Thursday 28 January, 2010 06:00

Well done to Lone Ranger Rob for hitting the road all by his lonesome this morning! With me off sick and Josh baby-sitting, and the rest M.I.A., Rob still braved the early morning, fresh air and beautiful Cape Town views and went for a run!

Rob's report:

And then there was one………Shaun dropped me this morning, apparently he had sleepy sickness.

Up Dean street, left into Boshoff and followed my tried and tested route to the top of Glastonbury Rd where my tired legs told me to turn around, I obediently obliged. The run was made more pleasant by the presence of Melissa, a resident of Claremont who is doing the full Oceans. I think I was made to run a little faster too. Well after a good shower and coffee I feel good to go…..

Well done Rob!!

I promise to join you on Tuesday morning next week!

Tuesday 26 January, 2010 06:00

My kingdom for a hillbilly who understands the meaning of "short, easy run"...! this morning's run was supposed to be one of those, seeing as I was recovering from Red Hill, Allen from a 21k over the weekend, and Shaun was embarking on his first run of the year. We ended up blazing through 10.35 km at 5:31/km!
We took the usual route up towards Kirstenbosch via Boshof. The idea was to reassess our condition at the water-point before tackling Glastonbury. Well, we did... and we did. Shaun and Allen literally pulled me up today... thanks guys, I was particularly sluggish this morning and you kept me going.
On the way back, Shaun detoured up Ravensberg while Allen and I trundled on downhill.
All in all, it was a fantastic run, and as usual the company was great.
Angela and Rob, We missed you guys and hope you'll be back on Thursday!
and to Shaun, it was great having out there, so you better get your ass out there more regularly!!

Race Report: Red Hill 36.2km Classic

Well done to everyone who completed Red Hill on Saturday, whether you ran the Marathon or the 36.2km Classic.


Representing the Dean Street Hillbillies were myself and Josh. We both managed to complete the challenging course well under cut-off, Josh beating me by a considerable margin - well done Josh! I don't know how you're feeling today, but I'm (very surprisingly) feeling almost back to normal! Legs a little fatigued still, but not at all stiff (although Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning were a different matter altogether!)


I quite surprised myself for this race. I was pretty nervous in the days leading up to race day - I hadn't done anything even approaching this kind of distance in well over a year, so was a little under-trained. But I'd done this race in the past and knew what lay ahead, and was determined to cross the finish line this year. Besides catching a nastly little post-race cold (my poor body is not used to this kind of punishment any more, leaving me open to attack from all kinds of little bugs), I'm feeling fantastic, and looking forward to Cango Marathon at the end of next month. I've just entered!! Anyone want to join me?


Route Description:
The race started at Fish Hoek AC and ran out towards Kommetjie. Down the coast, up and over Slangkop, through a very chilly and misty Misty Cliffs and Scarborough, and towards Cape Point. At around 21km the marathoners were made to detour 6km out-and-back towards Cape Point before rejoining the 'Classic' route. Those of us running the Classic (36km) just turned left towards Red Hill. And up, up, up, up, UP Red Hill, before winding down, down down, down.... into Simons Town (and WOW what a view from the top of that winding road down into the harbour! Makes the long climb to get there well worth it!) From here it was pretty much flat for the last few km back to Fish Hoek and the very welcome sight of the finish line.



Route Profile:

Route Map (Street):

Route Map (Satellite):

Stats: Tuesday, 21 January 2010, 06:00

A nice late start, shorter distance and flat route. Perfect way to ease into the weekend. It was good to see a brand new face too - welcome to the Dean Street Hillbillies, Allen! I hope you enjoyed the run!

We were a small group today, just Josh, Allen and myself. The guys set a blistering pace, and I was quite proud of myself for keeping up. A good tempo-run for me! It has definitely paid off over the last couple of months, trying to keep up with the faster guys - my race times are coming down quite nicely now. Thanks guys!! I'll dedicate my next PB to the Dean Street Hillbillies!!

Our route this morning was fairly ordinary, if you can call running in beautiful Cape Town 'ordinary'.

