On Sunday, 22 July we all got our parents out in the cold to take as to the Waterfall Estate Momentum I-Flex Duathlon meet in Kyalami. Does ‘over the hills and far away’ ring any bells? Oh, and don’t forget the rivers and waterfalls. Well, that was what we were up against. A rough and tough course, but we are happy to report that all our athletes finished.

A big ‘WELL DONE’ to Carla Venter (3^rd) and Ashley Burger (2^nd). We also want to say well done to Musa Nene and recently joined athlete Tamryn Nortjé for doing us proud in the Brats race. If there was a prize for the best supporter, Colin Mann mom, Wendy Venter would definitely get it – she is always there to cheer us on and encourage every athlete who does the duathlon. A special thank you to Mrs Basson and Mrs Pedro who push us so hard during practice and of course, Mr Beech who makes sure we and our bikes get to the venues safe. We love the races, but love the goodie bags more and when Mrs Pedro came out with our bags, we couldn’t wait to see what surprises they held for us this time.

On behalf of the Colin Mann Multisport team we would like to thank all teachers, parents and organisers for a memorable event and getting us this far. We hope to have as much fun during the Tri-athlon series as we had with the Duathlon’s.

See you all at Buffelspoort on 19 August!

Report done by: Keegan Smit (Multi-sport competitor)

COLUMBIA HIGHVELD WINTER TRAIL CHALLENGE 2012  –  Brought to you by WildTrail SA

SATURDAY, 28 JULY 2012

NEWS FLASH!!! THE VERY FIRST TRAIL RACE TO INTRODUCE THE GAUTENG TRAIL RUNNERS SEEDING SYSTEM

A mere 20km east of Pretoria you will found one of Gauteng’s best hidden gems within the rolling hills of the magnificent eastern Magaliesberg Mountain Range… the lovely Owl’s Nest Wedding and Conference Venue. And it is from here that trail runners will have the wonderful opportunity to explore and enjoy endless kilometers of trails and paths winding through the valleys, hills and mountains. As the flag ship event on the Gauteng Trail Running Calendar, we made sure that this event allows for each and everyone to be part of and enjoy the beauty of what is on offer. So whether you are a first time trail runner or a true trail snake looking for a challenge, there is a trail to suite your fitness level and skills. The whole family will be able to enjoy a glorious day out in nature and soak up the sun onf a lovely Highveld Winter’s day wile our host, Owl’s Nest, takes care of the hunger pains and after race refuling needs at their lovely renovated entertainment area with decks overlooking the mountain and valley.

The Trail Options

Distances

5km – 7km Fun Run

10km – 12km Valley Run

18km – 21km Mountain Run

30km – 35km Super Challenge

Start Times

Challenge: 9h00am / Long: 9h10am / Medium: 9h20am / Short: 9h30am

Cost

Fun Run: R60 / Valley Run: R85 / Mountain Run: R100 / Challenge: R120

Add R10 to the entry fee for on-the-day entries

Entries

Hand entries at Run-A-Way Sport & Outdoor Freedom

Pre-entries are limited to strictly 600 entries only

Race day entries add R10 to the entry fee.

(first-come-first-serve basis)

Fantastic prizes sponsored by Columbia Sportsware!

Highveld Challenge EVENT SPECIALS!!

Pure Nutrition: Glutamine (500g)

Was R243... Now R195 + a free water bottle

when you enter for the event.

Or /and…

Blast in a bottle – Single serving Blast sachet and water bottle for only R30.00

Specials available with your online entry as well as at their product stand on race day.

THE TRAILS

5km – 7km Fun Run

Easy running on open, twisting single track through lovely indigenous bushveld vegitation. Suitable for the whole family as well as first time trail runners.

10 – 12km Valley Run

This route will take runners down into the valley where they will run through a forest section, over streams, through indigenous vegetation via jeep track and single track.

