We have been told, on numerous occassions, that our route is not flat, apparently littered with a number of bumps/undulations before and after Mavis.
Here is one of the easier 'climbs' of the day. The stile at Hooggenoeg Peak.
It is truely downhill from here. Well, almost!
Image: Craig Muller | Backyard Adventures
The only month during which Rhodes village has not experienced a snowfall is February.
Comes as no surprise that the Rhodes Run is held in July and not in February!
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Craig Muller | Backyard Adventures reminds us of our Class of '16
Tony Kietzman caught up with some of them earlier in the day ...
First sub-4 completes his 20th Rhodes Run
There is always something magical about a 'sub-4' run. It has that special ring to it, more so for a mile but also at the Rhodes Trail Run.
After carrying out a full reconnaissance of the route in 1990 when he finished 12th, Jannie le Roux shook the race by the roots of its rose-hip bushes the following year when he rampaged to the Finish at the Gideon Naude Bridge over the Tinternspruit with a new best time of 3:56 to become the first person to complete the course in less than 4 hours.
It was not until 1995 that anyone else went sub-4 at Rhodes when fresh from his 2nd place at the Comrades Marathon, Charl Mattheus ran 3:51
Jannie and Charl are the only two runners to run sub-4 at Rhodes. Charl's 3:51 remains the 'best time' on the old route and to date no-one has run sub-4 on the 'Ridge route'.
Jannie is also one of only four runners to go sub-2 to the top of 'Mavis Bank' His 1991 'King of the Kloof' time of 1:57:15 remains the second fastest to the 'Mavis' Check Point. Again only one person has run quicker. Dirkie Moolman with his 1995 record of 1:53:00. Dirkie was 'King of the Kloof' in 1995 when Charl went on to win.
Snowflake Permanent number 47 has been proudly carried by Jannie since 1993.
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| Jannie with winner's trophy 1991 |
Roll on to 2016 and Jannie le Roux became the 6th person to complete the Rhodes Trail Run 20 times.
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| Jannie tackles Mavis (L) & Hooggenoeg (R) on his 20th Rhodes Trail Run 2016 | ||||
Those who have completed the Rhodes Run on 20 occasions (number of finishes in brackets)
| Sham Singh | (28) | #13 | |
| Danny Holton | (28) | #14 | |
| Sakkie Vlok | (22) | #214 | |
| Kobus Brand | (21) | #181 | |
| Dave Moody | (21) | #223 | |
| Grobbie (Johan) Grobler | (20) | #34 | |
| Jannie le Roux | (20) | #47 | |
| Shane Hinchliffe | (20) | #210 | |
| Guillaume Nel | (20) | #333 |
Images: 1991 - Rhodes Trail Run archives; 2016 - Craig Muller | Backyard Adventures
At some stage while going up 'Mavis' everyone has a look back - it is an acceptable reason to pause, vomit gently, let the heart-rate drop below 200, and mutter somewhat ... and there is the view
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| Kim and JP look back | ||
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| Is Guillaume on his own on 'Mavis'? | No, not quite... | |
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| Not everyone looks back ... if you have a 'selfie-stick' it's a casual shot over the shoulder, not so Reader! | ||
A photo-essay by Craig Muller | Backyard Adventures
