When my father and sister announced they were headed to Tshwane (Pretoria) in South Africa for the long weekend in July, I spontaneously joined them without my little family! But given the Phikwe Half Marathon was only a fortnight away, I knew I couldn’t afford to skip my 18km long run. In a frantic search online, I came across the Springbok Vasbyt Race which had a 21km option. I signed up but almost immediately was engulfed in worry – the race was trail, which despite my ultra-trail marathoner status, is terrain I struggle with, and Tshwane is cruelly hilly. Also, how would I get to and from the race? Using my sister’s car to drive in South Africa was not an option – I run this world, I don’t drive it! Maybe I could Uber? But that would mean getting a local sim card. Then there was the issue of what to wear. At that time, we were experiencing a cold front with SNOW in Johannesburg earlier that week. So, I worried how I would layer up. During winter in Gaborone, 1 or 2 light layers usually suffice – would I need to wear another layer? What if I wore too much? Too little? So, how did it all turn out? Let’s take a look!

Five Thoughts from the Springbok Vasbyt Half Trail

1/ Growth Comes When You Leave Your Comfort Zone. Although I’m adventurous when it comes to running in new places, it still comes with anxiety. Maybe I don’t share this enough but most of my running adventures are preceded by a tonne of self-talk – reminding myself how much I love exploring, how fun it will be, and if it’s a total disaster, it will still make a great story, right? Given the concerns I shared earlier, this race was no different. So, when my alarm rang that morning, I fought the desire to remain in bed. I crept to the bathroom so as not to wake my sister, had a shower, got dressed, and then ate my oat bar under the dim light of the desk lamp. I had already packed everything the night before – tissues, ID, some cash, and a couple of gels. I then called for an Uber. When I met up with the family a few hours later, my beaming face said it all – not so much that I had done the race, but that I had gotten to the race in the first place.

2/ Start of the Race. Some of my nerves settled when the Uber drove up to the hotel within the 4 minutes stated. As soon as I opened the door, the driver burst out laughing. I was confused and said so. He then said, “No, it’s nothing!” followed with, “I’ve been picking up drunks all night, so I didn’t expect to pick up someone in gym gear at 06:30 in the morning!” This made me laugh and when I told him I was going for a race, he was more stunned. After a 20-minute ride, we arrived. The crowd seemed rather small, but I later read there were about 600 athletes, young and old, taking part in three distances, 21km, 10km and 5km. Some people stood in groups chatting, while others like me, kept busy taking photos or warming up. With 15 minutes to go, we were called to the Start where the race announcer gave some welcome remarks before two men played some solemn music (in homage to fallen soldiers). This was followed by the sound of aircraft flying above. I had decided to go with 3 layers, and with about 5 minutes to go, I removed my top layer and wrapped it around my waist. I wore the remaining two layers for the duration of the race. Typical of South African races, we started on time at 07:30.

3/ The Route. The race started at the foot of the Voortrekker Monument which is located on a hilltop of a nature reserve. The route was mostly off-road with a few sections of tar. The first third of the race trended downwards, with a couple of small uphills. Around 6km, the 10km runners turned left splitting from the 21km runners, and almost immediately, the crowd disappeared. The trail wasn’t technical, but the uphill sections in the second half were tough and around 15km we found ourselves climbing up a particularly steep section. As a road runner, my downfall on trails has always been focusing on my watch instead of on what’s around me. This time I took in my surroundings, mostly defined by the orange veld, red-orange aloes and the rather imposing Voortrekker Monument which at over 40m tall was almost always visible.

Inaugurated in 1949, it was built to commemorate the Voortrekkers (descendants of Dutch settlers) who left the Cape Colony on ox-wagons between 1835 and 1854 on a northward migration, seeking to live beyond the Cape’s British colonial administration. The monument highlights key aspects of their journey from their everyday life, work, beliefs and culture as well as the conflicts between them and the African tribes, most notably the Ndebele and the Zulu.

On the one hand, the monument represents the history of the Afrikaner population and became a national heritage site in 2011, but controversially, it has also been viewed as a symbol of the Apartheid era. While some emphasise that the monument is important in sharing the history of the Afrikaners and should not be linked to the atrocities of the Apartheid regime, others discuss whether this is entirely possible. Next to the monument, Freedom Park has been built which is dedicated to the heroes of the liberation struggle and tells the history from the black African perspective. Maybe this is a compromise and also a way to ensure that all South African stories, with their complexities, are told to reach true unity. In this article on monuments in South Africa the author writes, “On average, people seem to be quite certain what exactly a particular monument stands for, which suggests that meaning is assumed to be fixed. Yet, most people will also agree that one and the same monument can mean different things to different people.”

4/ The People. Most of the marshals were cheerful and encouraging, and the runners were from different backgrounds, languages, and cultures, all united by their love for running. Once the 10km runners split, I was with at least 10 or so runners and we remained within close proximity of each other for most of the race. Sometimes I would be ahead, and other times they took the lead. When we were together, we were mostly quiet but at times would share a few thoughts about the race or talk about running in general. I later discovered one runner has been following me on social media for a year or so! With about 3km left, I caught up with a runner who I hadn’t seen in a while. She later said she had been slowed down when she was helping another runner who had almost collapsed after the momentous climb. I’m glad I found her again and the race photographer captured this great photo of us looking strong as we capitalised on the downhill.

5/ My Performance. This race was a way for me to get my 18km long run done. So, from the start, I wanted to keep things nice and slow but to run without walking breaks. About 7km in, I was reminded that trail running is a different beast! So, I changed my strategy – simply run when I can, walk when I need to, and I had FUN!

I feared the final big climb at 15km had knocked the wind out of my sails but surprisingly, I still had some energy left for the last 3km. When we got to the end of the race, there was a final surprise – we were directed up the 64 steps to the monument, round the laager which is decorated with 64 wagons, down the steps and then through the gantry.

My goodness, that was just cruel! Once done, I collected my medal which came with a square of fudge, and one of the guys with a clipboard asked if I would do the race again. I confessed that after running for 3h20 minutes, it had been a tough race, but I felt even tougher for doing it. He then explained what “vasbyt” meant – resilience. On the medal is the face of the race’s founder, Leon Bezuidenhout, who passed away in 2020, and inscribed is his quote in Afrikaans, translated as: “When I feel the dirt road under my feet, I know I’m home.”

It took a while for me to get an Uber back to town (three drivers cancelled on me) but once I was safely on my way, I was so happy (and proud) that I had participated in this race given all the concerns I had had. Once reunited with the family, I demanded lunch at Woolworths so I could reward myself with a Gluten Free Cake and cappuccino!

Have you ever signed up for a rce at the last minute? Do you do races to make a long run easier? Have you run the Springbok Vasbyt race? Have you been to the Voortrekker Monument? What are your thoughts?

I’m so excited to be linking up with My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and Zenaida for Fit Five Friday.