Comrades Marathon Blog

Picture from www.cape-odyssey.com

The 2007 Cape Odyssey is over, and having blogged about it early on, Nick dropped by this morning, and commented on how his race went. I took the liberty of pasting his comment below:

Hi guys!
Well, Cape Odyssey was an absolutely amazing event!!!

The route was a lot more technical than I expected after listening to the presentations at Capestorm, but it was a fantastic race, and one I’d love to do again next year.

The last two days were a bit frustrating in that day 4 had over 11km of rocky, unrunable hiking path and day 5 had some very steep and scratchy scrambling, but then again I guess that suited some trail runners more than others. I was quite surprised day 4 didn’t yield any twisted ankles though. Day 4 was the only day the organisers hadn’t trial run, so everyone was quite surprised at how tough it was. Kevin Vermark actually ran days 3 and 4 with us, which I think is really brilliant! So he experienced the route first hand! : )
It must be tough finding a suitable route, in the right distance range between places where a race village can be setup. I’m sure the organisers will find a happy medium in future routes though.

I went into the race concerned that I did not put in enough training. As a mountain biker, I surprised myself at how comfortable I felt though. I think the secret was taking the event one day at a time, pacing yourself correctly and managing your diet correctly. The two man team setup sparked much debate before the event, but I’m quite convinced that every single one of the non-competitive entrants saw it’s benefit at least somewhere along the 211km. Massages are also definitely a must! The physio’s do a great job, and I’m pretty certain I would not have managed without my daily massages.

The setup was an exact duplicate of Cape Epic, so if you’ve done the Epic you’ll know exactly what to expect!

Running is definitely a lot more social than cycling. The comradery is fantastic, and what made the inaugural run so special was that you get to know most of the 100 runners by the end. The 2007 Cape Odyssey was an unforgettable experience.  I’m certain the event will be grow to be exceptionally successful, and I hope you will all someday be a Cape Odyssey Finisher.

Nick didn’t mention that they placed 4th in their category (mixed) and 20th overall, which is an excellent achievement.  Nick’s running partner, Thamar Houliston, posted updates on iAfrica.com, and reading them gives you an idea on how tough this race is.