RACE REPORT – Two Oceans Ultra – No 2 and already setting goals for no 3 by Claire Konemann
Two Oceans 2023
Gosh, I can honestly say I was very nervous about participating in this race, it was my second time, my last was in 2018, so… been a while.
The morning had arrived and with very little sleep the night before, which I am sure many can identify with, the butterflies were not going to stop buzzing in my stomach.
I set out early to meet up with my other Fish Hoek comrades, who were just as giddy with excitement. We arrived at the start and headed off to our pens.
We started the race, and to be honest was feeling incredibly worried about the lack of visibility, we had decided that we didn’t need our headlamps, in hindsight I wished that I had bought mine. I managed but was definitely not enjoying the fact that I couldn’t see my footing and had 3 people fall in front of me on different occasions, felt like I developed a new running style, lifting my feet higher so as not to trip on the unevenness of the road.
Once it began to get a bit lighter, I started to feel a bit more confident and started to find a comfortable pace. The support was wonderful throughout the race, especially in Fish Hoek and Noordhoek. The halfway mark (28kms) was outside my home on Noordhoek main road, so it was such an amazing highlight for me to have my husband and family and friends rooting for me….to push me up Chappies.
Constantia Nek was a challenge, a fellow Fish Hoek member had said she would be waiting at the top of the hill, so I was looking out for her and that really helped me knowing that I needed to put my best foot forward and keep going! It was a very exciting and encouraging race, I feel challenged to do a better time next year! Can’t wait!
Thank you for all the support and encouragement to fellow Fish Hoek members along the route and in training, I could never have done it without them.
Claire Konemann
