You see 2005 I took on the race known as Sani Stagger, not understanding the race I had entered was not a road race but an endurance race, I took it on as I would a normal road race which was my first mistake.
My second and most costly was having faith in kilometre boards, this cost me dearly, I missed the cut off for the 21.1 km down run by 30 seconds, I was bitterly disappointed.
Yet here I was again at the bottom of Sani waiting to tackle the pass again. This time I got some friends involved, Tilla, Lydia, Charmaine from Queensburgh Harriers, Michelle from PDAC, Dereck, Reg and Juanita from RWFLAC, they all entered the race and were nervously looking forward to the great Sani Stagger. My other friend and club mate Sharon, Eskom Gijimas, was back for her second to better her time.
The evening before I was trying to focus on other things and held a braai for my friends, it didn’t help, the what if’s still went on in my head. The braai ended all too soon, my friends all-opting for an early night.
I lay in the bed tossing and turning unable to sleep when I heard the drip, drip, drip on the corrugated roof, hell it’s raining. Finally I went to sleep only to be woken rudely by an all too familiar sound, a heavy downpour of rain. I remember saying “This is not good”
I woke with the alarm going off at 5h00, time to get up and get kitted. A quick look outside and it is still raining. Remembering the cold on the top of the mountain last year I put on tracksuit, rain suit, beanie and gloves. Find the friends and off we go to the start of the 42.2 km race where we will get transport to the top of Sani.
The road from the lodge to the hotel is a dirt road and with the nights rain it was now a sludgy muddy road. 4X4 ‘s shot past to the hotel churning up the road even more.
I got onto the first 4X4 going up the mountain with my friend Juanita, it was a closed canopy 4X4 but nevertheless I still got rained on by mud that was running of the roof of the 4X4. We bounced around for one hour in the back of that vehicle and finally arrived at the top of Sani 2865 meters above sea level. It was misty and bitterly cold, there was rumours of it being minus six.
Juanita and myself had brought our passports up with us so we crossed at the border into Lesotho to go to the highest pub in Africa. At the border post we came face to face with a Lesotho policeman, who seemed to have no sense of humour at all. He stamped our passports with one eye on us all the time – strange guy.
Once in the pub warmth came to our freezing bodies and at 07h30 in the morning I had a double Jack Daniels, for the cold of course. Feeling warm we headed back to the border post and crossed back into South Africa, stumbled through the mist back to the start of the 21.1 km down run, the insane bunch doing the 42.2 up and back down were arriving and turning to head back down.
All too soon the time arrived to strip down to race kit, Charmaine kept on saying “Dave what have you go me into?” The coldness against the bare skin was terrible and painful, I saw my legs turning a pink red colour. I wore the previous years T-shirt as a reminder to myself don’t stuff this one up.
Next thing we were off, Charmaine still moaning about me getting her to enter the race, every now and than you could hear someone yell as they stumbled or slid on the rock strewn clay that at some points were 1 in 6
We descended about 800 meters in the first 6 kilometres, it was raining, the road was muddy and damn vehicles were passing you spraying up mud. It was just crazy.
At the SAPS border post the route levels a bit but the ground changed from the steep clay road to one which had up to ten centimetres of brownish sludge on top of it.
A slight uphill was total fun for me, I was trying to go up but my feet were sliding left and right on the water soaked clay. It was at this point where I twisted my right knee and the thought of maybe I should stop crept into the mind. Nah can’t do that I will finish this race.
Juanita became a mountain goat and I watched her disappear into the mist as she sped up. Charmaine had dropped behind me and Lydia was close by, a few steps ahead of me.
After a while you could no longer do a heel toe roll with the foot, the mud was just too much and I changed to a flatfoot style. The closer we got to the finish the thicker and more unpleasant the mud got. There were times when 4X4 passing us were travelling almost sideways as they slipped in the sludge.
TV2 and their bloody quads did a wonderful job of spraying us with mud as they zoomed past, up and down the road.
Finally a familiar voice was heard, it was Mike, the announcer for the race, the finish was now close by, I had caught up to Lydia, Charmaine was about two minutes behind us.
Lydia and myself finally left the sludge for the green golf course, which is the last kilometre of the race, the Nike finish could be seen just ahead. Lydia fell back as I sped off to the finish. I passed under the Nike finish and gratefully received my medal; finish time 3 hours 12 minutes 15 seconds. One twisted left knee and a right ankle which I twisted ten times during the race, but I had the medal and that is what counts.
The terrain at Sani
The start at -6 degrees
The Finish
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