Karen and her
husband Graeme own and run Otter’s Haunt, a
guest farm on the Vaal where activities range
from
gazing
contemplatively at the river, through
fly-fishing, birding, mountain biking, hiking
and paddling to the occasional AR sprint
complete with abseiling and river crossings.
-
The plan is to hold
Haunt Jaunt weekends three or four times a
year, and possibly add some AR-type
activities on the Saturday afternoon –
maintaining a fine line between keeping
people busy and exhausting them, but with
most things being at “own pace” so that
people can be self-regulating.
As a bit of
background: Bruce hardly needs any introduction,
with many Sky Run, Puffer, Addo and Augrabies
(amongst others) wins and records to his name.
Karen and I have done quite a bit of trail
running together, including the Addo 50 miler
(taking 2nd and 1st lady
respectively), Rhodes, 4 Peaks, Mnweni marathon,
Dome Mountain Run, (Karen finished well up the
order in all of these) and Uge AR sprints, where
we won the female pairs in a recent event. Karen
runs trail around Parys almost as a way of life,
(she was the featured Rave Runner in the July
edition of Runner’s World, running at the quarry
we used this weekend for circuit training) and
is also an experienced white-water paddler of
note. I’ve done Augrabies, Table Mountain
Challenge (3rd Crusty female), Donkey
Pass challenge, amongst others, and Karen and I
have entered the inaugural Cape Odyssey as Team
Up and Running.
Six
trail runners signed up for the inaugural
Otter’s Haunt Jaunt trail running weekend, which
kicked off on Friday evening with getting to
know each other over supper around the fire at
the aptly-named Full Moon bush cabins. Their
experience ranged from newcomers to
long-distance stage-racers.
Hosted by trail legend Bruce Arnett, and
seasoned off-road runners Karen Addison
(co-owner and manager of Otter’s Haunt) and
Laura Forster, the aim of the weekend was to
provide an introduction to trail running for
those new to the sport, as well as a self-paced
training opportunity for more experienced
runners wanting to spice up their preparation
for upcoming events.
Early on Saturday morning
Bruce led the runners off from the Bush Cabins
towards the Leeuwkop quarry for circuit training
Otter’s style, while Karen and Laura made sure
that there would be plenty of drinks and snacks
on hand at the refreshment table to keep the
energy levels up. The 3k jog to the venue blew
away the cobwebs, while a warmup lap of the
quarry with Bruce ensured that everyone knew the
way – down to the water’s edge, all the way up
and over an unforgiving granite dome, back down
the loose rocky jeep track, a sting in the tail
micro-climb,
before arriving back at the water table – adding
up to about 1.3k of quality trail work.
After
a few words from Bruce about the benefits of
interval training it was every man for himself
as they ran off to see how many laps they could
do inside the hour. Craig Peterson and Greg
Nerf, both entered for this year’s 245 km
Augrabies Extreme Marathon, carried full 30
litre backpacks, really getting into the spirit
of serious training for the upcoming event.
An
hour later a somewhat more invigorated group
compared their times and distances and agreed
that this was something quite different to most
people’s idea of hill training! Varied terrain
and slope had kept the runners on their toes all
the way round, whilst each had found the pace
that suited them best.
Back
at camp after a shower and some coffee, Bruce
led a lively discussion centring on the various
trail runs available in South Africa, sharing
the experience gained over numerous Augrabies,
Addo, Puffer, 4 Peaks, and Sky Run victories
with the group. Backpacks, sleeping bags, safety
kit, hydration systems and sleeping mats were on
display, with the conversation covering topics
from training and race preparation to nutrition
and self-management during long and short races,
as well as recovery tips. The importance of
training supplements and health products as part
of a balanced training programme was discussed,
with Laftimmune and Vit-T Go (sponsored by
Revite) and DSM’s PeptoPro available for the
runners to sample.
The
afternoon saw some people resting, some mountain
biking, and others exploring the river trails
(maybe sneaking a peek at the evening’s route!)
As dusk fell, the group left the warmth of the
campfire and made their way down to the banks of
the Vaal River for an island scramble.
Headlights bobbing in the darkness they set off
across the wooden bridges and headed away down
twisting single tracks through the wooded
islands, ducking between branches and boulder
hopping the channels. Lessons learnt – paths
that are clear and easy to navigate in the
daylight become strange and new (and longer!) in
the dark – judging slope and distance by LED
light requires some practise, and landmarks are
restricted to within a few metres, reinventing
even familiar terrain.
After
a braai back at the Full Moon bush camp, the
evening concluded with the screening of the
Augrabies 2006 video, after which a good night’s
sleep was definitely in order.
Next
morning an early start again saw a colourful
string of runners trotting away from Otter’s
Haunt through the dry veldt, this time for some
long, slow distance – a 25k circular run to the
Olive Forest out in the Bergland and back. The
pace was purposeful, but suited to the slowest
runner, with frequent pauses for regrouping and
refreshments. All the runners carried their own
water and snacks for the morning, with Greg and
Craig carrying enough each for a week! Jeep
tracks and single trails took the runners though
undulating pasture and bushveldt to the hills of
the Olive Forest, where a combination nimble
footwork and hard work were needed to conquer
what might have been rechristened Heartbreak
Hill by some!
Three hours later the
group were back at camp, with a general
consensus that the mix of exercise, information,
leisure,
and good company had added up to a productive
and pleasant trail training weekend, and less
than two hours drive from Jo’burg, nogal.
Haunt Jaunt trail running
weekends will be presented
at intervals
throughout the year, with the possibility of
extending the activities into areas such as
whitewater paddling and technical
mountain-biking (for trailrunners wanting to get
into adventure racing), as well as practical
skills sessions including navigation, ropework,
and basic first aid and rescue for extreme
sports.
- Laura
Forster
