C4Cole

I am an adventure and endurance fanatic! I don’t specifically focus on just one sport and I am always ready to take on a challenge at the drop of a hat; my sense of adventure and my “always up for a Challenge” attitude has resulted in me taking on some of the most grueling sports events that the South African calendar has to offer and as Barney Stintson from “How I met your mother” would say: Challenge Accepted! I have done the grueling ABSA Cape Epic with just over 4 months mountain biking experience and my second mountain bike race ever! I have done the Pronutro African-X, Puffer 80km trail run, Jonkershoek Mountain Challenge, Table Mountain Challenge, 3 Peaks Challenge and Half Ironman amongst other great races and can’t wait to tackle a few more of the “beasts” on offer. As a farm boy it is only natural that I love being outdoors, Trail Running gives me this on a regular (and cheap) basis - I am always looking for the next challenge and or adventure and if afforded the opportunity and finances permitting I will take on any event on offer!

[therovingrunner]

Tankwa Trail – A Terrain Like No Other

19-21 Feb 2016 sees the inaugural running of the Tankwa Trail, the latest multi-stage trail race from organisers Dryland Event Management. Runners taking part in the historic Tankwa Trail 2016 will be the very first to experience the Koue Bokkeveld from the vantage point of a trail run. This is the heart of deciduous fruit country, a region known for its unforgiving summers and harsh winters, with trails through rocky outcrops, climbs steeper than the imagination, descents with a wicked technical twist and views to cherish forever. Trails, some hand built and smoothly sculpted, others rough and loose will reward the adventurous.

Route profile & breakdown: Stage 1 – 32km, 580m Vertical Ascent

Stage 2 – 35.2km, 900m Vertical Ascent

Stage 3 – 23.6km, 400m Vertical Ascent

Having run previous editions of Dryland Event Management’s crown jewel in their trail arsenal, the Fairview Dryland Traverse, I’m positive that runners will be in for a experience, and the run of a lifetime! So why not join?

Visit www.tankwatrail.co.za for more information Happy Trails!!

[c4cole]

1pm run in Stellenbosch, every bit of shade is appreciated when the mercury is cooking!! Heat training on track for inaugural 3day trail run #tankwatrail @tailwindnutrition @columbia1938

[c4cole]

Awesome view over fish river canyon! Spectacular race and a must for any ultra runners bucket list @AEPnamibia @corneldejongh @janhamjr

[c4cole]

Awesome morning run up in Jonkershoek mountains this am! Just live this place!!

[c4cole]

Awesome backdrop to Johnny Clegg at Kirstenbosch gardens! Need to run these mountains soon!! @janhamjr @corneldejongh

[c4cole]

