford.

A few minutes later we arrived. Tired but happy with a good hard run. 14km and some change, a good way to start the day :)

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Dean Street Hillbillies

Stats: Tuesday, 8 February 2011, 05:30

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/67227859

Another awesome Hillbilly run, thanks to Charlene and Dy for joining me, and pulling me up those hills. I seriously would not have survive that without you guys! Actually, I probably would've chickened out of that particular route if not for you guys!!

Only 12.5km, but what an exhausting run - the Hillbillies earned their names many times over this morning!!! I think I'll have a word with the maniac who suggested that route. Wait, that was me... Okay, I've scolded myself, I'm sorry!!

But you have to admit that it was a fun - and scenic - route too!! We arrived back at our cars tired and sweaty but all with big smiles :) We're just suckers for punishment aren't we???

And for a change I have some backup on my hilly route selections: http://www.modernathlete.co.za/editors_column_comments.asp?Entry=71 "The hills are your friends!!"

:)

But back to business, here are this morning's stats:

As for the route itself: we started at Great Westerford and headed up Dean Street for the first hill of the morning. It was still quite dark at 5:30, but not quite mid-winter-pitch-dark just yet. But the mornings are definitely breaking later already...

We started out at a comfortable pace, of which I was glad, as I can still feel Saturday's hot run in my legs somehow... Along Newlands Avenue a nice recovery, and then downhill along the M3 to the Shell for some water.

Route Profile

So early in the morning, crossing the M3 was quite easy, and we soon found ourselves motoring along Fernwood Ave towards Boshoff. From Boshoff, along Heath to Riverside, we were heading up Kirstenbosch Drive way too soon, or so it seemed. Kirstenbosch Dr sees the start of the second hill - all the way up to Bishopscourt Dr, over into Canterbury, and then up, up, up to Glastonbury Road. Dy and Charlene were flying up Canterbury, while I was doing my very best to keep them just within sight while I plodded my slow way up behind them. Enjoying the fresh air (my lungs kept demanding more and more as we climbed and climbed!) and slowly brightening morning. It wasn't too long before we were at the 'top' at Glastonbury Road intersection, where it was time for a well-deserved walk-break to catch our breath back. Just a few moments, then it was off again towards Kirstenbosch, dodging the light traffic that was just starting up.

At the actual top of hill #2, we stopped for a very well-deserved (and much-needed) water-break. Cool, fresh, sweet, clean Kirstenbosch water!! Definitely my favourite part of the run! After a brief breather, we made our way slowly across the road, then started an easy jog up Klaasens Road. We were soon undulating again, but these hills were more just a break in the 'flat' than anything else. Then a lovely descent to then Klaasens/Gloucester intersection, were we did the not-so-smart (but fun!) thing - we turned right towards Monterey!!!

As with all hills, the key to tackling this near-vertical (but thankfully short) monster is to take it one step at a time. And remember to breathe!!! And before we knew it, we were approaching the top, and yes, all still alive!! The group was very quiet by this time, everyone giving priority to getting air into their lungs rather than waste precious oxygen trying to pant out a conversation.

Now for some good news guys: this is the very highest point of the route, the hills are now over!!! Well done!

And then we looked down. And down. And down.

That road dropped even steeper than we'd been climbing. All the way back down to the M3. I was slower going down than up, afraid of gravity playing tricks and tripping me up. Charlene and Dy seemed to enjoy the downhill though, and soon were well ahead of me, and gaining. I contented myself with just making it down the hill, I'd catch them at the M3 robots.

Route Map

Eventually we all made it back down to sea level safely. We had a brief wait to cross the M3 - morning traffic was picking up steadily by then, and the exhaust fumes not smelling all that great. So as soon as we could, we dashed across the M3 and into Struben, and then finally out of traffic onto Bowood for a peaceful trip down to scenic and spacious Eden Road. What a relief - and what a view of the mountain in the early morning light!! Man, I'm going to miss running in Cape Town!!!

