Rhodes 2000 by Pierre Jordaan
Published in September 2000 issue of “Running Free”
The race started at 7h00 sharp at a temperature of minus 12 degrees with everybody dressed in long skipants, windbreakers, beanies and gloves. It was icy cold. The first 13km is a fairly easy route. After that it goes into the kloof area which is a fair to mild climb on footpaths. This area was partially snowed up and the water streams were iced. At about 19-20km we got to Mavis Bank, this is a serious climb.
At 21km we got to a check point where we had to hand in our check point sticker. At this water point we were treated with hot soup, sandwiches, milo, coffee and tea in the snow. On the plateau which at it’s highest is 10 000 feet, we ran for about 15km passing the Tiffindell Ski resort – quite a scenic view after all the snow that had fallen in the area.
At about 15km we started descending this monstrous mountain on a cement road, which makes all the downhills in the Coimrades look like a puppy. This carries on for about 4km and then it’s a mild 10km home.
Eight hours twenty minutes later at the finish I received a nice medal, longsleeve T-shirt and a nip of Old Brown Sherry. A weekend that was well spent in the company of fellow runners and the community of Rhodes and surrounding areas.
