Team Amawele on an Odyssey journey
November 3rd, 2008 by Nicola Lockhart
Wow, I feel like I have awoken from a dream. Just over two months ago I and now amazing friend Vivienne Fenton decided we would take part in The Cape Odyssey. Since the introduction of this race last year this has been a dream of mine. A very big thank you to Vincent Fenton – Viv’s father who helped me realise my dream by sponsoring myself and Viv to take part in this race. In return I suggested to Viv that we introduce a charity drive involving kids that she works with and we launched project Wishbone – we would try and raise a pair of shoes for every kilometer that we ran 206 km/206 pairs of shoes and have running clubs set up in 5 schools/5days running. We stuck with the twinning theme as that is the name of the charity that Viv works for “Amawele” – translation - twins – by chance Viv and I were born within a few days of one another and bear a strong resemblance.
We had done very opposite training – I had been doing short fast races concentrating on standard distance triathlon – I last did a marathon in 2006. Viv had recently made the cross over to long distance and had taken part in 2 Oceans and Knysna marathon. We also discovered in our training that Viv was stronger on the climb; I was more comfortable on the descent. Viv also raced in 1st gear and I raced in 5th! She was very comfortable to attack early whereas I would settle into a pace and then get stronger. She also ate a 3 course breakfast before racing whereas my stomach was quite sensitive to large portions of food.
Day 1 Hermanus to Kleinmond 28km
This is a race that you start not with the attitude how fast are we going to finish. Instead you are thinking I hope we get through this thing! They mention at the pre-race briefing that not everybody will finish and you are aware that anything can happen that can suddenly end your race. You start this race with a lot of respect! You feel like you are going into a battle zone and dodging bullets.
We started at an easy pace in the middle of the crowd. Viv started getting a little competitive at the feeding station challenging me to a burping competition after gulping down her juice. We then set foot on the beach towards our man made water crossing to get over the river mouth. We passed a ladies team just before the crossing and once we were running on the sand we passed another ladies team. As we were heading for the home run we were on the heels of another ladies team and I was aching to attack – I glanced at Viv hoping to get a nod of approval and she reminded me that it was the 1st day and to pace ourselves – it is so easy to get carried away!
Ladies results:
1.AK Sports3.02.40
2.Salomon Pros 3.06.35
3.Whippets 3.11.14
4. Scotty’s 3.14.49
5.Amawele 3.15.52 (34th overall)
Cut off: 5hrs
149 teams finished
(23 ladies teams)
Day 2 – Kleinmond – Paul Kluver 57km due to rain 52km
This was my worst day – I was stung/bitten within the 1st 5km. Viv was strong. I was not feeling well and being cautious as I have a bee allergy and they had warned us of bee’s en-route. My leg was stinging and I did not want to take antihistamine in case it made me drowsy. Spoke to Doctor who said to take medication – this upset my tummy and had Viv waiting for me a couple of times. I felt terrible holding her up but the circumstances were out of my control. She was very patient. It was a long day – not as scenic or interesting as day 1. We were surprised that we had still managed a reasonably competitive finish. My feet were blistered and I learnt the art of threading cotton through blisters to drain them. We camped for the 1st time and temperatures dropped to -2deg that evening!
Ladies Results:
1 Salomon pros 5.14.01
2 Whippets 5.16.14
3 Scotty’s 5.19.04
4 AK Sports Girls 5.22.13
5 Amawele 5.35.51 (overall 36th)
Cut off 9.30hrs
Teams finished 142
Ladies 23
Day 3 Paul Kluver-Grabouw 42km
Day three the temperature got warmer. We also felt a little more confident as to what worked and what did not work. We packed less for the journey. I think we both came to the realization that this was not a just run, it was a race. We spent less time at water stations and introduced a couple of tactics. The route was more interesting – we chatted to other runners and it was a much more enjoyable day. The route suited both of us – starting uphill and ending downhill. I felt very comfortable in the mountains of Grabouw having run Xterra on some of this route. We passed both the Scotty’s and later the AK sports girls. I do not think they really saw us as a threat so it was great being the dark horses of the day! We finished 3rd at the lovely setting in Grabouw where we got to soak our aching legs in the dam. That evening we relished in having our 1st podium finish. We were also awarded a spot prize for being the team “most pleasing on the eye” what an amazing eve.