For runners wanting to do a little more than just the fun run

18km – 21km Mountain & Valley Run

A more challenging run for fitter athletes including a 11km mountain section with beautiful scenery on trails over private land never used before.  Abundant wildlife, streams and gorges. Most beautiful trail in Gauteng! Hydration pack compulsory!

30+Km Challenge

A true test of stamina and fitness on the most beautiful trails in Gauteng. For fit runners only!

Single track, jeep track and mountain running with abundant wildlife, 360 views, gorges, valleys, stream crossings and much more.

Hydration pack compulsory.

Accommodation

The lovely chalets at Owl’s Nest will be available for the weekend. To enquire or book accommodation, contact Owl’s Nest Directly at

www.owlsnest.co.za

On the Saturday we enjoyed the outdoors and did an easy hike in the Kranzkloof nature reserve. On Saturday evening we had a talent show.

Sunday finally arrived! Colin Mann School arrived at the race venue with a whole lot of parents following. The 4^th leg of the Momentum I-Flex National Duathlon series powered by PeptoPro, promised to be a sun-filled day. Colin Mann School had the most athletes there and we did a nice interview with Supersport. For some of the athletes this was their first off-road duathlon and for most of us it was the first time we finished a race covered in mud! The run was unique as we ran on a trail through the nursery, the cycling was tough and a bit scary as we slipped through muddy sugar cane fields, tempted fate over narrow make-shift bridges before cycling through a stream that soaked our bikes and shoes in mud before having to push on over a gruelling hill. Even with all these challenges, Colin Mann Multisport athletes finished with spectacular results!

It was a dirty, tired but happy group of athletes boarding the bus for the journey home.

Mrs Basson and Mrs Pedro were the heroes for organising this wonderful weekend.

Carla Venter (Captain-Multisport)

RACE RESULTS

Race results are up on RaceTime: http://www.racetime.co.za/rt/_results/2012/RaceTime-NumNumTR-2012.pdf

Awesome winning results. 118 runners took part in the end – 79 in the 36.5km Challenge and 39 in the 15km Rough It. Christiaan Greyling did a phenomenal 4hrs53 and Landie Visser out ran the ladies by an hour in 5hrs08. Mere mortals do the trail in 5 days. The 15kms runners were not to be outshone. Jonathan Beattie cruised through in 2hrs52 and Deborah Leat gave him a run for his money coming in at 2hrs55. Twenty-three people (29%) did not finish but there were no major injuries and the paramedics were bored senseless.

Thank you to everyone who gave money towards Sijila’s shoes and Sportsmans Warehouse who gave us  a great discount. He came in 3rd place doing 5hrs27… an amazing achievement for a first ever trail race. We will ask him later next week (once the pain has gone) if he wants to participate in more races.

FEEDBACK

We would really appreciate any comments you have – what we should keep, stop and start doing! Highlights and lowlights etc. Send an email to info@thenum-numtrail.co.za. The few points we picked up were:

• The Bermanzi Loop was a killer. You can blame me for this, the rest of the Num-Num Team voted to keep it out. But I heard 3  of you     enjoyed it so much that you did it twice. So it will be in the route for next year!
•  Trail signs should be closer to the ground and another colour. Advice from other race organizers is that it is impossible to get it 100% right and while a few people got lost the vast majority did not.  But we will make tweaks.
• Both races were stunningly beautiful but technically a knee breaker. Subject to an overwhelming plea for mercy from you we will keep the route the same. There are enough other trail races out there offering farm roads.

Photos on The Num-Num Trail Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Num-Num-5-Hiking-Trail/120908761254554

Photos on WildTrail SA’s Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.398322983557246.92177.100001386429442&type=1 (Debbie if you were not so brilliant at practically everything we would recommend you become a photographer).

COMMUNITY

Thank you to everyone who donated kids clothes and toys. Haven’t had a chance to sort through it all but what a pile!!! I am sure there will be happy children out here at the end of the week. The left over food we gave to Lena and her 10 orphaned grandchildren and the Working for Water men who are clearing wattle on a neighbour’s property. Full tummies tonight!

