Following the torrential rain of Saturday it was with some trepidation that I cast my eye to the early morning skies, but blessedly was only greeted with a light drizzle and otherwise pleasant running weather.
I arrived a tad late, but entries were still proceeding seamlessly, and the announcer did a good job of directing us timeously to the start, which was well appointed and managed. Unfortunately for reasons apparently to do with course conditions the start was delayed by some 20 minutes, which as you might expect did not raise much cheer!! During this time the heavens did open a bit to further dampen the spirits, but fortunately passed quickly, and then we were off on the usual windy-windy NMR based 2 lapper (due to the on-going problems with the Blue Lagoon bridge). Anyway, fast and flat is also good, and marshalling and tables were impeccable. A couple of puddles underfoot and one or three tight U-turns, but otherwise pretty ideal racing conditions.
The 10K race operating in tandem was well separated by the officials, although complaints were voiced against inconsiderate participants who insist on walking/jogging 4 deep, which made tabling and passing a bit awkward at times.
A nice touch by the organisers was allowing a number of disabled athletes to set off before the start, and they certainly received hearty support from participants and spectators alike. No doubt the Paralympics had something to do with this, and hopefully we see much more interest and support in the near future.
The finish was also perfectly organised, although a perennial problem at the Kings Park athletics stadium is a dearth of catering, but thanks heavens for Queensburgh!
The 10K prize-giving got off okay, but then proceedings seemed to stall a bit. Having separate lucky dips is commendable, but personally I think it ill-advised. With no 21K prize-giving imminent we decided to hit the road.
YWP finishers spotted: Philani Makhanye – 1.19 (great first run for the club and welcome on board), Mike Sutton – 1.26, Shane Govender – 2.04.
All in all certainly one worth doing and I’ll be back next year.
A bright ray of hope on the horizon from KZNA and the road commission is that the entry and results procedure is currently under the microscope and we should see some exciting changes in this troublesome area quite soon.
Regards
Mike
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