Too soon Eden was over, and we were dashing across Protea Circle, past Vineyard Hotel and up Kildare. To round off our lovely run, we hit Mains Street from the right side (pun intended!) to avoid the morning school-traffic, and breezed back home, dodging a few pedestrians along the way.

Strangely, we'd seen very few runners out and about this morning. Could the later sunrise be scaring them off?? Two Oceans is just around the corner, you'd think there'd be more runners than ever doing semi-last-minute 'cramming' for Oceans?!? Much like the cyclists are doing for the Argus right now - wow, there were a lot of cyclists out this morning??? Most flew past us at break-neck speeds, especially going downhill. But almost every single cyclist greeted us with a smile this morning :) Now really, is there a better way to start off your day than that - a great run filled with many friendly faces and scenic neighbourhoods???

Thank you Hillbillies for making this morning's run so great!!

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Dean Street Hillbillies

Morning Run: Tuesday, 8 February, 05:30

Hi Hillbillies

Please join me at 05:30 tomorrow morning for an easy-paced run, with a few Hillbilly hills, through scenic Bishopscourt and Claremont neighbourhoods. It's darkish still at 5:30, so bring a torch or just be careful where you run. We should be treated to a beautiful sunrise though!!

 

Route suggestion: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4276485

Distance is around 12.5km

 

Route description:

Starting at Great Westerford, we run up Dean Street (hill #1), along Newlands Avenue and down the M3 to Fernwood. Stop for water at the Shell (2.5km), we then run along Fernwood towards Boshoff. We then take Heath off Boshoff over to Riverside, and onto Kirstenbosch Drive, heading towards Kirstenbosch. Onto Bishopscourt Drive, we continue straight onto Canterbury for a long hill (hill #2). At 6km mark the hill flattens out for a bit of a break before the final climb up to Kirstebosch Top Gate (6.5km) and our next water break. From Kirstenbosch we head up Klaasens Road to Monterey (yes, that road!) for a short but steep climb (hill #3), followed by a long downhill along Upper Bebington (becomes Forest Avenue), all the way down to the M3 (10km). Crossing over the M3, we run along Struben to Bowood to Eden Road, over the Protea Circle and along Protea Road to the bend. We stick to the straight and transition onto Colinton Road. Turn onto Kildare, then Main Street and back to Great Westerford.

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Dean Street Hillbillies

 

Morning Run: Tuesday, 1 February, 05:30

Hi Hillbillies!

 

I hope everyone had a good weekend??

Did any Hillbillies run the Kloofnek Classic Half Marathon yesterday?? A toughie but wow what a run!!!

 

I ran, and I saw Tanja and Kari along the route. All looked strong and showed the rest of the runners how the Hillbillies tackle hills!!

 

But back to the business at hand: tomorrow morning's run - meet 05:30 at Great Westerford. I'm not sure of the route yet, but I'm thinking around 12km, hilly??

Does anyone have any special requests for routes, or suggestions?? Else I'll come up with something between now and tomorrow morning :)

 

Take note of the later start time - its still dark at 5:15 lately, with the sun only just out at 5:30, so we're slowl transitioning towards 'winter times' again. Later start means slightly shorter morning runs, but we should still be able to fit in a good 12-14km on Tuesday mornings.

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Dean Street Hillbillies

 

Stats: Tuesday, 25 January 2010, 05:30

Thank you to all the Hillbillies who joined us for this morning's run!!

A recovery run for those who had a busy outdoors weekend, and just a good old leg-stretch, start-the-week-off-on-a-high-note run.

Route Profile

We had a good-sized group this morning, with Rob re-joining us, and regulards Dy, Jen and Angela.

We set off up Dean Street with the idea of taking it slow and recovering from the weekend's activities, but were soon moving at a decent pace. Along Newlands Avenue I was working hard to keep up!

At the M3 intersection, Jen and I opted for a flatter, easier run, while Dy and Rob were itching for some hills, so we split into 2 smaller groups and off we went.