We started out at Great Westerford as usual. Hit our only real 'hill' going up Klipper Road (such a small little hill, poor thing!). Sped along tree-lined Newlands Avenue, then caught our breath going down the M3. Meandered through Claremont until we reached the back of Cavendish, dashed over Main road (nicely timed with the traffic lights!) and past Newlands Cricket.

From there we made a bee-line to our water point - a thirsty 7km into the run. After a refreshing drink we headed off again in the direction of home.

Route Map (Street):

Route Map (Satellite):

Route Profile:

For those who didn't join us this morning, you missed some really cool (?strange?) looking shoes!!! Vibram FiveFingers. Aka Barefoot shoes. Aka 'Dino feet' (coined by a friend of mine!)

Strange as they may look, they're actually very comfy, and supposed to be pretty good for you - more 'natural' than cushioned running shoes. I'm testing that theory, starting slow of course (this morning's 9km was the furthest I've run in them at one time). But hopefully this will be just the 'medicine' needed to cure my long history running injuries. Wish me luck...

Stats: Tuesday, 19 January 2010, 05:30

This morning was a bit of an earlier start, the aim to get in an extra few kays and a few scenic detours.

We started out at Great Westerford as usual. Up Dean Street and along Newlands Avenue towards the M3. Here we detoured to the Newlands Reservoir/Fire Base. Up, up, up and we crested the 'hill' to find the most amazing view of Cape Town, shortly after sunrise. Breath-taking!!
From there it was an easy undulating (but mostly downhill) cruise back down to the Fire Base. Along Boshoff Drive, back to the M3, with a spur of the moment decision to tackle one last hill up Ravensberg Avenue. From there we coasted all the way back down to our start/finish point.

A hot shower and strong coffee later, and I'm feeling on top of the world! I hope my 'club' mates are too. :)

Route Map (Street):

Route Map (Satellite):

Route Profile:

Sorry for the gap around '2' km mark - I stopped my timer at waiting to cross the road and forgot to start it again.. Lost about 1¾km on a gentle climb, total distance about 13½km.


In short, this was a slightly challenging course through the first half, but all very do-able and well worth the effort! Leaves you feeling like you've gotten some good exercise, while still having the energy to face the rest of the day.


Thursday we start at 06:00 again for a shorter run, 8-10km.
Meet at Great Westerford as usual.
See you there!!

Stats: Thursday, 14 January 2010, 06:00

This morning saw just me and Rob hitting the road, bright and early at 6:00 a.m.

After yesterday's insane heat, this morning could not have been more perfect for a run. While my car registered outside temperature at 20 degrees at 6:00 this morning, it was lovely and cool, with a slight breeze at times, and clouds that seem to be promising a spot of rain sometime today. A made-for-running morning for sure!!

Here are the details from this morning:

Route map:

Route profile:

Next run is Tuesday next week, 19th January

Rough route description:
longer route, 12-14km
starting earlier, 5:00 a.m. at Great Westerford
short loop through Newlands Forest at some point, probably around 3km from the Reservoir/Fire Base
possibly a meander through Kirstenbosch
definitely hilly, but nothing too hectic
at least 2 water points - taps at Stone Church and Newlands Reservoir, as well as Kirstenbosch Top Gate if we head up that way

Bishops Court 10 Route

To kick off the new year, we have a scenic 10km route through Newlands and Bishops Court.

Starting on the corner of Main and Dean in Newlands, we run up to Newlands Avenue, head for the M3 and up Boshoff Avenue to our water point at Stone Church (near Kirstenbosch Gates 1 and 2). From there we head up the road and towards Glastonbury Road - the hill you see in the route profile below. But don't worry, it's downhill all the way home!

Route Map:

Route Profile:

Running 2010

Hi Everyone,
Here's wishing us all a faster, fitter and stronger 2010!
Many thanks to Angela for setting up the blog! Let us hope we will all see each other on the road and on the net. Let's make the group fun and take ownership by suggesting routes that you think we should try.
Angela has made a suggestion that we try and start our longer runs earlier - a round 530. I think this is a great idea for summer when it's hot and light early.

Happy running to us all and see you on Thursday!

Josh