Once again, we are stunned by your drive, commitment and full on energy. Super stars! Hope to see you in 2013. If you want to see the Num-Num before then there is a Fun Run on 13 October (much more back to basics). There will be two options of 8km (Day 5, Die Kokoboom Pad) or 4km (Die Bosbok Roete). We are also happy to have trail runners on the trail all year around.

As always a HUGE THANK YOU TO: Sportsmans Warehouse, Pure Nutrition Technology, Kinetics.co.za, RaceTime, Jacklin Organics, Greg’s Photographic Services, WildTrail SA, Red Bull, Komati Gorge Lodge and Misty Valley Lodge. Plus the local police and paramedics.

Kindest regards

Donna, Guise, Christia, Attie, Francis & Wimpie (072 889 9284)

(Photograph courtesy of Ilonke Potgieter Photographer)

I hit New Orleans after a 3hr flight where I was picked up by my homestay for the weekend. I got the full break down of the city on our way from the airport and actually was pretty impressed with how much actually happens in New Orleans. They have a very successful American football side, Mississippi river, the French market, the French quarter, is one of the oldest cities in the States, boasts an incredible list of famous musicians such as Luis Armstrong and is home to one of the most famous streets in the world….Bourbon street! Scott, Diana  and the 2 children took great care of me over the weekend, giving me a continuous history lesson which I really enjoyed, in fact, their house was built in 1946 and one of the oldest registered houses in the city. They bought it  and revamped it a bit but it still is extremely old looking and is like a museum inside, ha ha.

I spent my evening playing snakes and ladders with their 4 year old daughter and watched a fair amount of cartoons during the stay. I was known as ‘ Mr Travis ‘ for the stay.

They live on the French quarter and is literally 200m from Bourbon street . So that evening on my arrival we went for dinner and a walk through to the famous street. I had heard of Bourbon street before but to be honest had no clue what it was really about. So we turn this corner off the main road and then there it was!!! I was stunned, never have I seen a street like this in my life… it’s probably like the red light district of Amsterdam if I had to compare things a little. It runs for a couple km’s with gay bars , pubs, strip joints , more pubs and bars, music bars and a constant buzz of music and entertainment along the street where locals ply their trade and rely on tips from the tourists. The biggest event is the Mardi Gras festival which takes place over Easter every year. It’s pretty difficult to give you a clear picture of what the street is like but my eyes were wider than a bush baby and most of the time I was pretty stunned, ha ha. It’s a very popular place for bachelor parties for those who are interested, lol.

So, over the weekend I got to see a few great things the city had to offer and having dinner one evening on the side of the Mississippi river was brilliant, never thought I would ever be able to experience that!

OK, now down to the race stuff… I lost a piece for my saddle along the trip across as bike bags are constantly ripped open by US officials when you fly, so they failed to place my seat adjuster back after its interrogation. So ended up calling around for spare parts but was out of luck. Eventually a bike shop agreed to make a aluminum piece that would fit in the post and a couple pieces of metal along the post which would hold it in place. Pretty stressful stuff to get it all organized in between race briefing and the hottest, most humid place I have ever been to. I got my bike back at 8pm on Sat night just in time for a 7am start the next morning.

I woke up on race morning to some more interesting weather conditions as Hurricane Nadine was approaching the city – the winds had picked up a lot , making for a very tough race day.

The race

No swim warm up was aloud for the race so we jumped into the start area, found a place along the front and off we went! It was pretty manic in the beginning at the water was very choppy from the wind and we were swimming the first 700m straight into the sun so made spotting very tricky. In spite of it all I had a fairly OK swim coming out in roughly 8^th place. The run from the swim exit to T1 was 1.1km which I ran in 3min09, ha ha, which was brilliant for me as I could close down some time lost on the swim to the first guys.