My Fish River Ultra 2013 Experience

My Fish River Ultra 2013 Experience A person could not ask for a sight more amazing and breathtakingly beautiful after a long tiring drive from Cape Town to the Race Village situated just West of Hobas in Namibia which seemed to be precariously positioned on the edge of the canyon which must be one of the best views one could expect of a race village, I cannot begin to try and explain in words the rugged beauty nor show it through photographs as this simply does not do the canyon any justice as to its beauty and sheer magnitude! This in itself is all the inspiration one needs to make the decision on whether or not to take part in the Fish River Ultra presented by the amazing team at African-Extreme-Promotions On arrival at the race village & overnight camp we were greeted by friendly staff and prompted to make our way over to the registration table to collect our race numbers and awesome race bags which contained a few goodies and a cooling-peak sponsored by RealXgear (which would have come in handy had I remembered to pack it in for later the next day) and very important race booklets with a breakdown of the various parts of the route. Event sponsors Windhoek out-did themselves with a large Bedouin tent and endless supply of refreshments of which Tafel Lager was a big hit between registration and race briefing at 4:30pm. The race briefing was short and sweet, with race organiser Tinus Hansen giving us a quick run-over of what to expect on the course the next morning, from what I could gather it seemed simple enough in that the weather was good, there would be “some” sand and boulder hopping and if you followed his advice you could even take advantage of a short-cut or two. After race briefing with the sun setting over the canyon, I took some time to reflect on how lucky I was to be able to be in such an amazing place and being able to take on the Fish River Canyon. After a five star dinner, myself fellow Columbia team mate Cornel De Jongh & friend Marius van Zyl sat around chatting about the race and what possible strategy would work best for the next day’s challenge, it became clear that it would not be an easy day out with a lot of sand, boulders, navigational and motivational hurdles that would need to be covered to get one through to the finish at Ai-Ais Resort. With the long drive and nervous excitement of the day I could not wait to get into bed, the accommodation was in the form of tents with big fluffy mattresses and I quickly fell asleep which seemed to pass by way too quickly as we had to get up early for breakfast at 5am which again was top notch. The race started at 6:15am with myself Cornel & Marius quickly deciding that we would stick together for as long as possible, after a nice 10km warm-up along the edge of the canyon we reached the precarious “Hiker’s Decent” which took us just over 24mins to get down into the belly of the canyon where our journey would really start to kick-in. The first 30 kilometres seemed to pass without any effort and we quickly reached the first check point in good spirits and full of confidence that it would be a good day out as we had made some good ground over our fellow competitors, it was at this point that we got our first opportunity to fill up the water bottles and camel packs. My excitement soon started to fade at the 50km mark with the temperatures starting to climb and the sun glaring overhead which seemed to circle overhead waiting for my demise, with the combined effort of working through the thick sand and clambering over the boulder fields my heart rate started to climb which would start to take its toll later in the race, but what helped me was that we had to stop every few kilometres to shake the powder like sand out of our socks and shoes which allowed my heart rate to recover to some extent. However, it was not long before the headaches and nausea kicked in which literally brought me down to my knees as I started vomiting and having convulsions. At this point I could see that both Cornel & Marius were starting to worry about my condition as well as our position in the race (only natural for these competitors) but they remained very supportive in that they suggested we take a few minutes rest to allow me to try and get the fluids that I had lost back into the system, this short rest seemed to work well as I soon felt better. I really thought that I had gotten through the worst, but this was short lived as I felt the heart rate sky rocket and body temperature starting to climb, the nausea and headaches soon returned followed by more vomiting & convulsions even though the exertion levels where not that extreme. By the time we reached the 60km mark I was in a bad state and it was at this point that I told Cornel & Marius that they should carry on without me as crawled over to a small patch of shade next to a massive boulder where I stretched out and dug myself into the cool soothing sand to avoid the heat which again seemed to help. After an hour and a half having passed I decided that I should get moving and try and make the next exit point before the sun set just in case I would not be able to finish the race, it soon became apparent that I was in serious trouble as I couldn’t move more than 2-5km’s at a time without being brought to my knees with the vomiting and nausea, after taking more than 4.5 hours to cover about 20km’s I eventually made it to the 3rd and last check point after 13 hours of starting the race. This would be my exit as I forced myself to withdraw due to safety reasons despite my ego and pride taking a serious knock! Despite the anguish and pain I felt at times I thoroughly enjoyed my experience and time in Namibia and the Fish River Canyon and on a more personal note, I would like to say a heart-felt thank you to race directors and organisers Tinus Hansen and Basil Smit for their commitment and time to making this event so successful and enjoyable! I will definitely be back to conquer this event in the near future! For more info on the event go to www.africanextremepromotions.com

[c4cole]

Nice little surprise for runners at tonight's Columbia night trail run Bain's Cape Mountain Whisky @BainsWhisky

[therovingrunner]

Top South African trail runners Greg Goodall and Eddie Lambert will battle it out at the Mountain Warrior Challenge at Rustenberg Wine Estate (Outside Stellenbosch) on Saturday, 31 August 2013 and Sunday, 01 September 2013.

“The best part of the Mountain Warrior Challenge is the variation,”...

