The Drakensberg was once again the playground for the Double Moon 220km Adventure Race, after visiting the northern ‘berg for the 2015 edition. Leading up to the race, our team was feeling a little hesitant with some injury and illness leading up to the race, yet quietly confident and excited to race in the ‘berg again, but this time in the central ‘berg around Injasuti and the Champagne Valley. This year, Keyhealth Jabberwock Adventure Racing team comprises Brian Gardner, Cobus van Zyl, Craig Metherell and Janneke Leask.
Race briefing was short and sharp, and the route revealed a challenging course dominated by mountain biking. Early Friday morning we were loaded onto busses for a 2 hour ride to the start at Giants Castle gate.
We were soon off on a 26km hike/run from Giants Castle to Injasuti. We settled into 2nd place with the strong mixed pair team, Painted Hobbit, behind the Keyhealth male pair, who were legging it up the road. Craig and Cobus were taking a bit of strain in the mid-morning heat, and our pace dropped, but our navigation down into Injasuti was good, and we got ahead of the Keyhealth pair. We were now in the in lead with Painted Hobbit. After a quick transition and attending to a small bike mechanical, we were on the bikes down the Injasuti road to the paddle start. The ride was slower than it should have been, as Craig nursed some severe cramping while recovering from the pace of the hike along the way…
Onto the boats, we were now in 3rd place behind Painted Hobbit, and Cyanosis, who had passed us while we were recovering from the cramps. The river paddle was the highlight of the race! We had a good paddle and the water level was just right to have some fun down the rapids! We also had a few encounters with some of the local kids who were excited at the possibility of getting a lift in the boat. 2 Kids did enjoy a bit of a ride for a short while before we needed to get into racing mode again. Finishing the paddle in 3rd place, we hit the bikes for an 84km ride to Driel Dam.
The sun set while we were on our bikes, and just before the next transition we caught and passed Cyanosis as a result of a slightly faster route choice and got back into 2nd place. We were all feeling good and the cooler night helped us move faster although Craig continued to suffer from his cramps, but with some help from the team managed to push on. We did unfortunately have some encounters with a select group of individuals who decided to test their marksmanship of stone throwing at some moving targets, which was unfortunate, but luckily did not deter from the beauty of the ‘berg or the hospitality of the locals.
After a quick transition we were on the boats for an out-and-back paddle to Checkpoint 10 on Driel Dam. The night was lit by a bright half-moon, and we spent the time singing songs and chatting to stay awake! This, along with eventually having the opportunity to give the legs a bit of a break, put the team in better spirits to take on the last 2 legs of the race.
It was close at 1am when we arrived back in Transition, and onto our bikes again for a 45km ride, before the final 14km hike. The small hours of the morning are always a difficult time to remain focussed, but the team pulled together and showed their experience to push through and arrive at the final transition at 4:15am.
We were now in a solid 2nd place overall behind Painted Hobbit, who had pulled a gap of about an hour on us, but with third place at least two and a half hours further back. We were still determined to have a strong race to the end, and put our heads down and set out on the last hike to the finish. We marched the up’s and ran where we could, finally crossing the line in 22 hours 56 minutes, only about 25 minutes behind Painted Hobbit, in 2nd overall and 1st place official mixed team.
We had a good consistent race, our navigation was spot on and we didn’t waste too much time in transitions. The Team is now motivated for the lead up to Expedition Africa, where we hope for a strong showing amongst a tough international field.
Finally, a massive thanks to the Nevarest team and Keyhealth Medical Scheme for their support of our passion!
Written by Craig Metherell