I was out of T1 and feeling good as I knew a good bike leg and I was in with a chance here of a podium. Within 2km I heard the worst possible noise as air whistled out of my tire from a puncture, I was devastated!!!! I pulled over and tried to plug it up with some pit stop stuff which puts foam into the wheel and inflates it as well as attempts to close the hole. It did work a bit but got the wheel up to about 5 bar. By this time my race was definitely messed up, I battled through the howling winds and heat to come off the bike in 10^th place but had lost too much time to the top guys. With the 5150 points as long as you finish you can still get points so thats what kept me going as I didn’t travel half way around the world for a DNF so headed out on the 10km run with the gap too big to close so just held off any other of the other pros and claimed my 10^th place and some valuable points for the Hyvee final.

Another SA athlete was in the field on Sunday too as Conrad Stoltz  is also chasing the points for the final. He had a such a great bike leg, it was awesome to see! Power from another planet! He came off the bike in the lead and a solid run gave him 4^th overall. I did introduce myself at the race briefing as I had never met the Caveman before and enjoyed some good South African banter after the race and a cool down cycle to help the legs recover. What a great guy and full of knowledge from a legendary career.

So the points put me into 16^th place in the 5150 World ranking and I very realistic chance of making the cut of 20. I have one more race on 8^th July as it’s the Boulder 5150 and a top 10 finish should cement my spot in the Hyvee final. There a few races in Europe coming up which will also shuffle the rankings up a bit. So the next couple weeks in Boulder are going to be intense and really getting ready for a bit of home advantage here for the race.

Other than that I want to say thanks to all those who have sent messages through, it’s really awesome. Hope all is well in SA and your training is going well.

Regards

Travis

Boulder is getting hot, it’s pretty much like an African summer here with the daily temp exceeding 30 degrees pretty easily everyday. I’m used to getting most of the training done early but here, cause the other pro’s have more time for training we tend to do a couple sessions during the day which is good to get used to the heat; as most races are later in the day but if you don’t have sun lotion on you will look like a proper triathlete the next day with tan lines all over.

The training here has really been a lot more intense than I’m used to and the style of the sessions with regard to intensity varies a lot. Our weeks are perfectly structured so that we can get the most out of each session and the goal in each session is very clear. All in all I’m a huge fan of it and with such awesome athletes in the group I get pushed very hard and have become a much stronger athlete in such a short space of time.

The highlights for me in the last couple weeks are always my track sessions now, as I have said previously it’s an amazing track and always feel so at home when doing the speed sessions. We brought out the trainers this week for our brick sessions and the only way I can relate the session to is when you go out on a huge night out to the clubs and by the next morning you know you threw your name away with bad behavior… well this was similar except in a painful sense as we burnt everything we had in the session. It was really a super session with speed and power to maximize the transitions in triathlon.

We are now also training in the local 50m swimming pool and had our first practice last week. It’s such a big difference and I was completely stuffed after the session…. you get half way and there is no wall in sight, a tumble turn becomes a distant memory and you learn how to swim properly. I honestly felt abused when I dragged myself out the pool like a drowned rat, ha ha. I could barely pull the brakes on my bike when cycling home. The top swimmers are taking me under their wing in the pool and coach Grant is definitely helping me improve!

The last two long runs we have had have been up in the mountain which is obviously a great place to be, but the terrain is up and down and if you don’t bring your ‘A’ game you will be a broken man after the run. The Sunday run was 22km at 2,700m above sea level on a windy day. If you haven’t run at that height before, it’s flipping high and it really forces you to go slower for the run as the air is pretty thin. It teaches you to control  your breathing and focus a lot on rhythm for me personally. We run through the National forest so I’m always on the look out for wild animals. The guys think it’s pretty funny cause I’m constantly asking what I need to look out for as there are some pretty large killers out there and I want to know exactly how high up the tree I need to climb. I have seen deer, raccoon’s, badgers, coyote’s , prairie dogs and smaller stuff but I’m yet to see a bear or mountain lion – yet which I’m dead keen to see but will probably shit myself at the same time!

