Category: Racing

The DUESOUTH XTERRA Series, part of the XTERRA World Circuit, is known as the
‘Down-to-Earth’ Triathlon Series. Anyone with a passion for great outdoor sports is encouraged to participate. Despite its fun aspect, the race attracts top competitive athletes. The XTERRA full race consists of a 1.5km swim, 25km bike and 10km run. Nico Pfitzenmaier, a German athlete living in South Africa, finished third at the recent SA Champs in Grabouw. He shared his experience with Modern Athlete.

DUESOUTH XTERRA South African Finals presented by REHIDRAT?, Grabouw Country Club, 20 February

Even though I’m German, my whole body functions better in the warm weather. In my previous life I must have been a warm-blooded lizard! In 2004 I decided to live my dream by becoming a triathlete and travelling the world. The following year, I came to South Africa to compete in the Ironman.

After Ironman, Lieuwe Boonstra (a top South African XTERRA triathlete) and I competed together at the DUESOUTH XTERRA SA finals in Grabouw, my first South African XTERRA event. I fell in love with South Africa, its fascinating culture, the amazing landscapes and the friendly, active people. I decided to move here in 2006.

Sport has become a lifestyle. Being outside in the sun, fresh air and nature makes me feel alive.

It is fantastic to see how the DUESOUTH XTERRA in South Africa has grown over the last two years. The standard of the race is world class.

My preparation for this years’ race was not great, so my focus was to have fun and get some publicity for the Earth Child Project, a charity in Kayelitsha that I raise funds for. I was relieved that we were allowed to race in our wetsuits. I have been known to swim like a rock and cycle like a rocket! In the swim I did not push hard, but on the bike I put everything in. About 3-4km into the race I spotted Kent Horner and Dan Hugo, two of South Africa’s top XTERRA athletes. By the time I had made up three minutes on Kent, Dan put the hammer down and distanced himself from us. I made up some time on Kent and reached the transition in second place.  

The heat was on in the run and Kent caught me quickly. The toughest part was the steep Jeep track. On the top of the mountain, we saw the most amazing views. With a big smile I crossed the finish line and dove straight into one of the big ice tubs!

My main motivation to race is to encourage others to enjoy sport. I want to create an awareness of fun, respect for others and a sense of community amongst athletes.

The first leg of the 2010/2011 DUESOUTH XTERRA will take place at the Pezula Private Estate, Knysna on Thursday, 8 July 2010 as part of the Pick n Pay Knysna Oyster Festival. For more information contact (021) 883 2413 or visit www.stillwatersports.com. 

For more information on triathlon and mountain biking camps, visit www.epix-sports-tours.com or go to www.earthchildproject.org for more information on the Earth Child Project.

The Atacama Desert Wrap Up!

I have just got back to the hotel in San Pedro….so good to shower and brush my teeth again – the fur on my teeth was getting outta control!

I needed to run a sub 42:00 10km on the last stage to finish the Atacama Desert race in under 24hours… We started at 1pm today and I knew I had to go as hard as I could from the start… There were a couple of really steep climbs to start off with and I was behind target pace but then the course headed onto a gravel road and I could up the tempo. I kept looking at my watch to check the time….was I going to make it!!??

Then there it was…I saw the finish line…I sprinted in in under 42min and managed to finish the race in under 24 hours and win the 2010 Atacama Desert Race. Three deserts down and now only the “Last Desert” to go in November…. Whooo Hooo!!

The last week was an awesome experience; the Atacama Desert is one of the most beautiful places I have run in but the conditions were brutal! The hard training seemed to pay off and I am super stoked with the way things have gone… Off to the awards banquet now and then I fly to France tomorrow for Salomon Advance Week.

A huge thanks to my sponsors / “dream givers”; Velocity Sports Lab (Thanks Trev!!!!), Salomon Sports, Oakley, Suunto, Imazine and Hammer Nutrition. My achievements over the past week would not have been possible without you guys, thanks for all the support!!

Thanks to everyone for your messages of support…they helped me keep going forward when my legs wanted to stop!!

Cheers
Ryan

Pic Credit: Dean Leslie/ The African Attachment www.wanderingfever.com

We had a staggered start today for the long stage of 76km, so the faster guys started at 10:30am just as it was getting really hot. The wait to start took forever and I had a few butterflies in my stomach….every long stage does that to me as it can be really brutal if you are having a bad day.

We started on some more salt flats and I took a hard fall early on leaving me cursing myself not to be so clumsy. This was followed by a combination of more sand dunes, salty coral formations, rock, canyons and some extreme heat…. But I was having a good time passing the slower competitors…some company was good. At the half way point I got a stupid idea that sub 7 hours was doable…I think the previous record was about 8 hours something. So I put my ears down and went for it…there were times I really regretted my decision but another voice in my head said don’t be a wuss and just run.

