On the 30th of November this year I ran the 35km Ultra Trail in Cape Town.

At a glance, it took me a total of 8 hours 15 minutes to complete with an average pace of 13:53 min/km. According to my running watch, I burned 4583 calories with an average heart rate of 156bpm and a max heart rate of 186bpm over the entire 8+ hours. At a rough estimate, I drank 3.7 litres of water with the heaviest consumption occurring between the 14km and 24km aid stations where I completely drained my 1.5l race pack.

You can see the official race timings and stats here.

To date this is my longest (time and distance) singular race event ever and I thought I would share my experience and reflect on it. As such this post may get a bit rambly and lengthy, but I have interspersed some photos of the event to keep you interested.

I decided to buy an entry in April this year and opted for the 35km over the 21km largely due to two factors: I wanted to push myself, and the 21km featured a single climb over the saddle between Devil’s Peak and Table Mountain that seemed quite dangerous to me.

In 2018, I ran my first half-marathon in Meiringspoort and I was confident I could run 21km comfortably and wanted to push out past my comfort zone and extend myself. Also, the 35km offered a traversal of Table Mountain and I thought it was a great excuse to have an extended day on top of the mountain.

Once I had my entry it came time for the training.

Earlier in the year I saw a physio for some pretty advanced shin splints and started a cross-training program with additional rehabilitation exercises. Since the cross-training required cycling, I took up spinning and soon after decided to commit to full triathlon training for an Olympic distance triathlon.

I found the triathlon training to be super effective and enjoyable. It did involve a lot more cycling and swimming than running, but that was perfectly fine since I was not supposed to be running so much in any case.

The months flew by until roughly mid September when I got sick (likely from a combination of overtraining, poor nutrition, and stress.

With a good two weeks lost and a whole bunch of fitness and muscle tone down the drain, I managed to recover and restart training just in time for the Meiringspoort half-marathon on the 12th of October. I surprised myself with a finish time of 1:51:44 (only 4 minutes slower than last year’s 1:47:10).

Unfortunately, as race-day neared I became ever more encumbered by my work and the priority of training dropped. As a result, I had not yet scouted the route, broken in my trail shoes, done proper hill training, or run technical trails.

To say I was nervous is an understatement. However, quitting and abandoning this event was never really an option for me. Instead, I decided I would just enjoy it as much as possible without worrying too much about setting a record time or not. I set myself two core rules:

1. I would run easy and slow
2. I would stop to take pictures and enjoy the scenes

Looking back now, I am grateful I reframed it as I did. It really helped shift my mentality to one of enjoyment in the undertaking and I would like to think, contributed greatly to my overall experience.

So on to actual the actual race. I was expecting a total time of roughly 10 hours, but I failed to take into account how congested the route would be. I did indeed run when I was able to, but rather because the rest of the time I would be hiking behind other racers.

The chokepoints of the route were Platteklip Gorge (and most of the beginning), between Maclear’s Beacon and just before the aid station, and the Newland’s Forest stairs. Once I had passed the stairs, the field opened up considerably, but by that point my muscles were very heavily fatigued and made running difficult to maintain for any considerable amount of time.

I remember at a point after the climb to the King’s Blockhouse I could only maintain a run for at most 2-3 minutes before resorting to a fast walk. During most of the race after Nursery Ravine, I remember repeating a little mantra to myself that “run when you can, walk when you can’t run, but always stay moving forward” over and over.

Something that really stuck with me was how quickly time passed. I thought that this will be an extended grind with gnashing of teeth and pain, but the first 14km or so passed by really quickly. I definitely experienced a sustained flow state during the event with even the muscle pain not hampering my performance too much. It could be that or it could have been the cramp block tablets I took that I am sure saved my life.

I find myself struggling to form a coherent narrative for this post and so thought I would just rattle off a view highlights and notable events instead.

The weather on the day was as good as could be bargained for. Cool and cloudy in the morning for the climb up Platteklip, and not windy for the homeward stretch around Devil’s Peak.

During the ascent of Platteklip, there was a bagpiper a little more than halfway up. At the end of every tune, everyone would cheer and clap, and the piper would take up another song. With the cloud rolling over the top of the gorge it really lent a special air to the whole scene.

The views of Constantia and False Bay from Maclear’s Beacon were truly breathtaking. At one point, I could see both sides of the Cape Penninsula before me. It was just after this that I was able to help out a fellow racer by offering some of my cramp block tablets. There was a prevailing spirit of camaraderie and people were quick to help one another.

The aid stations were excellently stocked with snacks and drinks. In particular, at the aid station by UCT I managed to snag a Red Bull and some jelly babies as well as seeing my supporters. After the 24km it took to get there, seeing my loved ones there really made the last 10km bearable.

I managed to finish strong with a run, and the macaroni and cheese afterwards tasted like victory.

In terms of aftermath, I was surprised at how quickly I managed to recover and how I sustained no lasting damage. That being said, this event worked every muscle in my legs. Trail running, it turns out, is a very comprehensive leg exercise.

All things considered, I am proud of what I accomplished with this event. I did what I set out to do months ago, and even exceeded my own expectations. I am still a bit uncertain if I would end up doing it next year, but I do know that I will be doing more trail running regardless.