The Hippy Hot tub is a very common occurrence for the week now, with the snow almost gone on the mountains. The popular thing to do is actually get a tube and float down the creek river, so the guys and I are just waiting for the next rain storm for the water to rise a few inches more and off we go. Should be good fun and an extended ice bath if you fall off.

Boulder actually does have a few hobos hanging around! It’s pretty funny to see, they are very relaxed, smoke weed most of the day and play Frisbee in the park during the day. I’m convinced they are ex- triathletes who have fallen in love with Boulder and did not get enough sponsor money to get back home where they came from, lol. At least they still keep active.

OK so now to the races, the next 3 weeks are pretty huge for my season as it’s getting to crunch time for the 5150 series. I have moved to 17^th place on the ranking and need to stay in the top 20 by July 8^th   to qualify automatically for the final. With only a few races left in the states and a couple races in Europe going on at the same time, its really getting tight. Each weekend ranking changes as the results come in. On June 24^th I will race 5150 New Orleans and July 8^th I will race 5150 Boulder , so getting good points in each of those should hopefully get me in – so will be going all out there as usual.

I’m also flying back to SA for the National Duathlon Champs. It is a flipping mission having to come back but in order to qualify for World Champs as an elite, I need to race. WC will be in France in late September and after my DNF in Spain last year I want to go back and get a great result to set things straight with that race as it’s unfinished business for me. It was my first DNF and was absolutely gutted not to have been able to give it my best shot. Will be landing on the Thursday, racing in Cape Town on the Sunday and fly back to Boulder on the Monday… will be tough going with the jet lag but you just got to suck it up and get on with it.

So SA Champs was on Sunday down in CT or well just outside in Worcester. It was a fantastic venue I thought, tucked away in the mountains on some quiet roads. We had so many spectators as the run course went straight past the highest security prison in South Africa, ha ha, I hope they enjoyed watching the race from their prison cells.

I woke up to race day with rain outside and a wind so strong that even the birds were walking!!!! So pretty much a normal Cape winters day.

The race

It started with me asking the race starter if he was going to say ‘on your mark’ then blow the horn , but before I even finished my sentence he just blew it so off we went! It was a pretty quick start actually and the run course was fair with flats, ups and downs along the route so it suited me quite nicely as I enjoy the change in pace and the hills are definitely my favorite so took advantage of that. I came into transition with a time of 30min44 which I was very happy with and can see the overseas training was paying off. I exited onto the bike with a slight lead and then began a bike leg that felt like being thrown into a hurricane. It felt like whichever way you turned on the course , mother nature had decided to change the wind direction to make it more challenging. I received a 2min penalty for apparently crossing the center white line in the road, I was incredibly angered by the decision and the way it was handled by the officials, so to cut things short and without getting into too much trouble through this email, I filed an appeal after the race and it was dealt with accordingly. It luckily did not change the result of the race but for future, hopefully it can help decisions with other athletes.

I did have a good bike split – deducting the 2min penalty so came into transition with Donovan who had a great cycle after the first run.

I set out on the last 5km and the legs felt pretty good. I gave a wave to the prisoners at the half way point and thanked them for all the cheering… just jokes, and then came in to win my 2^nd SA Duathlon title. I had my family and friends at the finish line which made the day so much better and dedicated the win to my dad as it was Fathers day and thanks to all his support with my career.

Well done to all the athletes who participated in the Duathlon, the awesome spectators and to the officials for a well organized and excellent event!

It was a real whirl wind of a trip with only 4 days in South Africa and not much sleep with the jet lag! But the experience and memories are well worth it and would do it again if I had to.

I’m sitting here on Monday night at OR Tambo writing this email and back off to Boulder, Colorado. A huge race next weekend at New Orleans 5150 and I’m sure a couple more war stories along the way as every trip seems to throw a curve ball somewhere along the way, it’s just how well prepared you are that makes the difference!

