The Running Mann

[MARATHON #268 / UNIQUE MARATHON #163 / 4 May 2024]

As the name suggests, the N12 50k Ultra is run almost entirely along the N12 between Potchefstroom and Klerksdorp – and yes, that is about as exciting as it sounds.

There are only three good reasons to run 50 kilometres along the N12:

1.  Held on 4 May, the race is your absolute last chance to qualify for the Comrades Marathon.

2.  You have already qualified for the Comrades Marathon and want to mentally prepare along the only stretch of road more boring than Harrison Flats.

3.  The George Mallory / Mount Everest “because it’s there” rationale.

I think I was the only person who fell into category three.

With every available room in Potchefstroom booked for some unknown reason (maybe there was a Kurt Darren concert that night), I woke up extra early and did the two hour drive through in the morning. Fortunately, Hybré Geldenhuys had seconded her daughter (who is a student at Potch) to collect my race number so I could enjoy my peanut butter sandwiches and urn of coffee in the comfort of my car without worrying about queues.

This was the third running of the event with the race following the Comrades protocol of alternating directions each year. Other than the comparison to Harrison Flats (thankfully without the accompanying smell of chicken shit) that is where the similarities end. This year was a “down” run with the finish in Klerksdorp being 25 metres lower than the start in Potch.

Whilst there are plenty of long and gentle undulations there is only one ‘hill’ which is strategically placed at the 46km mark as you enter Klerksdorp. However, it is just 1km long with 23m of elevation so it is really nothing to complain about.

The starting gun fired at 6am sharp, just as the sun was rising. We started with a 2km loop around town before heading onto the N12. The actual distance between the two towns is 47km so I think we should have done an extra kilometre in Potch as we were 1 kilometre ahead of schedule for most of the race (at the end of the race my legs were not complaining about the missing kilometre).

Having found this to be one of the most boring stretches of road in South Africa to drive along, I knew that there were not many points of interest along the route. Therefore, I kept my eyes peeled for photo opportunities as we traversed the industrial outskirts of Potchefstroom. I have been told not to count my chickens before they hatch but I did get rather excited when I saw the signs below.

I was not brave enough to ask for volunteers to pose in front of these signs. However, there might be an opportunity for the North West Province to boost tourism with their version of the Pirelli Calendar using plus size models*.

* I do have plenty of candidates in mind with the archetypal body type should I ever find a ‘Chubby Rooster’ sign.

The N12 is a busy road but the runners are allocated a full lane of the freeway plus the emergency lane whilst oncoming traffic is limited to one lane. As such, several large buses were spotted on route. Not sure if the Greyhound bus made its destination on time but the running buses safely delivered their passengers for a Comrades qualifier (and were in a festive and vocal mood the entire race).

On a flat and featureless road, one needs to find a companion to share the pain (and some good running stories) – luckily I got chatting to Muzi Skosana and we broke the back of this ultra together. Muzi is a personal trainer and runs many of his marathons with his clients but was running solo at the N12. Muzi was training for his 5^th Comrades (which he duly completed in a PB time of 10:46:00).

There is quite literally only one landmark along this stretch of road – the North West Province’s version of Table Mountain. I thought it was a mine dump but was told later that it’s the discard pile from the Corobrik factory.

There really is so little aesthetic appeal on the route that I risk being accused of ‘cyber bullying’ the N12. Fortunately, a truly talented photographer was on hand. Personally, I think the photo below by Tumelo Mabua deserves an award. Anyone who can make the N12 freeway look this cheerful, charming and inviting merits recognition.

Not only that he also made me look much better than I do in person – as those who have met me IRL can attest from the photo below.

If one is prepared to use the definition loosely, signs of civilisation start appearing again on the outskirts of Klerksdorp. However, your terminology and standard accepted definitions may not match those of the Klerksdorp populace. For example, if you are ever asked the question, “What is a Klerksdorp bakkie?”, the answer looks to be a convertible Mercedes Benz!