Ladies Results:
1 Salomon pros 4.37.25
2 Whippets 4.38.00
3 Amawele 4.47.09 (22nd overall)
4 Scotty’s 4.50
5 AK Sports 4.51.33
Cut off 8.30
Teams finished 137
Ladies 23
Day 4 Grabouw – Franshoek 44km
Day 4 was incredibly hot and it seems so were my and Viv’s tempers. It started with my changing my socks as I was boiling and Viv having to wait for me – quite a while. She was annoyed and I got all stubborn and challenged her to a sprint to make up time (we look back and laugh at this) - after a short lived confrontation the endorphins settled in and we were back to our happy selves. We had a lovely run – it was tough and we encouraged each other through the challenging bits. We passed the Scotty’s early in the race. We then passed the AK sports team as the route got more technical – they almost took a wrong turn but Viv indicated the way to them. It was probably one of the toughest stages to run technically (I even broke a nail!!!) I think having trained in the mountains was a definite advantage. We arrived in Franchoek where we were treated by Viv’s Steve to lovely lunch that he had made for us. Viv stayed out at a BnB that eve and I was left in my tent wondering what to do the next day. The pressure was on – we were 12minutes behind finishing on the podium for the overall race.
Ladies Results:
1 Salomon pros 5.12.21
2 Whippets 5.15.02
3 Amawele 5.45.40 (29th overall)
4 AK Sports Girls 5.53.51
5 Linx 5.55.56
Cut off 8.30hrs
Teams finished 124
Ladies 22
Odyssey Day 5
The last day of the race was quite relaxing as we were able to start an hour late to ensure that supporters doing the fun run at the finish would be able to see us after their race. We decided to just go out and enjoy the day and the experience and try and race a little when we settled into our pace. I was relieved that were not going to put ourselves under pressure for a podium – It would have been an amazing way to end the race but could not be our focus. The gap was 12minutes and it was a short distance. I also had a slight ITB strain and was worried that upping the pace would aggravate it … it did…
Viv was an angel – she offered to carry my bag – we then took on the three legged hobble where we linked arms and she kind of lifted the side of my body up and we managed to grimace through my injury – yup Siamese Amawele. It eased off and I ran a bit through sections I found running backwards and skipping sideways seemed to help too. We had about 5kms left so I kept visualizing my local run to the light house and back from the pool and breaking it up mentally.
We started making some ground and towards the end passed a few of the teams that had taken us. We got to the railway track and we could smell home and the lovely hearty voice of commentator Paul Valstar in the distance was music to our ears. We picked up the pace and sprinted holding hands passed the cheers and the outstretched palms of all the supporters – it was amazing.
First people we saw at the finish was Triathlon team-mate Martha Koekemoer and next was Eckhard AKA Poh Shu – our body guard who had done most of our off-road training with us , my coach a very proud Evan Jones with wife Monica and son, my core –instructor Chris, then my oldest friend from School Joanne and later my mom and step dad – my amazing friend Sara who introduced me to running, Viv’s Steve and Gert that had loaned us sleeping bags… wow – I have never had so many friends support me at a finish line!!! It was amazing! Thank You for making my day special! Thanks to all that shared in our celebrations! Also a very big congratulations to friends that shared the journey and training – well done Team Mojo – John and Moyra on an awesome 2nd place and to Tallulah and Klaus, also a very big thanks to Mark Copson and Gratton Rippon who were also very generous in offering us New Balance shoes at discounted prices for project wishbone.
Not to mention all of our kind donors: We managed to more than raise sponsorship for the 206 pairs of shoes – we had a little left over so Viv and I are going shopping in Thailand – just joking – the surplus is going toward setting up running clubs for the schools. We hope to keep you updated on this.