Keep up the training in SA.

Trav

The Adventure race consisted of a Full Adventure race and a Sprint race. Over 52 teams entered the different distances but not all finished. The race took the teams through the beautiful Goodland Estate to Africa Horse back where they fed the hungry lion.

Not only did they have to cycle, run and orienteer, they also had to jump down a 5m waterfall into very cold water – all in the name of fun!

Some of the teams in the full race had to be stopped due to the sun disappearing fast – these teams raced since 8 in the morning and although they didn’t finish the whole race they were still proud to have done it. The race was well organised and most teams had alot of fun!

On Sunday about 280 runners braved the cold to run either the 6, 12 or 20km trail. Running trough beautiful veld, past rivers and some runners even encountered some wild life. The 6km and 12 km runners had a ‘fun run’ but the 20km race was tough with 3 really hard up hills on their way, some called it the toughest 20 they have done.

At the finish line friends and family gathered to enjoy the winter sun while listening to the the live acts, it was a lovely atmosphere to end a great weekend of fun and pain!

Thank you to the organisers, Christiaan and Landie Visser for planning and marking all the routes and Debbie (WildTrail SA) for organising the ‘village’ with great exhibitors and sponsors. A special thank you to the main sponsor, Bosch for their contributions. Well done to everybody helping behind the scenes to make this an event to look forward to next year.

Thank you to Ilonka Potgieter Photographer for allowing us to use her pictures; for more pictures visit https://www.facebook.com/ipphotographer/photos have some fun and tag yourself and friends.

Namibian National Biathle Team Selected

Twenty-four athletes have qualified to represent Namibia at the South Africa Biathle Championships, to be held in Bloemfontein on June 23.  The athletes qualified in Namibia’s first national championship in the sport, held on June 2 at Windhoek High School. In South Africa, these athletes will have the opportunity to qualify for the World Biathle Championships in Dubai in November.

Biathle is a short but intense run-swim-run event that was introduced to Namibia this year as a stepping-stone to modern pentathlon.  The full modern pentathlon, an Olympic sport since 1912, involves shooting, swimming, fencing, horse jumping and running.  Next year, the Namibia Modern Pentathlon Federation hopes to host qualifier for the Youth Olympic Games for Pentathlon and a World Cup biathle event.

In all, 49 athletes would arrive to take part.  A few of them had competed in all five previous biathle competitions in Namibia – either in Windhoek or in Swakopmund, four hours away on the coast.  A good number of them, however, were joining their first biathle.  They, in particular, listened intently as race officials explained the course layout and the race regulations.  Nearly a quarter had come from Katutura, Windhoek’s sprawling township, where few if any had enjoyed the luxury of regular swim lessons or synthetic sportswear.  In fact, most of these athletes were running on borrowed “tekkies” and using donated swim goggles.  Yet virtually all of the athletes were anxiously looking forward to their first national championship competition of any kind, and wondering whether they would do well.

The races kicked off promptly at 9 am with the youngest age groups.  All of the youth categories were represented, and competitors gave it their all, regardless of whether they were fiercely being challenged for the lead, or running virtually unopposed.  For a handful of the younger competitors who had pushed hard on the first run, the transition to the swim proved too much.  Giving in to the temptation to stand in the shallow pool, they were grudgingly disqualified, but they kept a positive attitude, vowing to train harder for next year, and continuing to cheer on their fellow competitors.

By noon, most of the races were complete – with competitors up to and including both “Masters A” men and women – and Federation president Anton Swart announced age group winners in a short but vigorously applauded medal ceremony, followed by announcement of Namibia’s first national team.  In total, 24 athletes manages to qualify, and will thus be eligible to compete in the World Championship qualifier in Bloemfontein, South Africa, on June 23.

We heartily appreciate and applaud the efforts of all – athletes, volunteers, and supportive friends and family members – in making Namibia’s first biathle championships a success.