OUCH DAMMIT EINA !!!

Today was one of the tough KZN races, the Kearsney Striders Half Marathon. Locally in Durban you don’t get them much tougher then this, it is part of the comrades route from Botha’s Hill to Alverstone just before Drummond. There you turn off the main road and onto the dirt road and climb up to the tower. Once there it is a nice decent till you have to start climbing back to Botha’s Hill.

The last climb is very steep and it is said that no one has ever run up this hill, well I sure as hell won’t dispute that.

Now prior to the race and most of the night it rained, the race itself was in mist and fine KZN drizzle. The road conditions were slippery and the dirt road even more slippery. In the first few meters it was evident that Anna was suffering from the altitude, battling to breath. After a few kays she got a bit of a panic attack as she was taking in too much oxygen and basically ended up hyperventilating.

Well out on the rolling hills of the valley of a thousand hills we ventured after a small loop around the college. It was then that the trucks passed us to collect the water tables and yet again the back of the packer had no water tables. Ha ha to you striders we had our hydro packs as we expected this.

Up the slippery mud hill to Alverstone we went with the friggin ambulance idling just behind us. This was the last time we saw a marshal, luckily I have done this race before and I knew the route quite well. Over the top and down the other side heading back to the Assegai road, which would take us back to the route to Botha’s Hill and the hill from hell.

We climbed up the last hill before the hill from hell and on the decent tragedy struck, whilst running down this hill Anna pulled a muscle which had her slow down considerably. Not wanting to create concern see tried to run through it, novice mistake, I noticed the splits were getting longer and longer and finally she said she had hurt herself.

Just before the hill from hell at 18.5 km she packed it in, she could barely climb into the ambulance. I looked at the time and I had to perform an unrealistic time for the last 3.5 km to make it before cut off. I decided to join my RP in the ambo, anyway isn’t it one for all and all for one.

Good news at least, nothing major a bit of swelling but a cold compress worked wonders on the muscle. At least she stopped when she did and didn’t carry on to put herself out from the road for a long time by making the injury worse.

I received quite the "I HATE YOU" glare when I mentioned that seeing we had not completed this race we would have to return to it next year.