Woo hoo!!!! Way to go......

Nomi says...
A few months ago, my running buddy Lulu said," I think I'm crazy, but there's this 14km off road run that i want to do. Shall we do it? " I said..."I'm crazy anyhow...lets do it!" So, we signed up for this 14km trail run on impulse. We didn't really know the grisly details...just thought that it would be this nice, nature run in the woods...Ignorance really is bliss.
Honestly speaking, we hardly trained for this. I have a half marathon in November and Lulu has one in early December and we were more concerned about that. I suppose i thought that if i trained to run 21km, i should be able to do 14 km off road. In the past couple of months, i ran in the trails, maybe 5-6 times, at a maximum distance of 12kms and they were easy trails.2 weeks prior to the race, i ran only twice...a 12km run in the trails with Lulu and a 10km run on the road. What can i say? I'm laaaaaazy........
So, pre race, me and Lulu set of to the Highlands, where the race was going to be held...we had the opportunity to talk to other participants..and that's where the details began to unfold. There was going to be a nasty obstacle course at the end, we would have climb fences, then jump into, and tread through, trenches and pits of muddy, bacteria laden water. We would have to cross 2 rivers and a stream in the trails The beginning would be easy as it was mainly downhill and we would descend to a level of 800m above sea level, but what goes down , must come up and up and up...And the trail was a single track...can you imagine more than a thousand people bashing through a muddy single track? God of the Jungle...forgive me , please? Well, we were definitely in for an adventure...

View from our room.

So on the race day, me and Lulu got up really early and loaded up on fluids and tried to chew on some power bars.( The banana flavored one tastes awful, by the way). We got ready and were set to go..double layered pants, gloves, trail shoes, socks, loads of repellent, sunblock, camelbak with 1.5L fluids...and Lulu had actually gotten T-shirts specially made for us for the race..Thank you Lulu!!!!

Anyway, the weather was wonderful..it was cool and the air so clean and fresh. The air was full of enthusiasm and laughter. Most of us were doing this for fun, as a break from the normal routines that we have. A step away from our regular, monotonous jobs or non-jobs, for the matter.
Then we were off...the beginning was relatively easy.. 3kms of asphalt and then it was into the jungle. The first 2 kms was easy as it was downhill....and then the climb started. It was difficult...it was muddy and so slippery. Hundreds of runners had passed ahead of us and the track was this one long, slippery, slimy, accident beckoning path....Fortunately there were ropes at the sides of the most difficult stretches and we just had to rely on that to pull ourselves up. Oh, and the traffic jams in the trails....a lot of time was lost there..lining up and waiting for your turn. I guess a lot of runners were newbies and were not really prepared for this race. And shame on some of the faster ones...there was quite a bit of pushing and shoving and elbowing going on....I mean it's not like the 1st prize was a Ferrari or something...

Mud Monster

The race was supposed to be done in pairs...where the partners were supposed to support, help and take care of one another. But during the course, we saw quite a few abandoned participants. Some were shaking with exhaustion, some were cramping, some had ran out of fluids, one twisted an ankle...and we did whatever we could do to help on the way.After the first 5 kms into the trails...it seemed like an endless climb after that. It just went on and on and on....and it was tiring. But i must say, most people were in good spirits and determined to finish what they started....even if it took 4-5 hours. Things finally brightened up at about 12kms into the race. The muddy, slippery bits ended and the climb got easier. Then hallelujah!!!! There was actually a water station at the 12km checkpoint. Things got better, then we came to the fun part -the obstacle course. By that time, me and Lulu were really tired. We did whatever we had to...climb up these wicked wooden fences, jump and tread into dirty , muddy water, climb under some nets...hold hands and cross the finishing line.It took us about 3 hours to complete the course.
It was tiring, it was challenging and most importantly it was fun and thank you, thank you Lulu for doing this with me:) Lulu, i think, had never done anything of this nature before and despite all the doubts and trepidation, sailed through everything smilingly ( as testified by the photos) with the true spirit of sportswoman-ship. So, Lulu.....same date, next year????

Nomi and Lulu at the end....