Jen and I enjoyed the downhill stretch along the M3, taking it as a good opportunity to catch our breath again after the quick start. Easy along Protea Road, we headed to our water point at the Engen on Main Road. This was a great chance to stop and catch our breaths again, as we'd somehow kept up quite a pace all the way, despite both been tired from some very hilly outdoor activity over this past weekend. I guess when you have such good company you forget that your legs are tired and really surprise yourself!! Just goes to show how much is really all in the mind!!!

Route Map

Except for a minor argument with a sign-post (forcing the retirement of a t-shirt), the rest of the run was relaxed and uneventful. We wove through the Rondebosch neighbourhoods, up and over the Belmont railway bridge and then followed the Liesbeek River Trail back. I ran right past then entrance to the Trail, after saying that it would be nice to run along it. On complete auto-pilot I was just running. Jen saved the run by pointing us back in the right direction, and we finished our run along the scenic Liesbeek River.

Back at Great Westerford, we decided to wait for Dy and Rob to get back, and hear about their run. We were curious as to how they were doing, with Rob 'taking it slow' and Dy sure to give him some competition up the hills. Jen and I had a great chat, and eventually Dy and Rob appeared at the far end of the parking lot. Both drenched in sweat, looking tired but extremely happy - good run!!! Both were saying how the other pulled them along. I think they make a great team!!

A brilliant run in all, and awesome company!! Thanks Hillbillies!!!

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I had such a good time this morning (and my tired, sore legs needed the stretch), that I'm keen for another run tomorrow morning. Short and easy, just a bit of time on the legs.
If anyone is keen to join, I'll be at Great Westerford at 5:30 (I'll send out an update email later on if anything changes, but for now the plan is 5:30 at the usual spot)
Distance: 5-8km, depending on how everyone feels.
Route: meandering around the Rondebosch area, something like this: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4252912:

From Great Westerford, we run down Boundary Road past the Sport Science Institute and the rugby stadium. Keep along Boundary until the T-junction and turn right into Dulwich. Second left onto Ednam, then second right onto Rouwkop (away from Main Road - we want to explore the suburbs here!) Rouwkop becomes St Andrews at the bend, which leads all the way along the railway line to Belmont. Up and over Belmont, we turn down Queen Road and onto College, following through to Campground Road. Next we turn onto Sandown, then right down Lochiel to Avenue de Mist. We stop for water at about 4km, at the WPCC, then back onto Ave de Mist till we reach Stanford, where we head right. At the bottom of Stanford we turn right onto Keurboom, and follow along to St Patricks/Squirrel Way pedestrain robots. Here we take a left onto St Patricks, and then immediately right onto Water. Follow Water all the way through to Heatherton (where the road crosses over the canal), and up to Palmyra (a slight hill here). Palmyra leads onto Mariendahl which leads to Campground and back to Main Road. Avoiding traffic, we head onto Letterstedt and follow the railway line again past the back of Newlands cricket grounds, past Sport Science again, and back up Boundary, under Main, and we find ourselves back at Great Westerford about 8.5km later.

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Dean Street Hillbillies

Morning Run: Tuesday, 25 January, 05:30

Hi Hillbillies!! I hope you had a great weekend??

Well done to all those who ran Red Hill this past weekend:
Josh, Tanja, Charlene, Angela, Kari (Dy: I know you were kind of considering Red Hill, did you run??)

As a result, tomorrow morning's run will be a recovery run - slow, with just a few old-favourite hills. Emphasis being on slow!! (I'll probably end up walking up half of the hills, so no-one has to worry about being too slow for the group!

Here is the proposed route for tomorrow:
Our old favourite: Glastonbury Road. The one we love to hate: http://dean-street-hillbillies.blogspot.com/2010/05/stats-tuesday-11-may-2010-0600.html

Being a shorter Tuesday run, we'll meet 05:30 at Great Westerford (240 Main Road, Rondebosch) and run about 10km.
Those wanting longer are more than welcome to start earlier, or deviate from our route, or organise a separate 'Tuesday long run' for tomorrow - as per the Hillbilly custom, simply 'reply-to-all' on this email to let all of the other Hillbillies know what you would like to run and gather some running partners for your route.

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Dean Street Hillbillies

 

More Morning Runs

Hi Hillbillies,

Is there anyone keen to run on one or more of the following days: Monday, Wednesday Friday?

