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Hello everyone.  Anyone find any flight bargains?  I've checked and hotels aren't taking bookings yet.  On my trip back to Maritzburg, I found where the start is; between the Tatham gallery and the City Hall.

Carmen - I've just worked out who that chap is in your photo.  It's not your Dad! (he's not, is he?) - it's Fordyce!  At the North Beach parkrun on Saturday I saw Zola Budd taking a running session so she's started her training in earnest too.  Shame she missed out on the b2b medal this year.

Andy - I have a cold too.  I usually get one when I fly so a good reason to have the race first and the holiday after.  Incubation is meant to be about one week and I started to feel it by Friday.  

Thomas - I have no idea how much water and energade I took on but at least one of either of them at each aid station, sometimes one of each and sometimes a couple of waters.  That Apple energade is nasty!  I had 8 SiS Go gels, two sachets of salt from the flight over, a cup of pepsi, a bite of a banana, a bite of a potato and I also put two ice cubes under my hat which melted over the next 1km.

Jacquie - How is the arm?

For anyone who has completely left the 2013 thread, this is my Garmin that I posted there:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/326031953

Any ideas how not to cock up the last 34km would be appreciated. 

It'll be odd to do a race I've done before, but not be able to use any experience of the course.  I suppose it isn't much use trying to "reverse" what we learned.

Finally back in UK and had a chance to catch up with things at work, home and on here.

Thank you Warren, Andy, SAFER and Alan for the generous congratulations.  I achieved my initial goal of silver but am disappointed with the way I ran it.  Far too cocky/gung ho for the first half and suffered during those last 34k like never before in a race.  I made the classic newbie distance race mistakes that I thought I'd moved on from and could've enjoyed the race more and for longer if I wasn't so daft.  What an event though!  I still need to read the non-RW reports and go through the photos/videos as I've not seen them yet.  I'm sure that the longest lasting memories of this year will be of Becca's brilliant fist-pumping finish broadcast to all of SA and Andy's hilarious and charming shoe story.  I've looked at every start clip on YouTube and still not managed to see it so will have to concoct a version with my imagination.

To contribute to a dataset (BikeIt, is there anything that you can make of this?), here is my uploaded Garmin data:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/326031953

Splits range from a rather excited 4.06m/km (km17, near the Cowie cheerleaders?) to a painful 8.09m/km on Polly Shortts.  I like that it reads: "Sorry, we do not have any weather for this activity".  If only.   I count 12-14 significant shifts in pace which can't be very clever.  Certainly, they don't match up to the elevation profile.

H - Ghost Runner is a great read.  I found Tarrant's life story very sad and have compared his wife's situation to my girlfriend’s. Hopefully I don't treat her with the same contempt;  I managed to at least get on the flight back to the UK!  He also put himself through a lot but there is no question that the authorities were unjust in their treatment of him.  Some crazy rules at that time such as not being allowed any water until 10m would ruin any race I'd do.  On a warm day, I can just about manage the 7m from work without water.  Tarrant did achieve some great things (such as his 2 world records and supporting the people excluded from Comrades) but a story tinged with sadness at what he might've achieved at an Olympic level with some sensible co-operation and sympathetic support from the authorities, and at the thought that his early death might have been caused by asbestos at the job he took on.  I was pleased to see his picture on the race history stand at the Expo.

Well done again to everyone who took to the start line and went for it, to those who have contributed on here and who made the trip out there so enjoyable for me.  I'll see most of you over on the 2014 thread for any unfinished business.

Reposting the below in the correct thread after putting it in the new one like a plonker. I think I was thrown by SD's sprightliness. Still to catch up following safari. Richmond park mightn't have done anything for the hill training, but I've aced spotting the deer out here...

Hello everyone. What a brutal day! Just want to thank every for their contributions, their advice and for sharing their experiences - on here and here (where I still am - Tekweni ain't no Hilton!) Special thanks' will be liberally distributed once I have caught up on the last few pages. 

Ill be back if it is down. I never want to experience that in totality again. In tim noakes, via marathontalk, parlance; I fear that my central governor will readjust and not stand for those miserable 34k again...

Hello everyone. What a brutal day! Just want to thank every for their contributions, their advice and for sharing their experiences - on here and here (where I still am - Tekweni ain't no Hilton!) Special thanks' will be liberally distributed once I have caught up on the last few pages. 

Ill be back if it is down. I never want to experience that in totality again. In tim noakes, via marathontalk, parlance; I fear that my central governor will readjust and not stand for those miserable 34k again...

Jacquie Millett wrote (see)

BTW AllyONEH I just had an email from The Hilton saying thwart they were expecting me - not such a dodgy deal then!

 This is good news, Jacquie.  I haven't had an email so you've frightened me into emailing them.  The site I used is Hotelopia...  The other 2 hotels I'm using don't matter so much, but I'm not sure what I'll do if the Hilton don't recognise me...  Might have to try and find a welcoming stable somewhere...

I'm glad that your foot is feeling better than a few days ago.  Did you say you were also doing a 10k this weekend?  Take it easy if you still plan to run.