The Blouberg Marathon Race Report by Shani Hayward

I must admit that I did feel like a bit of a celebrity.  People were astonished to see someone from Fish Hoek so far away from home.  The poor guy from Stellenbosch and lady from Strand Athletics club running next to me never stood a chance

I’m not a big fan of flat marathons but I do like a chance to improve my marathon time. The first ever Blouberg Marathon proved to be flat and fast as promised. The 21k runners had a bit more hills but they were short ups and downs.  The race was sold out over the three distances with a Marathon, a half and a 10km.

Even with the sold out status the start was quick and wide and everyone managed to get to their desired pace. The first couple of kilometers were in Blouberg.  I enjoyed this part of the race the most.  Lots of support, great water stations and a good view.  We then trundled off to Melkbos with a quick meander through a very expensive Golf estate. I think we ran through every street in Melkbos to achieve the marathon distance. Maybe we even ran them twice.  I’ve never seen so many overweight dogs in my life.  I was waiting for them to send us to the nuclear plant next, but instead they turned us around and made us take the loooong , straight coastal road back. Somehow the “flat road “ started to feel like Blackhill.

Luckily the looooong straight road seemed shorter on the way back and before I knew it I could hear the announcer. The finish line was in some strange sandy road. I ran to the finish line with a big smile only to be turned around and told that I have to go across the ruler size magnetic strip (for timing) a couple of meters back.  The Sub 4 bus and I then had to get physical in our attempts.

I was lucky. I got two cokes at the end and I got some extra walking practice for Comrades to try and find my car in the massive Table Bay Mall.