RACE REPORT – Two Oceans Ultra – Silver Medal no2 by Kyle Bucklow
I went into 2 Oceans Ultra Marathon a bit unprepared this year. With milkwood half marathon being the longest road run I had done in a few months, I had very little expectations.
However, my goal was to try and run a silver or anywhere near the 4-hour mark.
The race started at a very fast pace, and I found myself averaging 3:48 at the 20km mark. I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep this pace up for the full 56km, so I decided to tap off a bit and sit at a more comfortable pace.
Having the support from friends and family cheering you on from Muizenberg up until Chapmans Peak is a great way to tick off a few kms. Once you start the first real climb of the race up Chapmans peak, you start to feel alone with very little support up there.
I managed to climb and descend chappies quite comfortably knowing that I still had Constantia nek to get over. (This is where I struggled the most last year) Again I managed to climb quite comfortably and started the descent towards Kirstenbosch. This is when I realized that I was well within a silver medal time. I tried to just keep the pace under control and avoid any cramps.
With 2kms to go, the cramps decided to kick in. I had to run/walk the last couple of kms but luckily, I managed to get across the line in 3h55min for my second silver medal at 2 Oceans.
2 Oceans is such a great day out and I will be back again next year to hopefully improve my time.
Congratulations to everyone that ran.