There are Hillbillies who cannot make the Tuesday and Thursday morning runs but who would still love to run with the Hillbillies.
Same idea - meet at Great Westerford 5:30am on Monday and/or Wednesday and/or Friday, plan the route in advance or just wing it in true Hillbilly style!

So who's keen - let the other know so that we can co-ordinate!

I'm up for some of those runs, most likely some of the Wednesday runs (in addition to the regular Tuesday/Thursday runs)
Maybe Monday or Friday on weeks where the past or upcoming weekend's don't have major (i.e. LONG) races.

Linelle has mentioned that she is very keen for Monday/Wednesday/Friday if she has company - its always more fun to run with company!!

So please let us know who is keen for some or all of the M/W/F runs!

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Dean Street Hillbillies

 

Stats: Thursday, 13 January 2010, 05:30

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/63195346

Thank you Charlene, Dy and Jen for joining me this morning for a wonderful run. A bit windy, yes, and heavy legs from the high mileage these last few days, but a good run nonetheless.

I'd plotted a new route yesterday - something just slightly different to our regular runs through Rondebosch neighbourhoods. Without travelling to other parts of Cape Town for a change of scenery, or running a half marathon each morning, we've only got so much 'back yard' to run in, and it can get boring quickly if its just the same roads over and over again, so these past few months I've been using Google Maps and any other tools I can get my hands on to plot interesting new variations on the old routes, while still keeping the distance reasonable. I hope the others will agree with my opion that we've discovered some lovely new route lately, even if its just one road down from our usual route.

But I digress. This mornings route is the point of this email - yet another slight tweak on an otherwise common Hillbilly route.

Route Profile

We started up Main Road heading towards Town - we didn't notice much wind but it turns out we had lovely tail-wind pushing us along. Over Belmont and down Campground, we really noticed the strong head-wind trying to push up back up towards the Rondebosch Common. But we were soon out of the wind again, heading along Sandown Road, all the way down to Milner on the far side. Mostly a flat road with slight down-gradient, and just a little bit of a climb towards the end. It was just 3 Hillbillies at this point - Jen had bid us farewell just before Sandown, opting for a shorter run back via Newlands Cricket Grounds.

From there we headed down Milner towards Avenue de Mist, then to WPCC for water. The tap was only just giving out water, but luckily more than enough for the 3 of us. Refreshed, we hit the brick path through WPCC, heading towards Ave de Mist once again. I often wonder how the names for the roads in certain areas came about, and this is one of those areas: our next road was 'Lochiel' - was it named after a person, or does 'lochiel' have a meaning???

Route Map

But no matter, because we soon found ourselves back on Sandown. For all of 5 meters, before turning down the next oddly-named street: Oakvale. Oakvale led us to Riverton, passing Syfret Road, and soon we turned onto Silwood. Very soon we were headed around yet another corner, but this time the Rondebosch Common was visible just up ahead. Last twist for the day: we're heading around the Common to add just a little extra mileage (by this point we were barely at 6.5km, so off we went.

Then it was finally time to head back to Westerford - directly into that head-wind!! The whole last side of the Common was into the head-wind, and it was really pumping by this time. The route back was a no-brainer - the sheltered Liesbeek River Trail! We just had to survive another crossing of Belmont without being blown back 2 days...

Somehow we made it, and were soon cruising down the Liesbeek River Trail. No cyclists this morning, but there were a couple of people out for a morning stroll. An uneventful end to a peaceful morning run, Hillbilly-style!

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Dean Street Hillbillies

Morning Run: Thursday, 13 January, 05:30

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4228976

I hope everyone is recovered from Tuesday's run and ready for Thursday??
Here is a recommended route, but suggestions/changes are welcome. It's flat, and around 11km long - a good recovery run.
Meet 05:30 at Great Westerford.

