MARATHON: Touching the Ingeli Sky

RUNNING

Words: Tori Leckie, www.fitchicksandfastwomen.com ǀ Photos: Anthony Grote, www.anthonygrote.com

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The lowdown This past weekend was the inaugural Ingeli Skymarathon®, a 42 km trail run through the Ingeli Mountain range with 2,100 m vertical ascent.

There were 20 km, 12 km and 5 km distances also on offer.

Not terribly well known, the Ingeli Mountain range, sitting just 30 km from Kokstad in southern KwaZulu-Natal, proved to be one of the most spectacular routes I’ve run in a long time.

I am aware I’ve said this a few times since moving to this wonderful country, but this one truly took my breath away.

Even as I type this now, I find an enormous smile emerging on my face as I transport myself back to those spectacular views.

The night before We arrived at the host venue for the race, the Ingeli Forest Lodge, late afternoon. More about the hotel later, but for the record, this is one fabulous weekend getaway for the runners, hikers and bikers amongst us. Registration and the race briefing followed, which made for a packed room full of bracing anticipation, nervous excitement and animated chatter.

I laughed when Race Director Andrew Booth told us that his stated race distances rarely correlate with the actual. I suppose this just throws into the mix some added adventure. He then went through the usual briefing stuff but to be honest, I don’t rate myself terribly highly at listening to instructions, never mind following them. Instead, I found myself looking around the room, sizing up my fellow participants and feeling like everyone looked stronger, leaner, fitter and faster than me.

And I wondered whether we’re all sometimes guilty of this.

It’s silly really. We sign up to these events to run our own race and our performance comes entirely from within. Add to this the fact that at any one time, every participant is at a different stage of their game; virgin trail runner, weekend warrior or seasoned pro … running to train for their A race or this is their A race, fresh out of injury or at their peak … there’s no end to the variables.

I also thought how funny it is that on the night prior, regardless of the race or our experience, we find ourselves discussing incessantly what we’re wearing, what we’re taking, what we’re going to eat, drink and think, as if we were all newbies to these races. I know it’s great to share thoughts and ideas, but only we know ourselves and what we can stomach to eat, how hot we get or how we feel the cold.

And one man’s mound is another man’s mountain. At least here, we’re all talking the same language. I’ve found myself in some pretty remote countries having the same pre-race conversations around a table with a multitude of languages.

For the record, you normally end up more confused at the end of the conversation than you did at the start.

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The day of reckoning Breakfast at the lodge held the same enthusiasm and chatter as the night before, as we filled our bellies from a wonderful buffet to power us through the race. It was still dark outside but by the time we started the race at 06h00, daylight was creeping in.

The first few kilometres were through an enchanted forest on pretty technical trails. The shading from the towering trees left little to be seen below, so you had to remain vigilant every moment to avoid falling on rocks and roots. You could see the sun start to filter through the trees and it looked truly stunning.

When we eventually left the forest and came to wide-open hillside fields, it was like a shaded oyster had opened to reveal the perfect pearl.

From there, we had some pretty steep climbs that at times felt long and quite relentless. But with the sun shining and the sky a brilliant blue, it was difficult not to actually enjoy and embrace every lung-bursting moment (easy to say that in hindsight!).

The route had a mix of purpose-cut paths and rough terrain, you know the sort of trail that has been designed specifically to torture your ankles. Up and down we went, running, walking, fast pacing. On reaching the highest point at 2,130 m, the temperature dropped and mist engulfed us, but you felt on top of the world with views as far as the eye can see and the sort of wind in your hair that makes you feel so free and alive. I imagined myself floating along, like Maria running in the meadows in The Sound of Music, however, I can safely state that what I looked like was far from this; rather a pair of tired legs plodding along without style or grace!

On the way up, I stopped a few times (not only to catch my breath) to marvel at the 360-degree beauty.

It struck me that too often, when climbing up a mountain, we focus only on the next step without looking behind and absorbing how far we’ve come. And how perfectly this translates into our lives. We can get so blinkered, striving constantly towards our goals without enough thought about the journey we’ve taken before and how much we’ve achieved already. Note to self. And note to readers.

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Dropping back down the mountain was, for me, the toughest part of the course.

It was steep with a wicked camber, giant tufts of grass to continue the ankle torturing and some slippery sections just to throw in the odd muddy slide. On terrain like this, you can’t help but question whether these races would be better named trail-less races.

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The final 20 km was far easier; a pretty leisurely amble through some stunning forest on undulating trails. The forests just seemed to go on forever with their endless switchbacks revealing more and more simple, rugged beauty.

Nature at its best!

My final thought on finishing the race was the 100% lack of rubbish I saw on the route. Not one single GU wrapper.

This, I think, was a first in my history of races. And so it was in keeping with our love for enjoying and taking care of the outdoors that every finisher was given a gorgeous little fever tree to plant at home.

The rest of the afternoon was spent basking in the sunshine on the lush lawns in front of the lodge eating, drinking, chatting and laughing. This was followed by prize-giving, where every marathon finisher was called up to collect a certificate.

The day after The course, as I think I’ve stressed enough, was wonderful; just total raw, picture-perfect beauty. But beyond that, the race organisation, briefing, route markings and aid stations were all faultless. As for the Ingeli Forest Lodge, what we called home for the weekend, the team was fantastic and accommodating. Meals were magic and the bar was the perfect spot to rehydrate post race, with a roaring fire and giant screen to keep the boys happy. I shall definitely return in future just to enjoy their fantastic network of trails at leisure. You can even pitch up just for the day, grab a map, design your own adventure and then chill out back at the lodge to share tales of the trail. You can certainly tell that it’s a family business with owners who share our passion for the great outdoors.

My enormous thanks to Andew Booth at KZN Trail Running for putting on such a phenomenal event. And to Anthony Grote for capturing so many wonderful images. And last but not least, to Ingeli Forest Lodge for sharing your fantastic hotel and its spectacular trails with us. You may have once been a well-guarded secret, but I doubt that will remain. • KZN Trail Running - www.kzntrailrunning.co.za Ingeli Trail Run - www.ingelitrail.co.za Ingeli Forest Lodge - www.ingeliforestlodge.com

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