Ultra-Trail Cape Town has been one of the most breathtaking and thrilling trails I have had the privilege of running to date. The course was pure bliss and the vibe throughout the weekend was incomparable. Above all, for whatever reason, I have been put a South African flag on my big, which I like to refer to as my second motherland, filling me with additional pride to run the course.

After I have spent the weekend prior in Madrid to celebrate my birthday. I returned to Frankfurt on a red eye flight on Monday morning, only to leave the city again to head to London the same evening. I was in London for work until Wednesday night. Back in Frankfurt, I packed my bags and caught a Thursday night flight to Cape Town via Adis Abbba in Ethiopia. I touched down in Cape Town on Friday afternoon, picked up my bib number in the evening and found myself at the starting grid on Saturday morning.

I woke up at 3:00, prepared my race pack and made my way to Gardens Rugby Club, where they located the start and finish of the course. The race commenced at 5:00 sharp with the sun slowly starting to rise in the horizon. I had actually signed up to run the 100K race back in 2017, but unfortunately I was unable to attend due to other commitments. For this year, I opted for the 65 kilometer-long race, which include 3100 meters of vertical gain and turned out to be the perfect choice to end my season. In addition, UTCT also hosted a 35K and 21K event.

The first kilometers of the trail lead around Lions Head and Signal Hill, offering stunning views across the ocean and the city, while the sea breeze was touching the skin. 20 kilometers into the race, the course reached the bottom of Table Mountain at Kloofnek. There were a number of spectators around the course creating a wonderful atmosphere throughout the event, but passing Kloof Corner when ascending the first half of Table Mountain on the way to Pratteklip George was special. Greeted by a cheering crowd of people and pumping music made one forget about the pain that initial set of rocky stairs caused to the legs. Soaking up the energy of the group, I continued the course along the ledge of Table Mountain. It was a spectacular single trail with Cape Town sitting at the bottom to my left.

The ascend to Pratteklip George was challenging and steep, certainly the toughest section of the day. Never mind the stress of the last few days, I felt pretty good on the incline, able to ascend the mountain with a continuous pace. A special mention must go out to the two bagpipers, who were standing among the rocks and playing their instruments, throwing me back to my days at high school in Scotland. In total four hours and 32 kilometers of running had passed, when I reached the top of the mountain. It was cold up there, as the clouds started to move in, the wind picked up and a light rain was falling from the sky.

With limited visibility, we run across wooden walkways before heading downhill towards Alphen Trail aid station. As some of you may know, in previous races, I have been struggling to properly fuel my body, which in turn has been one of the main reasons for my hallucination at Ultra-Trail Du Mont Blanc in 2018 and 2019. I know that 65 kilometers of running do not compare to 172 kilometers, however I wanted to use this race also to test my fueling strategy, especially as I got a big project lined up for 2020.

Before reaching Constantia Nek at kilometer 37, I was already experiencing signs of not wanting to eat again, but I convinced myself to indulge in a handful of salty chips, some cooked potatoes and in a few freshly prepared slices of peanut butter and toast. Though, I have been diagnosed with an intolerance for gluten and peanut, I gave them a go and surprisingly they delivered. I was enjoying the texture and taste, and they were easy to eat and digest. After all, chips, potato and sandwiches turned out to be tasty option and good sources of energy. This was certainly a key take-away that I will adapt for future events.

Upon leaving Constantia Nek, I stumbled upon Janni and Stephen, two South African runners. Stephen has not only traveled to Chamonix a few times in the past, but it turned out that he is also a former South African hockey player, who had played with some of my hockey pals from London as well as played against the German national team. It is a small world. We continued running for a bit, before the guys head off. Hopefully, I get the chance to reconnect with the lads when they come over to Europe to run some trails.

On my way to the second last aid station at Alphen Trial, I started to feel quite tired. The trail lead us through the vineyards, before heading into the woods again. In general, the trails were covered with big rocks and were pretty technical, unlike some of the previous course that I have run in Europe. I was moving slower, but eventually reached the aid station. At that time, the sun had hit its peak and the temperatures were nearing 30 degrees Celsius. It was hot. I stuffed ice cubes in my shirt and continued making my way towards the final aid station at the University of Cape Town. The atmosphere at Cape Town Uni was great. Red Bull had brought its music station and a moderator was cheering us on. A short stop and I entered the final leg of the course. A final steep ascend, before cruising back to Cape Town.

Eventually, I was able to see the Garden’s Rugby Club in the far distance, with Lion’s Head and Signal Hill right behind, and the skyscraper’s of the city to its right. I was digging deep and found some additional energy. Given the amount of travel and hours at my desk in the weeks leading up to UTCT, I had no goal time, but simply wanted to enjoy my time on the course and celebrate the end of the season. In fact, a more relaxed approach to a race has delivered my best experiences so far, first at Cappadocia Ultra-Trail in 2016, then at Barcelona Trail Races in November last year, and now it proved to be successful again in Cape Town.

I was expecting to arrive after 12 hours of running. In the end, as the first half went well, a slower middle section and a good final stint, it turned out that I was able to cross the finish line after 11:18:06 hours. Greeted by beautiful weather, the mountains and skyline around me, amazing people to the sides and a cold beer immediately upon finishing the race, rounded up the amazing race and experience that Ultra-Trail Cape Town has to offer.

ULTRA-TRAIL CAPE TOWN 2019