TRAIL

KARKLOOF100

An African proverb teaches us: “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Such sage advice for life, but also for runners in the 100 miler and 50 miler events at Karkloof100. But this group of 50 mile runners seems to be doing both – quickly and together – and they’re only at the start of their 80km test!

They must be excused for opening the throttle: it was a beautiful Saturday morning to be alive and light on your feet in the lovely Karkloof. But not for long! The morning aged, the sun tilted high in the sky… and their world started heating up. A lot.

Conditions on Saturday topped out at 37 degrees, with a cruel dry wind for good measure. This meant that nausea, dehydration, and the possibility of heat stroke became the enemy of runners who came expecting the event’s more typical mist, rain, and lightning.

The going was even tougher for the 100 mile runners who’d started the third annual Karkloof100 at 8pm the previous day.

But the testing

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