KLOOF NEK CLASSICS 21.1KM … „GREAT JOB“

KLOOF NEK CLASSICS 21.1KM … „GREAT JOB“ 29.1.12, 4:19o´clock, Cape Town, South Africa: Better take off the alarm for 4:20o´clock, because Ißm already awake. Just take care, tah I don´wake up the girls...getting dressed fast in my race cloth, fastly I drank a coffee and ate a sandwich. Tell the Capt´n to hurry up, get my shoes on, grab my backpack and off we go, really early in the morning... 4:40o´clock Departure towards  Camps Bay. The only people you see on the streets are people who are getting home from their party´s. Well, it´s early Sunday morning. Our party starts at 6:00o´clock, with the sunset 5:05o´clock, we arrive at the Camps Bay High School. Yes, we´re right, just find ourselves a parking lot and its time for the check in, it´s really easy, nothing to fill out. It seems like no one is interesting in who is running or lining up at the start. The locals got there seasonal numbers on there back and the late registeres recieve a small bag with a small card inside, where you got to write on your name, team and more and you´ll have to carry it until the finish line... 5:30o´clock still some time to check out everything, where the start is and more. They even got here a very own starting box for the womens. Somehow here are lots of peolpe, and allof them are looking very fast. 6:00o´clock Start. An opening lap in the stadium, it feels like you´re running on feathers, awesome this deep gras, well, before I forget it, this is the only flat passage of the whole course, for the next 21,1km. Well,now it´s time to run up hill... Don´t run to fast in the beginning, you still got lots of km´s to run up and  downhill. Well, the first km I ran in 5:25, not bad, whew the next I ran in 6:10 damn it, running more slowly is not possible I think to myself, but sadly running faster as well. Anyhow, I pass lots of participants. Did I start that far behind the others? Damn it, I had to let go of Jörn, well, wait and see, how long he can manage this. But it´s really nice here and loud, the cicadas were already awake and of course sun was already at the sky. Rad, how many differnt kinds of people here are...rad, one of them is running without shoes...ouch...well, reaching km3 and the first supply stand, really practical, these bags with cold water, and everytime you here by the runners to helping hands and the supporters: Great Job, thank you for your help, thank you so muc. I never heard anything like this at home, but they are right and still the way gets up hill, but with a fantastic view... Then we reached the „ Kloof Nek“, but no way, it still goes up hill, until the  the cable car station of the Tafelberg, than a little bit more until the turning point, really hard, but an awesome scenery, I wish I had brought my camera with me, and slowly <i found my running style again, slowly is right....but it makes fun. Whew, there is Jörn coming towards me on his way back, damn he looks good...and he´s laughing. Well, I havent htought about it... Now, I reached the turning point as well, finally downhill, but only for 3km`s, than you ran up the SIGNAL HILL, I´m already able to see him, under a bright sunny sky. I think I knew, why the run is so early in the morning at 6:00o´clock. Running downhill is  a bit faster than uphill, but just for a short time, uphill again until the 16,5km point. A guy from behind came up to me,someone I can talk too, he said he likes my Pirate-Jersey and thinks I´m from Port Elizabeth. No, that´s not true, I´m coming from Germany, a small town near Cologne. Yes, he knows Cologne, but he already saw a pink Pirate in Port Elizabeth and he´s triathlete as well. And this year he starts at the half IM in Austria. I didn´t know any contest before in my life, where I was able to talk for so long, maybe, I´m not running at my limit??? But I´m not able to run faster than this. Than when I reach km 14, the next suplly store, and I see, that they built up a BBQ at 7:00o´clock in the morning...why not. The Capt´n comes towards me again, lucky him, just downhill for him. Well, I can´t be that far for me until the turning point. I start to count the women facing me. Well, if I didn´t get anything wrong I´m in the Top10. So, don´t loose my speed. Finally, downhill. Ouch, that hurts as well, ths currently stopping, passing the loud cicadas again, almost at the finish, but it is a wondeful run. There it is, the curve towards the High School, crossing a small ramp up to the stadium. One more round to run in the stadium, feels like running on cotton, than the finish, and after 1:50h I cross the finish line at the 9th women overall, really rad this time, I´ve never been before so slow and so exhausted. No matter, the winner at the women´s race got a time of 1:27h. And I think if she run in good old Germany on a flat course, she will be faster than the local mens. Well, after the finish, you´ve to concentrate again, you recieved a card by crossing the finish line with your number of finish. This I´ve to place in my name bag and than tomplace it at the board. That means lots of work for the finisher list. You can look up the results after 3 weeks in the internet, whew, that´s fast. Altogether we had 1287 articipants at this run and I´m the 9th women overall, Yeah. Now heading abck to the hotel, waking up the girls and its time for breakfast. It´s still early in the morning and lots of time left to relax at the pool. Your Sveny TEAM PIRATE JULIACUM

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