8 SEPETEMBER, 2018 | MONT-AUX-SOURCES

Race to The Amphitheatre ...

Returning to an old friend ...

The second race on the WILDSERIES calendar is the Mont-Aux-Sources Challenge. This is one of those mountain races, where you never really know what to expect, and you have to train and plan for a host of conditions. The race is a lollipop race, meaning to run to the top of the mountain, before looping back, and coming down the same last 20km…

I started preparing myself early on in the year for this event, and although I wasn’t 100% trail confident, my overall fitness this year is a lot better than that of last year. This would also be the second time I am running this race, meaning that I have a much better idea of what to expect and how to plan my race.

With the dawn of race weekend, I make the road trip to the Royal Natal National Park, from where the Mont-Aux Sources Challenge begins, and also finishes. As with last year, my dad has accompanied me for the trip, and the only difference being our place of accommodation. We will be staying in The Tower of Pizza, a self-catering venue, about 7km from the race village.

Race registration starts promptly at 15h00, and I am happy to see that this year I have been seeded into the A Batch. After registration, we head back to our accommodation, for a short rest before the evening commences with race briefing and dinner.

During race briefing we are updated on the expected weather conditions for the morning. It looks like it is likely to be a rather chilly day on the mountain despite very little cloud cover. Set to start early tomorrow morning, we depart the race village shortly after having had dinner… It’s time to make sure that my race kit is ready for the morning, and that I get enough sleep.

To waste, to destroy our natural resources, to skin and exhaust the land instead of using it so as to increase its usefulness, will result in undermining in the days of our children the very prosperity which we ought by right to hand down to them amplified and developed.

― Theodore Roosevelt

Race Morning ...

So here we are, race morning… everything is set to go, and we make our way to the race village for the start of the race. As predicted though, it is a chilly morning, with quite a bit of wind and very little to no cloud cover, leaving one guessing about how it is going to be once you get to between 1,800m and 3,000m.

Nature conservation has always been close to my heart, and with trail running, my love for nature and the outdoors has just grown even more. I've had the privilage of taking part in the amazing WILDSERIES events, and so giving my bit back to nature. This year, I won't be running the WILDSERIES events, but having seen the amount of work that WILDLANDS does towards the conservation of some of our amazing natural habitats I had to continue giving back...

The race is about to start, but we have a few minutes to go through the list of compulsory items...

Mont-Aux-Sources 2018 starts, and this year I’m off to a somewhat slower start than last year. This, thanks to being caught up behind some fellow runners who seem to be doing a lot of walking so early on. I want to pass, but also realise that I do not have a headlamp, and will struggle with proper visibility for at least the next 30 - 40 minutes. This slower start, would prove to be a blessing in disguise at the later parts of the race.

We almost instantly start with our ascent up the mountain, having to climb +/- 2,500m over the next 25km. The first 10km up to Witsieshoek is mostly single track, making overtaking quite a challenge over this first part. It’s almost better to just hang back a bit, and fall into a bit of a rhythm, rather than racing up, and then falling back. I even convince myself to walk a little more than usual over the initial start.

At the Witsieshoek aid station, the views are breath taking, and the cheers and smiles from the honorary rangers is just that little extra motivation that we need to keep pushing on. The run continues along a paved section for roughly 1km - 2km, before reaching the jeep track. This jeep track will take us all the way up to the parking lot where we will pass our last aid station for at least another 15km.

It is on this Jeep track where I bump into a familiar face, a trail friend I made on this very route the year before and oddly enough, it was also at more or less this point in the race. Kevin and I would run with in close proximity to each other for the next 15km as we accent Mont-Aux-Sources. By now, we are exposed to the elements, and the icy winds are not making it any easier.

Shortly after having passed our final add station we are greeted by a good aura, a Black Eagle, gliding through the skies. We are not at roughly 2,500m and it is definitely starting to become more and more challenging to breath with the reduced oxygen levels. It’s onto the chain ladder, where we will make our final “big” accent onto the plateau.