With about 1 kilometre to go, you finally veer off the N12 and head to the finish area with the Matlosana Recreation Centre which is a nice spacious venue to relax and replenish after the ultra.

Logistics can often be a challenge with the point-to-point races but the N12 Ultra provides all runners the opportunity to get an authentic minibus taxi ride back to the start. Hybré had finished just behind me and we ended up in the same taxi home. We were chatting about the race when there was a sudden change in music genre blaring over the radio and she started giggling, “O, gonna, it’s Kurt Darren!”. To her credit, Hybré did quickly follow this up with, “I don’t even listen to this kind of music.”

Klerksdorp is so Afrikaans that even the minibus taxis play ‘sokkie treffers’ for their passengers. However, what was interesting is just how popular the video clip featuring the diverse music choice I took was. It picked up mainstream media interest like this article in The Citizen and the Facebook video post is approaching 300,000 views. Johan Stemmet would be proud!

If you thought Bloemfontein was the centre for Afrikaans ‘kultuur’ you were wrong. In Klerksdorp, even the taxi drivers play Kurt Darren for their passengers.

And that was a wrap for my marathon running until the Knysna Marathon at the end of June. With the South African marathon scene shutting down in anticipation of Comrades, I thought I’d have plenty of time to get this report done quickly but the various Comrades shenanigans have meant otherwise. As for me, I like to “stand and deliver”, so after running the better part of 50 kilometres on this national road, I might need to change my moniker to The Highwaymann. I am sure that this rebranding would be popular with several Board members of prominent races that would like to see the author officially outlawed.

Afterword: Water Issues

Before the race, I struggled to get any response to questions from the organisers via email or the event’s Facebook page (the flyer said race morning number collections until 4:30am which I assumed should have been 5:30am but I did not want to risk it and, after getting no response, arranged with Hybré Geldenhuys to have her daughter collect my race number on the Friday).

Several organisational issues were noted after the inaugural event in 2022 but these seemed to be mostly sorted out in 2023. However, a steady supply of water seems to be a issue for those further back in the field as the below race experience from Doreen Mukuku illustrates:

From about 8km water points were dry, with only Powerade and Coke. As runners, some of us cannot stomach that much sugar from the beginning of the event. From about 12km we attempted calling the organisers on [number 1], and [number 2] but were not being answered, they just rang. I then tried [number 3] and this went through, at 07H43. The gentleman who picked up was rude. I told him the point in the race we were in and asked when we should expect to get water, his response was “we have water here it’s coming”. I asked him at what point we should expect to get the water, at 15km or 18km or something, and he simply said I don’t know what you want me to say and he dropped the call. We then passed another dry waterpoint and I tried calling again with no luck, I assume he was avoiding my number. My friend tried with her phone and as soon as she asked why there is no water at water points he simply dropped the call. We saw some official with N12 Ultra marathon t-shirt chatting with a paramedic around 18km and asked him why there is no water at the water points, he casually responded by saying “have Coke or Powerade and maybe you will get water at the next water point”, this was really infuriating. At this stage we witnessed some guy in a Waterfall club t-shirt saying he was tapping out, and said he would request to be taken back to his vehicle. We did not stick around to see what happened to him thereafter. We managed to get water after about 20 or so kilometres. We even checked our phones to see if we could do an Uber-Eats delivery of water, but we were unsure of the locations ahead for us to confirm delivery point. The 20s and 30s were better, but from Stilfontein where the 42.2km scanners were, that was almost the last water we got. There was a white bakkie driving on the grass-side handing out water, all other points mostly had Powerade and Coke.  At the finish line it was also tiny half cups of water and Coke. What baffled us was how people  including some of the officials at these waterpoints seemed to think the Powerade and Coke were an upgrade to the water, like this was a favour, like we were getting the “good stuff” instead of just water! It was really unpleasant.