Ladies Results:
1 Salomon pros 2.28
2 Whippets 2.36
3 AK Sports Girls 2.37
4 Linx 2.45
5 Amawele 2.50 (37th overall)
Overall results – all stages
1 Salomon 20.38
2 The Whippets 20.56
3 AK Sports Girls 21.50
4 Amawele 22.15 (28th overall)
5 Linx 22.50.15
List of South African Amawele wishbone warriors who helped make the dream come Shoe we received 109 shoes:
David Johnson, Steve Atwell, Gert Wilkins. Guy Vesey, Andrew Brayteseth, Rachel Ramsden Sara Thomas, Carla Burdzik, Nic Visser, John Morison, Jack Thonissen, Natalie Becker, Klaus Kassel, Marc Stavrakis, Bertus Bresler, Andrew Espin, Parkin Emslie, Dusan Radmanovic, Mel and Jared Mahaffey,Mark Stavrakis, Vivienne and Jeff Immermann, Derek John, Heidi Koch, Adrian Odell, Joanne Moolman, Ebbe Spaarwater, David Smith, Garth Roberts, Kevin Joffee, Bron Villet, Bulelwa Jaxa, Julia Willand, Kevin Jackson, Rupert Barnard, Eckhard Scholtz, Thilo Schmiedeknecht, Andreas Schaal, Anna Tina Schaal, Sandra Baetsen, Martha Koekemoer, Sean Cardinal.
Businesses/clubs:
Nashua, PEP, BMC, Atlantic Triathlon Club members, Varsity Old Boys members, Pinelands Hockey Club, Pembroke Hockey Club Ireland. Atlantic Athletics club, CRAG running club, NEW BALANCE
We also managed to raise 5000 euros from our generous donors in Ireland – unfortunately we cannot thank everybody individually as it was through a fund raising night at the Laughter Lounge in Dublin. However you know who you and our schools are extremely grateful.
However we would like to say a special thanks to Celine Dee, Tom Scanlon, and Valerie Fenton for helping organize the fundraising night in Ireland. Also a big thanks to Anne O Brien, Grainne Edwards, Nessa Cronin for there continued support of the charity work of Amawele.
If we have missed anybody our biggest apologies, it is tough reconciling info from so many generous people – we are very appreciative!!!
The race will be screened on the following dates:
| Date | Time | Channel |
| Tuesday, 28 October 2008 | 20:00 – 20:30 | SS1/SS1A (Premier) |
| Wednesday, 29 October 2008 | 11:30 – 12:00 | SS2/SS2A (Repeat) |
| Thursday, 30 October 2008 | 23:00 – 23:30 | SS1/SS1A (Repeat) |
| Friday, 31 October 2008 | 06:00 – 06:30 | SS2/SS2A (Repeat) |
| Saturday, 1 November 2008 | 17:15 – 17:45 | MNET/SS1/SS1A (Repeat) |
| Monday, 3 November 2008 | 21:30 – 22:00 | CSN/SS1/SS1A (Repeat) |
October 200ner could have asked for and much more besides.
CAPESTORM is delighted to bring you an evening of recollections, memories, advice for 2009 and some tips on what not to do! Runners from this year ’s race including both women’s and masters’s teams, one half of the overall winning team Jacques van Rensberg and his partner JAG founder Elana Meyer.
With literally 1000’s of stunning images from world class photographers we will take you through the stages day by day and relieve the agony and the ecstasy with those who took part, including double women’s winners Linda Doke and Karoline Hanks, sports scientist Kathy Mc Quaide and age grouper world champion triathlete and now Odyssey winner Viv Williams.
If you want to relive the race with friends, are interesting in running in 2009 or just want to see what all the fuss was about join us for an evening of celebration. Event sponsors Salomon will be on hand to offer advice as well as having many special offers on the evening. CAPESTORM will also have a 10% discount on all apparel and 5% discount on non CAPESTORM gear (excl Polar, Suunto and Leatherman).
Complimentary snacks and a subsidized cash bar will be available. There will be a R20 entrance fee all of which will go directly to the two charities associated with this year’s Odyssey; The Big Tree Foundation and JAG.
FREE LIMITED ADDITION TRAIL SERIES WATER BOTTLES TO FIRST 200 ARRIVALS ON THE NIGHT.
Date: Wednesday 19 November 2008, Time: 19h00 for 19h30 (cash bar and snacks will be available).
As with previous events seats will be on a first come, first served basis. Please RSVP by emailing info@capestorm.co.za and specify the number of places required. Seats are limited.
Venue: CAPESTORM Wynberg Store, 45 Lester Road, Wynberg, Cape Town.
Hope to see you there!!!!