After a bit of suffering I crossed the finish line in 6 hours 57min and I think I may be able to sneak under 24 hours for my total race time depending on how long tomorrow is…I heard it is 10kms.

But more importantly the pizza at the finish is going to be good. Freeze dried meals, smash, stock cubes, Perpetuem, gels, ProNutro, Recoverite have done the job this week but I need some real food now!!

Chat tomorrow

Ryan

I woke up this morning with a few butterflies in my stomach as stage 4 heads straight through the infamous salt flats..

It was freezing cold again this morning….I don’t do the cold well so I will have to make a plan for Antarctica!

We started off stage 4 on more sand dunes….I thought I had seen all the sand dunes Chile has over the previous three days. Just before the first checkpoint we headed down a really steep dune into a river with loads of vegetation, for a second I thought I was back in the jungle again. There were seem deep areas in the river which I managed to avoid but a few competitors were not so lucky and I have been hearing complaints of wet i-pod’s and cameras.

After checkpoint two I headed through a small village and was greeted by a few dogs snapping at my ankles… Luckily I survived and headed along a 13km soft sandy track to checkpoint 2 and the start of the salt flats. I was expecting the worst going through the salt flats but it was actually not that bad… It was a mixture of more salty coral like terrain and softer salts flats that now and again my feet would pierce through. I survived the salt flats thanks to my Salomon S LABS… and after checkpoint 3 it was a quick 6km to the finish on a jeep track…. As I am typing two dogs are crossing the finish line with a competitor… apparently they followed him across the salt flats…

I finished feeling strong today and I am looking forward to getting the long stage out the way and finishing in San Pedro!

Thanks to everyone for your messages of support!!!

I will keep you posted.

Ryan

(All attached pics from RacingThePlanet.)

I woke up this morning and it was too cold to get out my sleeping bag….so it took me a while to get going.

I was strapping up my pack next to my tent and heard 10, 9, 8…. I made a dash for the start line and we were off.

We started off running through what looked like “ploughed fields of coral”…. very slow moving, crunchy underfoot and now and again my foot would get swallowed by the “coral” leaving cuts on my shins. After 5km I moved onto an open stretch of road and it was nice to stretch the legs out again before reaching checkpoint one. The next stretch to checkpoint two was a mixture of single track and sand dunes, I was feeling good and at checkpoint two I thought I was going to be in for a short and easy day.

I was very WRONG…the entire next section (10.5km) was over “ploughed coral fields”…this is a mixture of hard packed mud and salt – ideal for twisting ankles. The going was slow moving but loads of fun and I got to the last checkpoint feeling great and my legs were feeling strong.

It was 11.5km to the finish but it felt like 111kms…it took me 01:35 to get through a mixture of sand dunes and rock shelves….very slow!! It kept getting hotter, the sand kept getting softer and I was having serious sense of humour failure….what was taking so long!? I eventually crossed the finish line feeling exhausted but glad it was over…

To my surprise I was over an hour ahead of the second placed competitor…Apart from the last 5km of the race I felt really comfortable and my legs seem to be feeling a bit stronger. With the long stage lurking around the corner this is a good thing!

I was asked the question what I thought was the hardest 4 Desert apart from Antarctica…My answer after today is Atacama! It has got the hardest bits of Gobi, Sahara and more! But this is by far the most beautiful desert and the scenery is insane when I get a chance to take it in.

Thanks to everyone for your Birthday wishes and messages of support!

Ryan

Last night I slept a lot better and it felt less cold…but I was probably just exhausted from the first days racing.

We started off the first section of stage two running in the slot Atacama Desert Race – Day 2…and nearly stage 3 too! Canyons; the scenery was awesome with a few river crossings. Yes, a river in the driest dessert in the world…but I was not complaining as the ice cold water was the perfect recovery remedy my legs needed. There was quite a bit of life along the river with wild donkeys, birds etc. Straight after the first checkpoint we headed up a pass, through an old mining tunnel and then up some more before running along a ridge with panoramic views of the desert. I was told the Atacama Desert course was flat…..going by the last two days this is definitely not the case!! Just before checkpoint two we dropped of the ridge down a massive sand dune….it made Table Mountain look small!

The final two sections were flat, sandy, HOT and lonely….I was in the lead but I did not know by how much. I could see no one behind me so I decided to put it in cruise control and take an easy run into the finish…. or so I planned! But that only lasted for a few minutes…no pain and suffering was over rated and I decided to push on and get to the finish before it got too hot. The day nearly ended in disaster when I started following the flags for the start of stage three….luckily I realized something was not right and I did not end up wasting too much time. I finished 50mins ahead of the second placed runners so my lead is growing but the race is still in the early stages and anything can happen…

But for now all is good!!

Ryan

Last night must go down as one of the coldest nights of my life…. the consequences of trying to have a light pack and not using a sleeping mat!