From here on we have +/- 10km of a somewhat flat stretch to the Tugela Falls. Despite being a flat run, it is by no means easy as every breath you take up here does become hard work as well. I can’t help but feel as if it is tougher to breath than it was last year, and can only contribute this to the colder conditions. I reach the Tugela Falls, and after having admired the view from here for a moment I continue on my way. I have this last “Speed Bump” before I reach the top of our climb, taking me to 3,000m. It’s a very slow 1km of running and walking, and even a few stoppages to take a sip of water, or a bit to eat. This is definitely tougher than last year…

I reach the top, and stare down at the next challenge, the decent down the infamous Gully. I begin my decent, using the guide rope every now and again to regain my balance. I am about halfway down, when a small stone finds its way into my shoe, causing a lot of discomfort. Having experienced a similar shoe issue last year, I decide to stop my decent and remove the stone from my shoe… Well now we have a little problem, taking the shoe off and removing the stone was easy enough, but getting into a comfortable position to put the shoe back on is somewhat impossible. I decide to continue with my decent, shoe in hand.

With the gully conquered it is now onto the remaining 20km of downhill running. These remainig kilometers can be extremely painful, if you are not well prepared. Depending on where you are in the starting field, you may need to navigate your way past some of the other runnings on the single track for about 2km - 3km. Once reaching the parking lot again, the path opens up as you spend the next 8km on the Jeep track you came up earlier that morning. On this downhill stretch I made another trail friend, Trudy. This was her first Mont-Aux-Sources Challenge, and she caught up to me quickly while attacking the downhill. We started to talk a bit and I encouraged her to reserve a bit for the end as the steep decent can take a toll on ones legs if you not careful. This meant that we ran the majority of the last 20km together. They say friends made on the trails are some of the best friends you can make. The was one point when I stopped to have a snack, leaving Trudy to go ahead. It was in this short moment when I was blessed with another good omen from the mountains, a Bearded Vulture came flying over head... Now I know what you thinking, how can seeing a vulture when you half dead be a good omen? And the answer is quite simple, with less than 100 breeding pairs left, and the Mont-Aux-Sources Challenge being the largest fund raiser to aid the conservation of these amazing birds, I could not see it in any other light...

I continue down the meandering slope, and can feel the temperature starting to rise. It's a wlcomed sight to see Witsieshoek aid station, and now knowing its just another 10km till the end. It is shortly after this point that I had caught up to Trudy again, and we continue running in each other's company for the remainer of the race. Both of us having a sub 7 hour goal in mind, I looked at my watch and saw we had ample time to make it, and we were pacing really nicely. The run to the finish would be a comfortable one and we should have no problem reaching out goal.

Then with only 5km to go, I looked at my watch and some how the extra time we had in our favour seems to have disappeared. We needed to pick up our pace just a little to stay on target for that sub 7hour finish. At this point the heat is starting to make things a little more uncomfortable and I hear Trudy telling me to go, as she is struggling to hang on I try an encourage her to keep going, but also keep pushing for the goal time. It feels like we are almost there, but to my disspointment I soon discover we've only covered 2km in what feels to be an eternity. This time round it’s me throwing in the towel and telling Trudy I am done, my feet are burning and I cannot maintain the pace. With only 1km to go, I give in to a walk, and my running party moves on ahead without me.

You can imagine my relief when I come down the final dip, and see I have more than 10minutes in my favour to reach my goal. I cross the finish in a time of 06:53:51 - YES!!! Goal achieved. Here I am reunite for my running buddy, before we head back to our respective places of accomodation to freshen up for the evening's prize giving and dinner. As always, the race weekend is concluded with a great final dinner, great photo and video memories and a host of new friends made.

The Mont-Aux-Sources Challenge is truly an icon event, and one that I think should be on every passionate trail runners race calendar. During this event you will experience a host of emotions, and will be rewarded with some of the most amazing views that the Drakensberg has to offer. MAS is a definate must!!!