Sunday morning started bright and early when the alarm went off at 3:15 am. We quickly rolled out of bed and into our running gear so that we could catch the 4 am shuttle to the start line of the City 2 City 1/2 Marathon. Although, the morning was early it was definitely worth the effort as it meant we were able to get our long run in before the heat of the day settled.
City 2 City was our second half marathon in three weeks as we ran the Gerald Fox Memorial 1/2 Marathon two weeks prior. We are at a point in our training for the Soweto and Las Vegas Marathons that our long runs are about 13 miles long so the half-marathons are a God send because they not only measure the distance for you, but they also provide water and toilets* along the way.
The City 2 City 1/2 Marathon is run in conjunction with a 50km Ultra Marathon which covers the distance between Pretoria and Johannesburg. The course we ran went from Centurion to Johannesburg and managed to each and every hill along the way. The run was beautiful and the final stretch is across the Nelson Mandela bridge. However, the hills never seemed to stop which coincided the the water running out. Fortunately the water reappeared with 5km to go and it all ended on a high note.
After the race we treated ourselves to a carbohydrate coma at a local bakery, and are back to running this afternoon.
*Well the at least attempt to provide water and toilets along the way. Sometimes the water and ablutions arrive once most of the runners have passed. Additionally, Coke is South Africa's on course sport drink of choice which does awful things to the human body while running. TIA (this is Africa)
City 2 City was our second half marathon in three weeks as we ran the Gerald Fox Memorial 1/2 Marathon two weeks prior. We are at a point in our training for the Soweto and Las Vegas Marathons that our long runs are about 13 miles long so the half-marathons are a God send because they not only measure the distance for you, but they also provide water and toilets* along the way.
The City 2 City 1/2 Marathon is run in conjunction with a 50km Ultra Marathon which covers the distance between Pretoria and Johannesburg. The course we ran went from Centurion to Johannesburg and managed to each and every hill along the way. The run was beautiful and the final stretch is across the Nelson Mandela bridge. However, the hills never seemed to stop which coincided the the water running out. Fortunately the water reappeared with 5km to go and it all ended on a high note.
After the race we treated ourselves to a carbohydrate coma at a local bakery, and are back to running this afternoon.
*Well the at least attempt to provide water and toilets along the way. Sometimes the water and ablutions arrive once most of the runners have passed. Additionally, Coke is South Africa's on course sport drink of choice which does awful things to the human body while running. TIA (this is Africa)