It was a good feeling to get started this morning after the previous week’s events and the lead guys set off at quite a quick pace. I was feeling good on the first climb and made a break and ended up running the rest of the stage on my own. My final time was 3 hours and 3min about twenty odd minutes ahead of the second placed runner. From my previous race experiences it helps to have a time cushion after the first day so I am quite chuffed with the way things went. Not to say it was easy out there…

I still can not get the fact that we are running along in a desert in 40 degree temperatures and looking up at snow caped mountains…. there were a few times today when I could have done with some of that snow! The first two sections of the stage flew past really quickly apart from a quick pit stop…. Rob, I could have done with a pooh bag! The third section had a never ending hill which kept on going up… There is not a lot that lives in the Atacama apart from a few Llamas and things got very hot and lonely out there. I finally made it to the check point and from there it was a quick 3.6km to the finish. It’s a big day relief to get the first day under my belt with no issues.

The terrain here reminds me of running in the Gobi Desert except there is not much life and the air has slightly less oxygen! When we are not running in dry river beds, then it is across fields of rock and sand. But all in all it has been a good day at the office in an awesome place..

Off to the tent now to put my feet up..

Ryan

Most competitors have now arrived in the small town of San Pedro and are making final race preparations. I went for a short run on Saturday to check everything is still working and it hit home – I am finally in the Atacama Desert. It is awesome here and the hotel we are staying has an African feel to it…making me feel right at home.

Dean Leslie (The African Attachment) and I explored the town this morning and below are a few shots…All shots by Dean Leslie

Competitors have a race briefing and kit check tomorrow morning and then it is off to the Desert in the afternoon to start the race on Monday. I can’t wait to get started now…

Thanks to everyone for their messages of support!!

Keep you posted…

Ryan

Sport and long hair don’t always mix. Many female runners complain that their hair gets tangled up in a mess of knots after a run. It takes forever to comb it out, often leaving you with hands full of damaged hair. Modern Athlete spoke to Pieter van Wyk, professional stylist at Dave & Johan, part of HARINGTONS? Hairdressing London, for some advice on how runners can make sure their ponytails don’t get in the way of a good run

As we all know, the outdoors and the elements affect our hair. Pieter van Wyk explains that to solve the problem of knotty hair after a run, you have to take some measures before and after your run. He gave us a list of dos and don’ts to help us keep our locks sleek and knot-free. • When tying up your hair before a run (whether it is curly, straight, long or medium length), use a soft cotton elastic. Stay away from rubber or thin ballerina elastics.
• After tying up your hair, take your fingers and spiral your hair tightly to the end and roll the hair around the base of the ponytail, almost making a small bun, then secure with a small pin or second elastic at the base.
• To add style, take a broad soft hairband and tie it around the bun as though you were tying a bunch of roses at the base. You can also wear a hairband or sweatband to secure your hair around the face.
• After a run, remove the hairband and pin/elastic to loosen the bun. Shake the hair loose and immediately rinse it, lightly shampoo and condition.
• Use a salon professional shampoo and conditioner with an antioxidant such as vitamin E or grape seed extract and a moisturiser which contains jojoba oil, avocado oil and vitamin B6. This will cleanse and soften your hair after exposure to the sun and other elements. Whilst conditioning, comb the hair with a wide-toothed comb and rinse thoroughly.
• Before drying your hair, apply a salon professional leave-in styling cream with a detangling action and humidity protection, comb out with a wide-toothed comb, then finger dry or blow wave your hair.

BELLVILLE ATHLETIC CLUB
Address: Bellville AC Clubhouse, entrance to Danie Uys Park, 12th Avenue turn-off on Frans Conradie Drive, Boston, Bellville
When:  Thursday at 6pm
Distance: 3km and 5km

The best part of the Bellville Time Trial is from 3.5km to 4.5km, a lovely downhill stretch where you can really push for home. As club chairperson, Wietsche van der Westhuizen, puts it, “Our time trial starts with a 2.5km warm-up, then there is a solid 1km uphill, a solid 1km downhill, and a nice moderate last half a kilometre to finish with. Then there is Coke and water waiting for all the finishers back at the clubhouse.”

The route runs down to Frans Conradie, turns left and then left again for a dog-leg up Carl Cronje Drive to the golf driving range, then comes back past the clubhouse road and into the suburb of Boston. From 12th Avenue (which runs parallel to Frans Conradie) you loop up into 13th Avenue via Boston Street, then up Langenhoven Street and into 18th Avenue. The turn point is at Lincoln Street, where you turn left, then left again into 17th, left again at Salisbury Street and right into 18th again – and fly back to the clubhouse. The 3km route just cuts out the dog-leg up Carl Cronje.

Wietsche says that members of several other clubs in the area often join their time trial, and the group usually numbers around 40 runners and walkers per week. “It’s a pleasant route with minimal traffic to worry about, but in winter, when it’s a bit dark for running on the roads, we move the time trial to the Bellville Track so that the runners can do their 3000m or 5000m under the lights.”

Difficulty Rating: 2.5 out of 5