Here we go: From the city up to Peak Number Two: Maclear’s Beacon, the highest point of Table Mountain.
I took the same route as for the first peak: from Green Market Square to Deer Park and up to Tafelberg Road.
Video: Running towards Peak Two (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH0upV83Q_U)
Between Deer Park and Tafelberg Road the trail is not really technical, as you can see in the picture. I was running up slowly, when a couple with a few dogs came along. As a dog owner and dog lover I looked smiling at the dogs and gave them some space.
Bad idea.
Very bad idea!
I stepped to the side, tripped over a stone and fell. Not hard, but there was another little rock. There always seems to be one other little rock…
While stumbling forward, my left knee hit the rock.
Bhaaaam….
A small, 1 cm wide cut exactly in the middle of the knee. The wound did not seem to be very deep and looked like a knife cut. And it bled of course.
It was not even painful and I could continue running immediately. The couple with the dogs asked me if everything was fine and I said yes.
I realized that I was lucky: If I’d have fallen a bit harder, I might have cracked the patella and the race would have been over. Maybe not only this race. But I believed that I was lucky.
I was just a few minutes away from the check point at Tafelberg Road, hoping for a first aid kit. When I reached the check point, there was only a small group of supporters standing there, since the official check point moved some 200 m further down the road .
On my way to that new check point my good friend and running mate Andrew Shepherd was waiting for me. I was very surprised and happy to see him – as you can see in the picture.
When I reached the check point, I was surprised by what they provided in terms of drinks and food. Hot (!) potatos, sweets, chips, nuts, … They also had some sort of first aid kit – but unfortunately no bandage.
They cleared my wound and tried to cover it with a tape. This was a challenge but my only goal was to have some sort of cover to keep the dust and sand away from the wound.
Medical Support Check Point Tafelberg Road
Still smiling – as you know me
This medical break took about 8 minutes until I went up Platteklip Gorge on Table Mountain.
Going up Platteklip – as you can see I could still bend my injured left knee
In the meantime the sun was out. Without any wind, therefore it got hot! Platteklip can be extremely windy, but if there is no wind and lots of sun instead, it’s like an oven. A 700 m high oven.
I made my way up and the wound continued to bleed. My lower leg had 2-3 streams of blood running down to my socks. Luckily the bleeding slowed down, eventually dried out and I (at least my left leg) looked a bit like Bruce Willis in Die Hard.
I also met Caroline ‘Bullet’ Balkwill (two times winner of this race, multiple times podium finisher and AAC club mate), she was concerned about my knee – while Mark ‘Coach’ Wagenheim (a running legend, also of AAC) said ‘well, you still have a second knee’.
Amazingly, I did not feel any pain. I was able to bend and use my left leg as much as my right leg. Still…
When I reached the top of table mountain, I started to believe that I could make it despite the bleeding knee. It’s a mental game (as long as nothing severe got damaged).
From the end of Platteklip Gorge I had to run some 2 km on top of Table Mountain to Maclears Beacon, with 1,083 m (3,553 ft) the highest point of Table Mountain.
The support station there was lots of fun and great vibes. I reached peak two after 4 hours 38 minutes. I was happy, especially considering the injury.
In the meantime unfortunately the tape lost its grip and I needed some replacement. One lady tried to help me with standard plasters. Another lady became the saviour of my race: She gave me a bandage.
After my compulsory picture, adding the caption to it and trying to post it on facebook, etc. I got on my way back to the start. The posting did not work, due to lack of 3G on the mountain.
Video: On my way back from Peak Two (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOpDMI7qYTc)
500 m or so after Maclears Beacon, the plasters got loose. No wonder with a bleeding knee. I unpacked the bandage and was over the moon with the difference it made. I felt well protected and it seemed as if this could last for many hours of running.
The reaction of the people seeing me was nice: From being shocked to asking if they could help me. I trust the adrenaline in my body made me feel no pain, and rather take it with some humor. More than once I said ‘doesn’t it look impressive’ or ‘well, that’s from Helloween’ (which was the night before) and we always had a good laugh.
On the descent, Platteklip Gorge it really was hot. I was more than relieved being already on the way back, while dozens of fellow runners fought their way up. One runner was sitting in the sun, not looking good. I stopped, spoke with him and gave him some of my race food. I noticed a group of young hikers sitting 20 m above in the shade and asked them if they might be willing to give some space and get him into the shade – which they did.
View from Platteklip Gorge towards Cape Town
I continued my descent and when my smartphone got 3G coverage, I was able to post my picture from Peak Two. Eventually I got to the check point and enjoyed a few of their lekker warm potatoes.
Now I had to get back to the start – and there were two options: I could have taken the same path I took upwards, but that would have been maybe 500 – 1000 m longer. The second options was a shortcut from this check point – but a shortcut I never ran before. While I ate potatoes, Berry, the hiking guide, arrived.
He was also on his way back to the start, he knew the shortcut and he was happy to guide another runner and me. I was grateful to avoid the longer way back. The knee was doing fine and I was even able to run a very decent pace in the 5:10 min/km range.
I was amazed about what my body was capable of.
Did I worry about me knee?
Actually, I did a bit.
My thoughts went like this: If it would be a very severe injury, like a crack in the patella, I would not have been able to run at all. I was hoping that the wound would not get bigger during the race. And that I did not harm myself by continuing. But what really kept me going was thinking about the stories of many other runners, running with stress fractures and other severe injuries. I also had the pictures of German Marathon and 10k Top Athlete Sabine Mockenhaupt in my mind, who ran her 10k race at the European Championships in Zurich a few weeks back with a massively bleeding wound, caused by the shoes of an opponent.
Another way of staying focused was recalling my tough times during this years Comrades and the power I got from running for the cancer prevention initiative ‘Pink Drive’.
I wanted to finish this race and did not pay attention to my time – so there was no pressure, just a wonderful race I wanted to run.
It was not a surprise meeting Lloyd and Christo again on my way back to the start. I reached the hotel and completed the second peak after 6h 28 min. That was about half an hour slower than expected. With an injured knee, I could accept this.
This time I was a bit longer at the hotel. I went to the restroom, cleaned my face and upper body and applied a new layer of sunscreen. It was around 11:30 am, no wind and the sun in full swing.
At the restroom I met a guy who already had finished 🙂
The winner completed the race in 5h 24 min (which means an hour ago), and club mate Simon finished fourth in 5h 45 min. A time he would have won with the previous year. Way beyond my imagination…
The bandage looked good, I was in great mood and took the last nutrition pack from the backpack stored at the hotel. During the second part I consumed another 4 packs of pizza pieces, a High Five bar and several potatoes at the check point.
It was time to leave for the final peak Lion’s Head. I was so much looking forward to it.
Our bodies are miracles and powerful beyond our imagination.
I am 44 years old now and feel stronger, fitter, more powerful than ever before in my life. I’m grateful for this, because we can only influence our health and fitness to a certain extend – the rest is luck and genetics. But I trust regarding what we can do ourselves, I’m doing things right 🙂
Off I went for peak number three. Hoping that there wouldn’t be any other surprises.
But there was another surprise in store for me…
Read the third part of my Three Peaks Challenge 2014 report…
