This last weekend Lesotho served as the playground for the second edition of the Lesotho Ultra Trail (LUT).
Friday saw faces from all over the globe gathering in this remote paradise, which lies nestled between the sleeping giants of the Lesotho Mountains. Registration and gear checks were quickly and efficiently carried out and the race briefing followed soon thereafter. James Hallett, LUT's media director, had a surprise in store for the guests; a Q&A session with some of the elite athletes taking part. In the hot seats were the likes of world-renowned Iker Martin (SPN), Kristin Ohm-Petersen (CAN), Scott Jaime (USA), Sarah Ridgeway AUS] and Gareth Wyn Hughes (WAL), as well as LUT's 2013 victor, our very own Andrew Hagen.
Hagen, ecstatic to be back in the mountains, expressed his admiration for the local and international athletes who dared take on Saturday’s fast-approaching, monumental challenge. “Have fun in these mountains, it isn’t everyday you get to run in such a magnificent setting. Take it in, stay humble and enjoy your race,” he said.
Australian-born athlete Sarah Ridgeway, who now resides in Wales, took up the mic to add more of a personal touch towards trail running as a sport and gave the runners some insight onto the Australian and Welsh trail scene through the eyes of a female. Said Sarah, "Growing up, it was always normal for me to be doing the things that the blokes were doing. I was never singled out for being a girl. However, when you have a look at the trail-running community, there is a serious lack of females who are willing to get out there. The sport has become a platform for women empowerment and when you see these ladies get onto the trails with a bit of encouragement, they suddenly realise that it’s not just the men who are allowed to climb some hills and race through the forests. Next thing you know, bigger goals start to seed themselves."
Ridgeway, besides managing to spark some interest in the 'down under' trail scene, also spoke about how lucky our South African ladies are to not only be a part a culturally diverse nation but part of a sport's community that impulsively welcomed its home-bred females onto the trails. "It’s truly amazing to see so many ladies who naturally just want to get out there and be a part of the trails, without encouragement," commented Ridgeway.
The evening ended with some final words of wisdom from the Race Organiser, Andrew Booth. With good luck granted and the race briefing dusted, athletes turned to their beds for their last few hours of fresh legs and regular breathing.
With a 3 a.m. wake-up call on a frosty Saturday morning, photographers, medics, marshals and sweeps were the first to head out and set up across the 50 km tangent, four hours ahead of the runners.
The start line welcomed the shivering lips and quivering knees of all those who had kept their nerves together, to take on one of the toughest races the southern hemisphere has to offer. Amongst the line-up was SA’s Lucky Miya, Andrew Hagen, Steve Black, Tracey Zunckle, Trish Balmann and the Don-Wauchopes.
It is worth noting that with such a diverse field of competitors, there is always a diverse range of goals. For some, the goal was simply to finish, while for others it was the hunt for the win. Nevertheless, the countdown started, watches were synced, heart rates accelerated and it became anyone’s race.
The first 7 km of the route kept runners close to the lodge, as they circled the grounds before tackling their first muscle-crunching climb. Despite the premature stage of the race, a clear break between the mountain goats and rookies soon became evident.
As the race progressed, with aching legs and burning lungs, the runners prepared for their next hurdle. Several river crossings drew the competitors to a daunting 5 km climb with roughly a 1,000 m altitude gain. After attacking this lung-bursting beast, the trail carried the runners over a shrub-laced plateau, at a breathtaking 3,000 m altitude.
A merciful 5 km decent back into the valley followed on the other side. The valley led the knee-shattered victors over a smooth, single-tracked contour, which gave the runners a chance to recompose themselves and their legs, and granted a real opportunity to take in their beautiful surroundings. But the bliss of rest never lasts long in the ultra-running game, with the runners approaching a slow, torturous 3 km, 700 m brutal climb to a lung-busting altitude of 2,700 m. After summiting this final peak, the last 5 km descended into the valley for one last time before exposing a 2 km stretch to the finish line.
Lucky Miya was the first male in a [record] time of 05:31:38, followed by Welsh-0athlete Gareth Wyn Hughes in 06:04:49. Third place was quickly snatched up by Andrew Hagen in 06:13:04.
The female division resulted in an impressive performance by our local lasses, to claim an all-South-African podium. First in was KZN rock rabbit Trish Bahlmann in 06:59:55. Close behind her was Tracy Zunckel in second in 07:07:12 and third place was taken by Su Don-Wauchope in 07:20:36.
The route is far from suitable for the faint-hearted and if your training wasn’t up to the standard required, imminent failure was the only thing you had signed up for. Several runners missed the cut-off times and were DNFed. "My legs just gave up on me fighting up some of the climbs. When I got to the top, my lungs then decided they weren’t fond of the altitude and I just struggled for a rough three hours,” says one of the disheartened runners. “Safety is safety though. If it weren’t for the cut-offs, who knows how long somebody could be lost out there for. You’re either strong enough or you aren’t, but that’s not the mountains problem."
The event drew to a close with an evening of reminiscing and tired racers comparing scars and exchanging war stories.
Apart from the incredible vibe that the LUT participants bring, which undoubtedly makes the event even more worthwhile, it also needs to be noted how impeccably well each and every guest at Maliba Lodge was treated. Nicola Gerrard, of Love Africa Marketing, says that it is the hands-on staff who make the Maliba experience so special. "Without such attentive staff, who truly have a love for their guests, this race wouldn’t be what it is. It would lack heart."
However, the LUT event was not the end of this weekend’s line-up. On Sunday, the floor was open to any brave individuals who wanted to enter a second race on the lodge’s premises; The North Face (TNF) RUSH. Basically, imagine a standard 400 m track, like that one you were forced to run on at school. Now add in some soccer-ball sized boulders, all loose, and to spice things up even more, turn the track vertical so that you have to grind your way up 400 m of altitude gain.
The RUSH kicked-off at 8 a.m., with a short race briefing from TNF’s James Hallett. However, even before runners reached the starting line of this monster, they were already faced with the challenge of having to cross the bitter-cold waters of the river that separated RUSH and the lodge.
With frozen limbs, the shivering runners came face to face with their new playground; 400 m of thicket interlaced with an unmarked trail and leg-crunching climbs over loose rock. The competitors were split into two groups (men's and ladies) and there were no sub-categories; it was winner takes all. The ladies were off first, before the gents took up the challenge.
Crawling on their knees and using any tufts of grass in sight to pull themselves along, the fight to the finish became one between runner and altitude. On reaching the finish line, the shattered but elated RUSHers had the chance to stand amongst the majestic rocky giants for one last time before the weekend sadly drew to a close.
The Adventure Life team would like to extend their thanks and appreciation to Maliba Lodge for their warm hospitality and, on behalf of the race participants, congratulate the Lesotho Ultra Trail team for organising and pulling off such a fantasti event.
See you on the trails.
More information
For more information on the race and results, visit www.lesothoultratrail.com