[c4cole]

The weather should make this one very interesting!

[c4cole]

The view from my office this morning, out of the corporate rat race into the great outdoors, life is good!!!

[c4cole]

View from the 1st climb 35km+ #Bastilletrailrun the only prize I got besides taking a classic tumble soon after!

[c4cole]

Stellenbosch trails - spoilt is all I can say!!

[c4cole]

Day before Fish River Ultra, looked good here but that wouldn't last long... @janhamjr @corneldejongh

[c4cole]

Mountain Warrior TrailRunning Festival 31 & 1st September 2013 at Rustenberg Wine Estate, Stellenbosch.

Choose from: Day 1: Jonkershoek SKY RUN 38km 09h00 - R 420pp Botmaskop Traverse 15km 09H15 - R 250pp Day 2: Simonsberg Challenge 25km 08h00 - R 220pp Barlow Trail 12km 08h30 - R 100pp Rustenberg Fun Run 5km 09h00 - R 80pp Mountain Warrior Challenge - R 550 pp Day 1: Jonkershoek SKY Run Day 2: Simonsberg Challenge

Enjoy the unspoilt beauty of one of the country’s oldest working valleys of vineyards and pristine mountain fynbos for the third two day Mountain Warrior Trail Running Festival at Rustenberg Wine Estate outside Stellenbosch on the weekend of 31st of August and 1st September 2013. This two-day stage trail run festival’s routes will take participants on the slopes and contours of the Stellenbosch and Simonsberg mountains, right beneath the iconic Two Peaks and over Botmaskop on day 1 and a major section of the Greater Simonsberg Conservancy established together with neighbouring wine farms to restore the natural vegetation of this breath-taking mountain landscape on day 2.

Iqela Events : www.iqela-events.co.za

Contact Event Organizer [email protected] Olivia Ness 0824968839, Pieter Du Plessis 0829244083, Agne Du Plessis 0825174799

[columbia1938]

Who says Mondays need to be boring? Grab a buddy, find a trail, and show the week what’s up. http://bit.ly/10Mi5mL

[c4cole]

Be free and be true!!

[c4cole]

Imagine....

[c4cole]

Jonkershoek - cant wait to take this photo in winter when the mountain is full of snow!!!

[c4cole]

The African-X Trail Run 2013 - Wow! What an event and what a host venue.

This was my 2nd and my partner Jan Ham’s 4th time taking on the absolutely amazing ProNutro African-X Trail Run presented by New Balance, and boy was it an amazing 3 days! After a somewhat disastrous 2012 run for my partner and I (both due to injuries) we knew that we had to do the hard miles so that we could hit back with some form of vengeance to regain some pride and self-respect come race week. Unfortunately disaster befell us with Jan hurting his quad the week before the eagerly anticipated start date whilst kicking a soccer ball! We therefore had to re-shift our strategy from racing to simply completing the race and come Sunday 21st May ensure that we both stepped or even crawled over the finish line to pick up the finishers medal and a great looking finishers T-shirt (much better that previous years) and at the same time appreciate the simple fact that we are just able to take part and finish such an great race. The race itself was a great mix of jeep track, technical terrain and long winding single tracks which took on quite a bit of the 2011 Absa Cape Epic mountain bike race; this was a great opportunity to get to do some sightseeing and even some game viewing with the sight of some Zebra and Bontebok during stage 2’s leg through Paul Cluver. But one of my highlights must be the food and the Bokomo breakfast corner, I think that I may have picked up a kilo or two even with all the running! My heartfelt thanks and appreciation must go out to the race organisers, sponsors and host venue but I would like to say a special thank you to Nicola Collins, Ange du Plessis and Jacky McClean for their enthusiasm, help and warm smiles whether it be at 5am or 5pm! Thanks again to everyone and all those who take the time and effort to give us such an amazing Trial run on our back-steps, see you all again come race day 2014!! Ps. Please can you can give us more climbing next year 😉 @runtheafricanx @StillwaterSport