We start at Great Westerford, and run up Main Road towards Belmont. Over Belmont and down Campground, we turn off onto Sandown Road and run all the way through to Milner Road. Right onto Milner, and then right onto Ave de Mist, we stop for water the WPCC before getting back onto Ave de Mist.
From there we head up Lochiel, back to Sandown Road. Right onto Sandown and then immediately left onto Oakvale Road, and then left onto Riverton, left onto Silwood and right at Links, we find ourselves on Park Road at the bottom of the common.

Those wanting 8.5km head back to great Westerford here, while those wanting 11km run around the Common before heading back.

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Dean Street Hillbillies

 

Stats: Tuesday, 11 January 2011, 05:15

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/62941774

Thanks Hillbillies for your great company on this killer route!! I hope you guys enjoyed the run as much as I did, despite all the downright evil hills we climbed.

We started off on a high note: UP Dean Street!
From there we had a breather along Newlands Avenue, Jen flying along, setting a blistering pace. It looks like your holiday did you loads of good, you're running stronger than ever, Jen!

Route Profile

Downhill along the M3 towards Shell for water, as our next water stop would only be at Kirstenbosch, Jen left us here to do a somewhat saner route. Charlene, Dy and I we just insane enough to continue along the planned route - which I found out later the others hadn't really checked out in detail in the email, and actually had no clue what they were in for this morning!! But sometimes surprise is a good thing. This morning was one of those times - if the others had known what was planned for this morning, I might have found myself running alone!!
No, that's not true - us Hillbillies eat the hills for breakfast!! Thanks guys for braving the hills, especially so close after Bay2Bay!!

Okay, so on we went from our water stop - along scenic Fernwood Ave and up good old Boshoff. Down Rose a short ways to Kirstenbosch Drive, and there the real climb started - 2km up Bishopscourt/Canterbury, all the way to Kirstenbosch [Top Gate]. Here we stopped for some much-deserved water and a short breather. I tossed my tap water that I'd been carrying along in my water bottle, and filled p with fresh, clean Kirstenbosch water - always something to look forward to!

From Kirstenbosch we reversed our usual route and ran up Klaasens towards Monterey. At the intersection Dy was okay with tackling Monterey, Charlene had no clue what this 'Monterey' was all about, and when they looked to me to make the call between Moneterey and Gloucester, their fate was sealed: we'd be going up Monterey Road!!! I love those hills, and will never turn down the opportunity to tackle them if I'm in even half-decent shape!! If I turn down the Bishopscourt hills mid-run, then you know I'm really not doing well...

Route Map

So off we went, down Klaasens for a bit until the 'dreaded' Monterey Road came into sight. 'Head down, don't look up, keep moving'. That's the only way to tackle this hill. So that's what we did, and soon found ourselves at the top of the hill - and still alive!!! We managed to keep moving, eager for some down-hill, and quickly found ourselves on a steep descent down Forest Ave. Just when the descent got even steeper we turned off onto Upper Primrose, to complete the final 'leg' of the circle that would take us back to the Klaasens Road intersection.

Upper Primrose is nasty road, in that its deceptively flat and easy at the start. And then you round the find bend in the road, and realise that you're climbing. Then you look up and see the climb ahead of you to reach the intersection!!! If you're not expecting that short but steep climb, it can really knock the wind out of your sails!!

But we're Hillbillies, this was just another breakfast-snack for us. So up the hill, and over, for a much-deserved and eagerly-awaited descent along Gloucester Ave, and then back onto Canterbury, for a steepish drop (we often run UP Canterbury, and it's definitely a challenging climb, but it honestly feels steeper on the DOWN!)

But no worries, because we soon reached Hillwood Ave, where we climbed again for a short bit, before getting back onto Forest Ave (very very close to where we left for Upper Primrose) and decending all the way to the M3.

By this point we'd been without water for 5km, so decided to head down to the Shell again for water instead of following Bowood. We'll tackle that one next time.

From the water stop, it was same-old-same-old back home: Alster Ave (where I forgot to restart my Garmin after pausing it for water, so I apologize for the 'short' log here, we actually ran a good 500m further than the recorded distance); Kildare Road, Mains Street; and a few meters down Dean Street.

