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One aspect of trail running I love is its simplicity and the fact that’s its relatively inexpensive as sports go. Once you have your basic running gear your most expensive item is your shoes. I don’t have any huge requirements when it comes to shoes – I am no major techie on the ins and outs of trail runners – but I know what I need.

Comfort
Your shoes are often your most loyal, and only, companion for hours on end. You kinda of never notice them – until you do – and then it’s not good, comfort is vital. These days you can buy a new pair of trail shoes and run 5 plus hours straight off without so much as a hint of a blister.

Grip
When descending Platteklip in misty and wet conditions on sandy and wet rocks – nothing really sticks too much but you do need to be able to rely on your shoes’ grip, especially when descending at pace…or so I’m told.

Hardiness
I need my shoes to be hardy. I’m no twinkle toes and I’m running on rough often rocky terrain. I need shoes that can take that kind of shit – not shy away at the first sign of a loose pebble and fall apart like a girl scout who can’t sell cookies. Hardy – get out there, get dirty but keep it together. Which brings me to lifespan.

Longevity
How long should a pair of shoes last? Well how long is a piece of string? It also depends on how many pairs of shoes you own and how much you run. I like my trail runners to last me a year, I only use one pair at a time and I hike in them as well. I budget on them to last me a year and less than that I get a bit pissed – o.k. 9-12 months but no less than nine. I do run regularly but not that much.

Brands
I have no brand loyalty. I haven’t yet found a brand to stick to and I have tried many. I enjoy the fact that more and more brands are targeting trail specific shoes and that there is plenty of choice. I wore Salomons a few years back; very comfy, good drainage and I like the draw string laces but the ankle support was not good and I found my ankles frequently going. I moved onto a pair of Montrails; hardyish and o.k. comfort wise but the sole started pealing at about 8 months. So for R50 bucks I had them glued and I got another 6 months out of them.

Salomon Crossmax - 9 months. RIP

I had a pair of New Balance thrown in there somewhere but this pair couldn’t hack the trails at all so had to be relegated to beachfront strolls only. I then went back to Salomon with their very good Crossmax – very good in all departments but they only lasted nine months.

Desperate for shoes I saw a pair of Hi tech Infinities still on sale at Cape Union Mart. At R500 bucks it seemed good value – but after a month the shoe was falling apart – I swapped them for a new pair and the same thing happened. That’s not a trail shoe that’s a slipper.

Saucony Xodus 3.0

Luckily, at about the same time a brand appears to have found me. I won a lucky draw competition on Saucony’s Facebook page and within two days a new pair of Saucony Xodus 3.0s arrived at my door. The fit was perfect – lucky as I had never tried them on before. They are very comfortable, and the thick sole has good grip and is looking as solid as ever. Time will tell as to its longevity but I am loving this understated shoe. She’s no looker but she is a goer. That’s no disrespect to Saucony – I don’t really like lumo and brightly coloured shoes – I like these!

Running up and down Cape Town’s three peaks (Devils Peak, Table Mountain and Lions Head) isn’t most people’s idea of fun – but it is mine. This is kind of strange as I usedto hate running. Well hate is a strong word; I just didn’t like it much. I loved hiking though and found once I got into it that I could hike pretty fast up some fairly steep mountains. Then I saw an article in the paper about the Three Peaks Challenge which caught my interest, but after reading that they start in town near to Greenmarket Square and return to the Square after each peak, I laughed to myself, thought “fucking crazy” and lost interest.

The following year, 2002, the Three Peaks reared its beautiful three heads again and a friend, a Celtics runner at the time, told me to phone fellow Celtics runner Gavin Snell, the organiser of the event. As sceptical as I was I soon found myself chatting to Gavin who told me about the event, showed me some pics and hauled out his shoebox of memorabilia including the hand carved trophies of the Three Peaks that every finisher gets. The trophies are made by Don Hartley, founder and co-organiser of the event. All well and good I said but I don’t run. Don’t worry said Gavin you’ll be fine. Far from convinced I decided to give it a bash and entered.

I started doing some running, completed my first half marathon in the process, and on the first Saturday in November, 2002 I found myself lined up in Long Street at 5am with a bunch of other nutters. About 8 ½ hours later I completed my first challenge, had the best time and was hooked – not just on the Three Peaks but on trail running in general.

November 2011, nine years later, I have completed my 10^th Challenge. Those years have seen me become a seasoned trail runner who now loves running and has his own shoebox of Three Peaks memories. I have watched the local trail running scene explode into a main stream sport with many roadies finally seeing the light and now stretching their legs regularly if not exclusively on the mountains. Where once there were a handful of trail events there is now one almost every week.

While the trail running scene has changed I’m glad to say the Three Peaks Challenge has not. The organisers are the same, the atmosphere is the same, and the entry fee kept affordable, unlike many events which charge almost 3x that amount for far less, and you still receive a hand carved Three Peaks trophy if you finish. More importantly I still love this event. I have roped in many an unsuspecting runner who landed up running next to me at some run or another, burning their ears with tales of this special event – some of them completed their 5^th challenge this year. The one difference is that nine years ago you could phone Gavin the night before and get an entry – that is no longer possible.

Thanks Gavin, who has not only organised all 15 events to date –read the history of the event here – but has run every one as well – and thanks Don for starting this event in 1997, 100 years after it was first completed. Looking forward to no 11.

The Hout Bay Triple Trouble has been trouble for me since its second running in 2006, but now, having recently completed my third, I can safely say its right up there as one of my favourite runs on the trail calendar – despite the tar sections between each peak.

