Evie chills out at icy marathon
Article from The Eastern Province Herald - La Femme - 31 July 2002
By Gillian McAinshWHEN Evie Raubenheimer and her family headed for Rhodes in the north-eastern Cape this past school holiday, it was'nt to chill out but to organise the annual ultra-marathon in the remote mountain village.
However, chill out they did to the extent that the race was run in snow, in places lying metres deep.
Rhodes is north of Elliot and Cala, both of which have been declared disaster areas due to the recent heavy snowfalls and, on the morning of the marathon Saturday, July 20 it was bone-chillingly cold.
Evie organises the 52km race each year, and it's a marathon in more ways than one. Not only does she have to start in February with general administration for the race, which attracts runners from all over the country, she also has to carry up all the race paraphernalia like beanies and gloves for the entire field from her home in Walmer, Port Elizabeth. That's an eight-hour car journey so if she forgets something she can't just nip home and fetch it. "It was very taxing!" she says. "We also had to change the course as the normal route was snowbound. The safety of the runners is very important, and we couldn't get support vehicles up there.
Runners would normally pass Tiffindell Ski Resort on the Lesotho border but that, too, was snowed in. Many roads were closed and, of the entry field of 331, only 273 managed to get through to run on the day. The AA was even in touch with us to try to see what the conditions were like and they referred the motorists, many of them runners who had entered, to me!"
Evie received a big compliment from Alison West, organiser of the Comrades, who told her the Rhodes ultra-marathon was the best organised race in the country. High praise from someone who has to oversee a field of many thousands each year. Evie has also received e-mails from grateful runners all over the country, complimenting her on her organisational skills and bravery in continuing with the race despite the challenge of the weather. Although it offers no prize money, the Rhodes race is very popular and could probably attract a field of more than double its size.
Rhodes is north of Elliot and Cala, both of which have been declared disaster areas due to the recent heavy snowfalls and, on the morning of the marathon Saturday, July 20 it was bone-chillingly cold.
Evie organises the 52km race each year, and it's a marathon in more ways than one. Not only does she have to start in February with general administration for the race, which attracts runners from all over the country, she also has to carry up all the race paraphernalia like beanies and gloves for the entire field from her home in Walmer, Port Elizabeth. That's an eight-hour car journey so if she forgets something she can't just nip home and fetch it. "It was very taxing!" she says. "We also had to change the course as the normal route was snowbound. The safety of the runners is very important, and we couldn't get support vehicles up there.
Runners would normally pass Tiffindell Ski Resort on the Lesotho border but that, too, was snowed in. Many roads were closed and, of the entry field of 331, only 273 managed to get through to run on the day. The AA was even in touch with us to try to see what the conditions were like and they referred the motorists, many of them runners who had entered, to me!"
Evie received a big compliment from Alison West, organiser of the Comrades, who told her the Rhodes ultra-marathon was the best organised race in the country. High praise from someone who has to oversee a field of many thousands each year. Evie has also received e-mails from grateful runners all over the country, complimenting her on her organisational skills and bravery in continuing with the race despite the challenge of the weather. Although it offers no prize money, the Rhodes race is very popular and could probably attract a field of more than double its size.
"These are guys who love running! It has a reputation for running in a wee bit of snow and lots of people asked if it was still on. Rhodes is a very small village. It has a residential population in town of about 16 and a township of about 500. For the marathon you get 800 to 900 people coming in so it's superb for tourism. However, if the race numbers were to double, the village would battle to accommodate all the people.
The gloves Evie ferried from Port Elizabeth are not, usually, meant to be used against the cold but rather for the slippery climb runners have to make where they clamber from bush to bush.
This year, though, they were particularly welcome, as were the beanies. Fortunately, Evie had great back-up from her husband, Darrell, himself a committed runner. He pulled out vehicles from the snow and was up early, driving around picking up the runners. Their sons, Andrew, 18, and Greg, 15, also had a whale of a time, hiking up a snow-clad Ben McDui with classmates from St Dominic's Priory.