All in all a challenging but refreshing run. My quads are a little annoyed with me now, but they'll get over it. The rest of me loved the run!!! Thanks for your awesome company this morning guys, I would not have survived those hills alone!

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Dean Street Hillbillies

Stats: Thursday, 6 January 2011, 05:30

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/62160705 

Thank you Hillbillies for your fantastic company this morning!!

We had a great turnout today, with 4 Hillbillies running - Charlene, Chris, Rob and myself.

Route Profile

Rob had a warm-up run from home, and joined us at Great Westerford just as we were about to set off. Perfect timing Rob! And Rob even had an interesting new route suggestion - a partial merge of 2 of our old favourites. Welcome back Rob!

We set off up Dean Street as usual, but slowly. Caught our breath back along Newlands, and we were feeling great by the time the M3 came into sight. So early in the morning - and still school holidays - we had no traffic troubles cross the M3.

We sailed along Boshoff Avenue, for a change following it to the very end at Rose Street. Left into Rose as usual, but instead of heading across to Kirstenbosch Drive as has been the habit (to either head towards Canterbury, or Stone Church), we continued on past the link-road and down Riverside back to the M3 - strange feeling running down here and still feeling so fresh, this is usually nearing the end of our runs!

We stopped for water at the Shell - we were all hot and thirsty by this point: hot day yesterday followed by an uncomfortably warm night, we started our run at 05:30 in 23degree weather!! Summer is most definitely here!

Route Map

From the water-stop, we decided to follow the Liesbeek River Trail for the short section towards Bucksburn Road, which lead us out onto Protea. Across a pleasantly deserted Main Road, we picked up steam heading over the Newlands railway bridge, the guys leading for a while. Past the cricket grounds and through the cul de sac, Chris broke away and headed back home with painful blisters on both feet. Charlene, Rob and I continued, feeling alive and overjoyed to be back on the road.

At the Campground Shell we stopped of for a [warm] water break, and here Rob bid us farewell. Charlene and I set off again.

Quick and easy over the usually-busy road, along Belmont, up and over the railway bridge. We opted to follow the peaceful river trail (except for a few kamakaze mountain-bikers flying along the trail) and avoid stinky old Main Road. Crossing the back end of Arbor Road we saw the last mountain biker, and from there we had the trail to ourselves.

All too soon we reached the Main Road underpass and found ourselves back at Great Westerford where Chris was already waiting.

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All in all a great run! Thanks Hillbillies for awesome company along the way!

Following Hillbilly tradition, I have plotted an interesting new route - still sticking to our regular stomping ground, but with a few twists.
Here is the link:http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4218609 - this is a cool site I discovered yesterday, and spent a few minutes playing with this morning. As with Google Maps (which I usually use to plot our routes as it gives a fairly accurate distance estimation), I can plot an exact course along the roads, but the added bonus is the elevation feature - you can see the predicted elevation graph underneath the map, updating as you add to your route!! Awesome!!!

In case the route has too many twists to be clear, it goes something like this:
Starting up Dean Street, follow Newlands Avenue to the M3 (2km). Left down the M3 till Fernwood Ave, which leads to Boshoff (3km). Follow Boshoff till the very end at Rose Str, down Rose to Kirstenbosch Dr, and right into Bishopscourt Dr. Continue over into Canterbury (5km), all the way to the top at Kirstenbosch Top Gate (7km). From Kirstenbosch along Klaasens Rd, and onto Monterey (good old Monterey!). At the wendy-house/security-shack (9km - the worst of the climbing is over, mostly downhill all the way home!) head down Upper Bebington, then second left onto Upper Primrose. Just past 10km we get back to the Klaasens Road intersection, and here we take Gloucester (yes, somewhat in reverse of our usual Monterey route). Gloucester leads back to Canterbury. Down, down, down along Canterbury until we reach Hillwood. Right into Hillwood, then left into Forest Ave (12km). Cross over M3 and follow Bowood all the way through to Cavendish Str (14km), then follow Cavendish as it becomes Kildare. At the circle turn into Mains Str (15km), and back to Great Westerford. http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4218609

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Dean Street Hillbillies