Started by Eric Tollner in 2005 as a training run for the more established Three Peaks Challenge, it has developed into a very special, albeit low key, event. The run starts at the Chapman’s Peak Hotel in Hout Bay and takes in Suther Peak, Judas Peak, via Llandadno Ravine, and Chapman’s Peak, returning to the hotel after each peak. The field is small, 30 runners, and friendly, with just a few speedsters chasing records and the win. The rest of us like to take our time (often more through necessity than choice), smell the flowers, enjoy the views and camaraderie and revel in a day out on the spectacular Hout Bay mountains.

Doug & Mike on Chapman's Peak

My troubles started at my first attempt in 2006. I somehow managed to get lost descending Judas Peak in the mist, wandered about the top for an hour looking for the path down before finding my own, not very safe descent and traversing back to Llandadno Ravine. After my not so kosher experience I declined the 3^rd peak leaving me with unfinished business which I planned to put right the next year. 2007 arrived and I entered early. But the year was a hectic one, with numerous moves and the birth of my son, and came Triple Trouble time, I was pretty exhausted the night before. I woke up at 4am, confirmed what I already knew and sent a text message to Eric, bailing before even putting on my running shoes. I managed to get there to take some pics on the third peak and once again vowed to be back the next year.

2008 and I was the first to enter, but then realised it clashed with my holiday plans so was first out as well. My holiday plans changed and I again landed up on Chappies taking pics.

2009 and finally I got to experience the triple in all its glory. The morning started with a scooter ride from Sea Point to the start with a large orange moon hanging lazily over the glassy sea, the day was already perfect and it was only 5.30am.

After my experience in 2006 I was determined not to get lost this year, but it didn’t take me long. After tagging Suther Peak, I led Brenda, my running partner for the day, down the garden path and landed up with a fabulous viewpoint but sheer drops everywhere. We backtracked and made our way safely down, finding ourselves at the back of the field but in no hurry.

The second peak was stunning; fynbos as far as the eye can see, clear skies with views to everywhere and Mediterranean-like turquoise seas below. The South Easter that had howled the week prior to the run had cleaned up the air and sea for the day.

We finished at the tail end of the field – hot and happy after 10 hours + of beautiful weather and stunning mountains – finally I was on the board.

2010 saw me run the entire route with Michael and Douglas, and various others along the way. With cooler weather and stronger legs we finished in just over 7 ½ hours. Almost 3 hours behind the winner, a certain Ryan Sandes, who seemed to cruise the route but still broke the record finishing in a fast 4.48 and some change.

This year was similar – cool weather and Michael and Douglas again keeping me entertained as we as toured Hout Bay the way very few people ever do. The colourful flowers on the first peak, again the fynbos on the second and whales in the bay on the third made for another memorable trip. While we weren’t racing we realised at the top of Chappies that if we motored we might just break 7 hours. When we hit the tar for the 4km downhill dash to the cold beers – it was still on. But as we neared the finish – about 500m near – Michael started to cramp and stopped to get himself right. Douglas and I had a brief discussion, wait and risk not reaching our sub 7-hour target – or leave Mike, finish under 7 hours and face his wrath. We chose “glory” over sentiment and finished in 6.58.10. Mike, to his credit, finished a minute later also breaking the 7 hour mark and not letting us forget for a minute that we ditched him 500m from home after running together the entire day. Sorry Mike!

At the front of the field Rupert Becker proved you don’t need sponsors and financial incentives to break records (although that would be nice) – just enormous talent and a great attitude – he shaved 1.14 off Ryan’s time – smiling all the way to the finish.

Celebrating my son’s 4^th birthday this week and with the Old Fisherman’s Trail Challenge being run tomorrow (11 June) it reminded me of a letter that I wrote to Runnersworld magazine four years ago.

The idea was to win first prize on the letter’s page, a decent running watch. So I wrote my letter and waited for it to appear and be informed of my pending prize. But no, despite my best literary efforts and a very cute pic of the scoops, I was published but did not win the first prize.

Nope – some story about someone bumping into a famous rugby player while running on the road won first prize – who the hell is Francois Pienaar anyway?

So no glory but still a cute letter I think – hard to believe its been four years. Happy birthday Scoops!

The letter – Runners World 2007

”With my 2-week old baby boy lying snugly next to his mother it was with some trepidation that I headed off for my first run as a new dad. Having spent almost every moment with him and his mom since he made his unexpected early arrival I didn’t know if I was ready to desert the nest just yet. But I had entered the race not expecting to be a dad at the time. Things somehow were just not what they used to be.

Being a trail junkie, early morning starts for cold mountain runs are the norm, especially in the winter months. But what had changed?

I used to set my alarm to get up in time, now I was already up. I used to do some gentle early morning stretches, now I watched my boy stretch as he woke up. I used to have a pre-race meal at home, now I watched my son feed and I munched down a bar-one in the car on the way to the start. I used to take gentle runs across the mountains enjoying the scenery, now I PB’d to the finish so I could get home quicker to see my Scoops. I used to switch my phone off until race-end, now I regularly checked-in to see if my son had eaten, farted, burped or pood. I used to enjoy many leisurely beers after a run, now I wolfed down a couple and raced home to be with my kid.

Yip, life will never quite be the same again and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Getting to grips with trail shoes

Three Peaks Challenge 2011: 10 Done – more to come

Hout Bay Triple Trouble – 1 October 2011

My first run as a new dad – Old Fishermen’s Trail Challenge 2007

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